Driftwood: Escape and Survival Through Art

Holocaust Memoir Australian Immigration History Women Artist Biography Art & Sculpture World War II Escape Narrative Jewish Diaspora Studies Creative Survival Memoir

Driftwood: Escape and Survival Through Art is the gripping 2017 memoir of Austrian-born Australian sculptor Eva de Jong-Duldig, a story that art lovers, Australian-history buffs and YA readers alike are hunting for in the second-hand market. At its heart is a wartime odyssey: Vienna in 1938, a daring escape through Europe, internment in Britain as “enemy aliens,” and—finally—safe harbour in Melbourne where discarded pieces of St Kilda driftwood become the medium for rebuilding a shattered life. De Jong-Duldig’s voice is warm, humorous and unflinching, turning family letters, diary excerpts and her own sculptures into a living mosaic of 20th-century displacement and resilience.

What makes this paperback special is the way it fuses three collectable threads—Holocaust survival literature, Australian immigrant art history and a rare woman’s perspective on mid-century sculpture. Readers discover how the author’s monumental driftwood carvings—now held by the National Gallery of Victoria and the Jewish Museum of Australia—were born from rationed tools in a tin shed, proof that creativity can outrun terror. The book is illustrated with private photos and artwork shots that seldom appear online, so even seasoned collectors encounter fresh visual material.

This copy is in very good condition: crisp, unmarked pages, no ex-library stamps or inscriptions, and a tight square binding that will hold up to repeated readings or gift-giving. Light cover scuffing and a tiny top-edge mark are the only clues it has been gently read, making it an affordable alternative to the scarce first printing. For anyone searching “driftwood sculptor memoir Australia” or “Holocaust artist escape story,” this edition delivers the complete narrative without the premium price of a signed copy.

Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.