Painter Samuel Bak was born in Vilnius on the 12th of August in 1933. He expressed his need to paint from early childhood, so when he and his family were forced to Vilna ghetto in 1941, his mother made sure that he would at least have paper, pencils, and watercolors. That way 8-year-old Samuel could at least spiritually escape the harsh reality of the ghetto. Paradoxically the ghetto was the place where his works of art were recognized for the first time. In 1943 ghetto artists organized the exhibition in the vestibule of ghetto theatre and paintings made by 10-year-old Samuel hung next to the paintings of professional artists.  However, despite his talent, the life under Nazi occupation was dreadful to Samuel as to other Jewish kids in the ghetto. During the Holocaust the majority of his family was murdered, only Samuel and his mother managed to stay alive. After the war, they instantly left Lithuania and stayed in Germany for a while. In 1948, after Israel was established as a separate state, Samuel emigrated to Jerusalem and studied painting in the Bezalel academy of arts and design. During his years in Israel, Samuel Bak served in the army as well.  In 1956 he moved to Paris and started his studies at Beaux Arts Academy. All his life the painter could not settle for the one place – he traveled a lot and during the years 1959–1993 m. he lived in Italy, Israel, France, Switzerland, and the USA. Lastly, he settled near Boston in the USA.

Going away, A flight from Berlin, The Creation, and The guardian angel of travelers are considered as his most famous paintings.