Hannah Frank

Hannah Frank (August 23, 1908 – December 18, 2008) was an artist and sculptor from Glasgow, Scotland.

Hannah was the daughter of a Jewish Russian refugee, Charles Frank, a notable camera maker, and grew up in the Laurieston district of the Gorbals. She studied art at the University of Glasgow. She had a number of poems, and later a series of drawings, published in the University magazine, all of which appeared under the name AL AARAAF. This is the title of a long poem by Edgar Allan Poe which had special significance for her. It was the name given by the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe to a mysterious star which suddenly appeared in the heavens, and after growing brighter and brighter for a few days, suddenly disappeared, never to be seen again. She graduated in 1930.

In 1939, Hannah married Lionel Levy. Her works during the years of the World War II were reflective of the mood of the time, as a Jew, and with brothers in the Army these years were long and dark, and there were many illustrations of grim, gaunt figures, reflecting the plight of the refugees. It was also during this period that Hannah began clay modeling at the Glasgow School of Art under Paul Zunterstein and Benno Schotz who encouraged her work, and sculpture became her main passion.

Hannah continued producing sculpture until 2000 and latterly lived in a care home near Glasgow.She is buried in Cathcart Cemetery, Giffnock, Glasgow.