Born in Vilna, Poland. Survived the holocaust and immigrated to Israel in 1952. studied at the Bezalel Art Academy and at the Beaux-Arts Atelier in Paris. Between 1959 and 1966 he lived in Italy.

Bak's work deals with the artistic expression of the destruction and dehumanization which make up his childhood memories. He speaks about what are deemed to be the unspeakable atrocities of the Holocaust. He has created a visual language to remind the world of its most desperate moments.

The acme of Bak's paintings is his surrealist (or metaphysical) works which was influenced by the art of Salvador Dali and René Magritte.

Original art works by Shmuel Bak can be found at the Engel Galleries Israeli art collection.