Designed in the French Gothic chateau-style by architect Charles P.H. Gilbert, the original building was completed in 1908, and has been the home of the Museum since 1947. A sculpture court was installed alongside the Mansion in 1959, and the Albert A. List Building was added in 1963 to provide additional exhibition and program space.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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In 1990, a major expansion and renovation project was undertaken; upon completion in June 1993, the expansion doubled the Museum\u2019s gallery space, created new space for educational programs and provided significant improvements in public amenities.<\/p>\n
For more than a century, the Jewish Museum has illuminated art and Jewish culture from ancient times to the present, offering intellectually engaging and educational exhibitions and programs for people of all ages and backgrounds.<\/p>\n
Timeline<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- 1900<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
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1904<\/strong><\/p>\nOn January 20, 1904, Judge Mayer Sulzberger donates a collection of Jewish ceremonial art to the Jewish Theological Seminary of America as the core of a museum collection. The newly formed museum is the first institution of its kind in the United States and one of the first in the world.<\/p>\n
\n- 1920<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Through the efforts of Seminary President Cyrus Adler and Felix M. Warburg, the Museum purchases the important collection of 400 Jewish ceremonial objects assembled in the 19th century by Turkish art dealer Hadji Ephraim Benguiat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1931<\/strong><\/p>\nThe collection is installed in the Seminary\u2019s new Jacob H. Schiff Library as the Museum of Jewish Ceremonial Objects.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1939<\/strong><\/p>\nThe imperiled Jewish community of Danzig (Gdansk, Poland) sends ritual objects from its synagogues and homes to New York City for safekeeping. Some 350 of these objects, entrusted to the Museum, are later incorporated into the collection.<\/p>\n
\n- 1940<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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1941<\/strong><\/p>\nDr. Harry G. Friedman presents a major collection of ceremonial objects, paintings, sculptures, prints, and manuscripts to the Museum. His continuing donations, eventually numbering more than 600 works, include pieces from Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1944<\/strong><\/p>\nFrieda Schiff Warburg gives the Seminary her family residence at 1109 Fifth Avenue to house the Museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1947<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Jewish Museum inaugurates its home in the former Warburg mansion. Curator Stephen Kayser declares that it\u2019s the Museum\u2019s mission to use the fine arts to explore the substance of Jewish life and history. He defines the Museum\u2019s audience as \u201cthe American community,\u201d which should \u201cbe given insight into the traditions, history, legends, and aspirations of the Jewish people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Museum purchases the rare and important collection of Polish Judaica assembled by Benjamin and Rose Mintz.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1952<\/strong><\/p>\nOne hundred and twenty ceremonial objects, looted by the Nazis and recovered by the United States Military Government, are presented to the Museum by Jewish Cultural Reconstruction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1956<\/strong><\/p>\nDr. Abraham Kanof and his wife, Dr. Frances Pascher, establish the Tobe Pascher Workshop for the creation of Jewish ceremonial art in a modern style.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1957<\/strong><\/p>\nTo mark its 10th anniversary at 1109 Fifth Avenue, the Museum presents a path-breaking contemporary art exhibition,\u00a0Artists of the New York School: Second Generation<\/i>, featuring works by 23 emerging artists including Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and George Segal.<\/p>\n\n- 1960<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Alan Solomon becomes Director and confirms the Museum\u2019s commitment to exhibiting the work of New York City\u2019s most advanced artists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1963<\/strong><\/p>\nA building expansion, underwritten by Vera and Albert A. List, opens, providing flexible modern galleries and an outdoor sculpture court.<\/p>\n
The Museum organizes the\u00a0Recent American Synagogue Architecture<\/em>\u00a0exhibition, including designs by Louis Kahn and Barnett Newman.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1964<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Museum presents Jasper Johns\u2019 first solo museum exhibition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1965<\/strong><\/p>\nSam Hunter becomes Director of the Jewish Museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1966<\/strong><\/p>\nPrimary Structures<\/i>, the landmark exhibition that defined the Minimalist movement; the first major exhibition of the paintings of Ad Reinhardt; and the exhibition\u00a0Lower East Side: Portal to American Life<\/i>\u00a0are organized.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1967<\/strong><\/p>\nThe exhibition\u00a0Masada: Struggle for Freedom<\/i>\u00a0is presented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1968<\/strong><\/p>\nKarl Katz becomes Director of the Jewish Museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1970<\/strong><\/p>\nSoftware<\/i>, a pioneering exhibition about information technology and interactive art, is organized.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1971<\/strong><\/p>\n\u200bThe Museum opens a permanent installation of archaeological artifacts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1972<\/strong><\/p>\nJoy Ungerleider becomes Director.<\/p>\n
The Museum negotiates the acquisition of nearly 600 ancient artifacts found in Israel, and expands its focus to encompass all of Jewish culture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1975<\/strong><\/p>\nJewish Experience in the Art of the 20th Century<\/i>\u00a0is presented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1978<\/strong><\/p>\nThe retrospective exhibition\u00a0Jack Levine: Paintings, Drawings and Graphics<\/i>\u00a0is presented.<\/p>\n\n- \n
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1980<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
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1980<\/strong><\/p>\nJacques Lipchitz\u2019s sculpture\u00a0The Sacrifice<\/i>\u00a0is prominently installed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1981<\/strong><\/p>\nJoan Rosenbaum becomes Director of the Jewish Museum.<\/p>\n
The Museum\u2019s archaeological holdings expand with the gift of Max and Betty Ratner\u2019s antiquities collection.<\/p>\n
The National Jewish Archive of Broadcasting, with a mission to collect, preserve, and exhibit television, cable television, and radio programs related to the Jewish experience, is founded at the Museum through support from the Charles H. Revson Foundation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1983<\/strong><\/p>\nKings and Citizens: The History of the Jews in Denmark, 1622 \u2013 1983<\/i>\u00a0is presented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1984<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Precious Legacy: Judaic Treasures from the Czechoslovak State Collections<\/i>\u00a0is presented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1985<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Museum honors Dorothy Rodgers for her role in inspiring the development of a permanent collection exhibition.<\/p>\n
The plaster version of George Segal\u2019s\u00a0The Holocaust<\/em>\u00a0is acquired, becoming one of the Museum\u2019s signature works.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1986<\/strong><\/p>\nGardens and Ghettos: The Art of Jewish Life in Italy<\/i>\u00a0is organized.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1987<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Dreyfus Affair: Art, Truth and Justice<\/i>, an acclaimed exhibition integrating the visual arts and social history, is presented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1990<\/strong><\/p>\nA renovation and expansion project, designed by architect Kevin Roche, begins.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1992<\/strong><\/p>\nIn collaboration with the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the Museum establishes the New York Jewish Film Festival.<\/p>\n
Bridges and Boundaries: African Americans and American Jews<\/em>\u00a0is presented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1993<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Museum re-opens in expanded and renovated quarters. Inaugural presentations include\u00a0From the Inside Out: Eight Contemporary Artists<\/em>\u00a0and the permanent exhibition,\u00a0Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey<\/em>.<\/p>\nThe Museum initiates annual December 25 family programming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1996<\/strong><\/p>\nThe exhibitions\u00a0Too Jewish?: Challenging Traditional Identities<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Marc Chagall: 1907 \u2013 1917<\/i>\u00a0are presented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1998<\/strong><\/p>\nAn Expressionist in Paris: The Paintings of Chaim Soutine<\/i>\u00a0is organized.<\/p>\n\n- \n
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2000<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
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2000<\/strong><\/p>\nThe newly reinstalled Floor 4 galleries of the permanent collection exhibition,\u00a0Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey<\/i>\u00a0open, accompanied by thematic audio guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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2001<\/strong><\/p>\nMarc Chagall: Early Works from Russian Collections<\/i>\u00a0is presented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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2002<\/strong><\/p>\nThe exhibitions\u00a0New York: Capital of Photography<\/i>\u00a0and the widely discussed\u00a0Mirroring Evil: Nazi Imagery\/Recent Art<\/i>\u00a0are presented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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