Jewish Art in America

An Introduction

Matthew Baigell

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Year: 2006
• eBook ISBN: 9781461665632
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art General

In this first book-length study of Jewish art in America, Matthew Baigell explores works from the early settlers of America to the present. It concentrates on exploring and examining Jewish subject matter employed by artists as they illustrated aspects of their religious and ethnic heritage and as they responded to major events over the decades, including the Great Migration, the Great Depression, the Holocaust, and the founding of the State of Israel, as well as the dispersal of Jewish artists around the country and the rise of feminism and spiritualism in the late-twentieth century.

Subjects include genre scenes of "the Jewish street," religious and spiritual themes derived from the Bible and the Kabbalah, and images that record the artists' participation in and witnessing of major events in their lifetimes. The author also considers the often asked questions: Is there a Jewish art? and, Is there a single Jewish Experience?

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1 - Until 1920, Preliminaries and Beginnings
• 2 - The 1920s, Settling In
• 3 - The 1930s, Social Issues
• 4 - The 1940s, the Holocaust Years and After
• 5 - The 1950s and After, the Older Generation
• 6 - The 1950s and After, the Younger Generation
• 7 - The 1970s and After, Representative Figures
• 8 - The 1970s and After, Later Holocaust Responses
• 9 - The 1970s and After, Spiritualism
• 10 - The 1970s and After, Feminism
• 11 - Conclusion
• Works Cited
• Index
• About the Author