The Jewish Museum history

1931 The collection is installed in the Seminary’s new Jacob H. Schiff Library as the Museum of Jewish Ceremonial Objects.

Timeline An overview in dates: From the opening of the first Jewish Museum in Berlin in 1933 to the opening of our largest themed exhibition to date, Welcome to Jerusalem, and the planning of a new permanent exhibition.

Here is the four-part history of our origins and an accompanying timeline – from the forced closure of the first Jewish Museum in Berlin in 1938, and the original museum’s inspirational influence on our collecting principles, until the present day.

The Danzig Collection was sent to the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1939 by the Jewish community in Danzig to save this remarkable collection of Judaica from imminent destruction.

1941 Doctor Harry G. Friedman presents a major collection of ceremonial objects, paintings, sculptures, prints, and manuscripts to the Museum.

1944 Frieda Schiff Warburg gives the Seminary her family residence at 1109 Fifth Avenue to house the Museum.

In 1946 the museum moved to the Felix Warburg mansion (see Warburg family), located on New York City’s “Museum Mile” on Fifth Avenue.

1947 The Jewish Museum inaugurates its home in the former Warburg mansion.

The Friedenberg collection of coins and medals was donated to the museum in 1948 and continued to grow through the years, becoming one of the finest collections of Jewish numismatics in the world.

1952 One 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.

1956 Doctor Abraham Kanof and his wife, Doctor Frances Pascher, establish the Tobe Pascher Workshop for the creation of Jewish ceremonial art in a modern style.

1957 To mark its 10th anniversary at 1109 Fifth Avenue, the Museum presents a path-breaking contemporary art exhibition, Artists of the New York School: Second Generation, featuring works by 23 emerging artists including Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and George Segal.

The first expansion of the museum was the addition of a sculpture garden in 1959 by Adam List.

1962 Alan Solomon becomes Director and confirms the Museum’s commitment to exhibiting the work of New York City’s most advanced artists.

1963 A building expansion, underwritten by Vera and Albert A. List, opens, providing flexible modern galleries and an outdoor sculpture court.

1964 The Museum presents Jasper Johns’ first solo museum exhibition.

1965 Sam Hunter becomes Director of the Jewish Museum.

1966 Primary Structures, the landmark exhibition that defined the Minimalist movement; the first major exhibition of the paintings of Ad Reinhardt; and the exhibition Lower East Side: Portal to American Life are organized.

1968 Karl Katz becomes Director of the Jewish Museum.

1970 Software, a pioneering exhibition about information technology and interactive art, is organized.

1971 ​The Museum opens a permanent installation of archaeological artifacts.

1978 The retrospective exhibition Jack Levine: Paintings, Drawings and Graphics is presented.

The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a Legend, the first major American survey of the artist’s work since 1980, is organized.

1981 Joan Rosenbaum becomes Director of the Jewish Museum.

1985 The Museum honors Dorothy Rodgers for her role in inspiring the development of a permanent collection exhibition.

1990 A renovation and expansion project, designed by architect Kevin Roche, begins.

1992 In collaboration with the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the Museum establishes the New York Jewish Film Festival.

1993 The Museum re-opens in expanded and renovated quarters.

2000 The newly reinstalled Floor 4 galleries of the permanent collection exhibition, Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey open, accompanied by thematic audio guides.

Political Decisions The appointment of W. Michael Blumenthal as Museum Director and the transfer of the seat of government to Berlin eventually led to an independent Jewish Museum Berlin, which opened on 13 September 2001.

2006 The Jewish Museum marks Joan Rosenbaum’s 25th anniversary as director.

2010 Houdini: Art and Magic, the first major art museum exhibition to examine Houdini’s life, is organized.

In 2011 the museum named Claudia Gould as its new director.

In 2012 Claudia Gould hired Jens Hoffmann Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs.

2013 The exhibitions As it were … So to speak: A Museum Collection in Dialogue with Barbara Bloom; Six Things: Sagmeister & Walsh; Jack Goldstein × 10,000; Art Spiegelman’s Co-Mix: A Retrospective; and Chagall: Love, War, and Exile are presented.

2015 The exhibitions Repetition and Difference; Revolution of the Eye: Modern Art and the Birth of American Television; and The Power of Pictures: Early Soviet Photography, Early Soviet Film are presented.

2016 The New York Jewish Film Festival marks its 25th anniversary with record attendance.

In early December 2017, the Jewish Museum suspended Hoffmann from his position following allegations of sexual harassment leveled against him by multiple staff members.