Mourning Loss, Embracing Life: Jewish Artists’ Experiences

This live illustrated presentation by Susan Chevlowe, PhD, Chief Curator and Director of the Derfner Judaica Museum at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, looks at the experiences of Jewish émigré and refugee artists during the 20th century. It will focus on the work of 16 artists featured in an exhibition currently on view at the Museum, Impressions of Eastern Europe: Prints from the Permanent Collection, and ask a series of questions: How did artists of the last century respond to displacement, genocide, and massive social and political upheaval? What were their experiences? What can an understanding of their sources of inspiration and choice of style teach us today? How did art help them to maintain hope and belief in the future during periods of strife and desperation? The images include lithographs, etchings, engravings and woodcuts by artists who worked at a time of rapid change, including urbanization, secularization, technological innovation, and seismic political and cultural shifts. Their genre scenes, folk tale illustrations, portraits and character studies evoke nostalgia for a communal past, solemn awareness of the fragility of life and deep reverence for tradition.