Jewish Art Journeys

Jewish Art Journeys explores the ways in which artists, collectors, patrons, and museums have engaged with issues

of Jewish identity, experience, and practice in the modern world (that is, from the era of the Haskalah, or “Jewish

Enlightenment” of the late 18th century through the present). We are interested in what we can learn about Jewish

historical and cultural experiences, texts, ritual and religious practices, and ethical values through the lens of the visual

arts. Although Jewish identity is defined by certain fixed markers, it can also be described with terms such as “hybrid,”

“multiple,” or “ambiguous,” reflecting the diasporic nature of Jewish experience over the last two and a half millennia.

Our site seeks to celebrate this rich and multifaceted history and the ongoing evolution of Jewish life in the modern

world. Although this site will focus primarily on the “fine arts” of painting, sculpture, and graphic art in Europe and

North America, no art forms or geographies will be excluded as we explore the breadth, depth, and complexity

of modern Jewish artistic practice.