Upcoming Exhibitions at the Jewish Museum Spring - Fall 2025

The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt

March 7 – August 10, 2025

In the age of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 - 1669), the biblical Book of Esther served as a popular source of inspiration for Rembrandt van Rijn and his contemporaries in 17th-century Netherlands. Its story recounts how Queen Esther risked her life to prevent the near annihilation of the Jewish people of Susa in ancient Persia and is celebrated annually on the Jewish holiday of Purim. For immigrant Jewish communities living with new freedom in a more tolerant Amsterdam, celebrating Purim became a meaningful expression of Jewish culture. For the Dutch, Queen Esther's heroism in the face of oppression represented their emerging nation's identity in their fight for freedom from Spanish rule. This first-of-its-kind exhibition gives expression to the full range of the Book of Esther's popularity and meaning in Rembrandt's time, bringing together over 120 paintings, prints, and drawings by Rembrandt, Aert de Gelder, and Jan Steen, among others, alongside Jewish ceremonial art and decorative craft objects related to the holiday and the Esther story. The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt illustrates how the story of the biblical queen influenced Dutch art and culture and represented an enduring symbol of triumph over adversity at a time of vibrant cultural exchange. 

Ben Shahn: On Nonconformity 

May 23 – October 12, 2025 

The first major exhibition of the artist’s work in a U.S. museum in nearly 25 years, Ben Shahn: On Nonconformity explores the pioneering work of social realist Ben Shahn (1898-1969), focusing on the artist’s lifelong commitment to social justice. A Jewish immigrant from Lithuania, Ben Shahn (American, b. Lithuania 1898 –1969) was among the most prominent artists of the United States from the 1930s through the 1960s. This career-spanning exhibition features Shahn’s work across various media including murals, paintings, drawings and prints, and photography, celebrating the global relevance of his humanist art and demonstrating how he confronted crucial aspects of the social history of his time from the New Deal to the Cold War. On Nonconformity adapts the title of one of Shahn's own statements on his aesthetic and cultural position, “against conformity.” Shahn asserted the necessity of the American ideal of critical dissent through art that was essential to life in a democratic society. This exhibition reviews the work of this major American artist of his time and makes a case for the profound affirmation of the need for activism through as a pathway to change. 

The exhibition is curated by Stephen Brown, Curator, The Jewish Museum, together with Guest Curator Dr. Laura Katzman, who directed the recent Ben Shahn exhibition at the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid.

Connecting Art, Culture, and Community at the Jewish Museum (Working Title)

Fall 2025

Following a comprehensive reimagination, renovation, and expansion of public spaces on its third and fourth floors, the Jewish Museum debuts a new collection installation exploring the points of convergence that have shaped the cultural heritage of the Jewish diaspora across more than 3,500 years. On view throughout its third floor, Connecting Art, Culture, and Community at the Jewish Museum (working title) features a dynamic dialogue of works from the Museum’s holdings, from ritual objects steeped in history to large-scale contemporary works, curated within a loosely chronological, thematic trajectory, including topics such as the importance of ritual and community, experiences of exodus and persecution, the creation of new visual languages, and the multifaceted nature of Jewish identity across the globe. 

In conjunction with the third floor collection reinstallation, the Museum also debuts a new installation of works from the collection on the fourth floor – in gallery settings, where the public will be able to experience art and objects from the collection used for teaching and learning as part of a wholly new Teaching and Learning Center. A central display of 140 Hanukkah lamps, drawn from the Museum’s renowned holdings, anchors the experience and illustrates the central meaning of light in Jewish life. Together, these reimagined floors reflect a new vision for the Museum that places learning, convening, and exchange at the center of its activities, unifying the work of artists from diverse cultures worldwide to stimulate dialogue and promote understanding among visitors of all backgrounds and lived experiences. 

Currently on View

Draw Them In, Paint Them Out: Trenton Doyle Hancock Confronts Philip Guston

November 8, 2024 – March 30, 2025 

This exhibition places the work of painter Philip Guston (American, b. Canada 1913-1980), the child of Jewish immigrants from Odessa (present-day Ukraine), in dialogue with the work of Trenton Doyle Hancock (American, b. 1974), a leading Black contemporary artist based in Houston, Texas, examining their shared commitment to investigating the legacy of racism, antisemitism, and white supremacism in the United States.  Separated by more than 60 years, Guston's work resonates decades later and in moving ways as a source of inspiration for Hancock. The exhibition features key works by Guston, including his now iconic, satirical Ku Klux Klan paintings, hanging alongside major works Hancock created in response to his inspirational mentor. By highlighting the artists’ shared visual language, the exhibition exposes their parallel thematic explorations of the nature of evil, self-representation, and otherness. 

Dates and details are subject to change. For the most up-to-date information, please contact the press team.