The Jewish Museum is temporarily closed.
The Jewish Museum is temporarily closed.
1109 5th Ave at 92nd St
New York, NY 10128
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Plan your visit to the Jewish Museum and discover the intersection of art and Jewish culture Learn More
Plan a unique, unforgettable experience at the Jewish Museum for your group with a guided tour of one of our current or upcoming exhibitions. Works of art on view are brought to life through a lively docent-led tour, elaborating on themes addressed in the galleries.
Plan a VisitExhibition Tour
Modern Look: Photography and the American Magazine
Through over 150 works, explore how photography, graphic design, and popular magazines converged to transform American visual culture from 1930 to 1960.
Exhibition Tour
Combating Hate, Fostering Understanding
This exhibition, organized by artist Jonathan Horowitz, explores artists’ responses to social injustice from the early 20th century to now.
Exhibition Tour
Rachel Feinstein: Maiden, Mother, Crone
This fall, the Jewish Museum presents the first survey of New York-based artist Rachel Feinstein, featuring three decades of sculpture, installation, painting, drawing, and video.
Exhibition Tour
Scenes from the Collection
The Jewish Museum’s rotating collection exhibition features nearly 600 works from antiquities to contemporary art — many of which are on view for the first time.
Exhibition Tour
Combating Hate, Fostering Understanding
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Jonathan Horowitz, Power, 2019, UV print on PVC board, vinyl sticker.
Consider the ways in which artists, from the 1930s to today, have shed light on and counteracted intolerance, including anti-Semitism and discrimination against people of color, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community. View political posters, paintings, sculpture, and more inWe Fight to Build a Free World: An Exhibition by Jonathan Horowitz
Tours may highlight themes of social justice, historical memory, and political activism.
Exhibition Visit
Fantasy and Storytelling in Art
Rachel Feinstein, Mr. Time (detail), 2015.
Make connections between stories and art in the exhibition Rachel Feinstein: Maiden, Mother, Crone. View large scale sculptures and paintings that draw inspiration from fairy tales and other narratives. Tours for elementary school groups focus on creativity, imagination, and experimentation with materials. Middle and high school groups consider themes such as religion, motherhood, and feminist ideologies.
Exhibition Visit
Scenes from the Collection
Nicole Eisenman, Seder, 2010.
Examine highlights from the Museum’s acclaimed collection of nearly 30,000 objects in this innovative exhibition which presents antiquities, ritual objects, and visual art from around the world. On view this fall are works by Andy Warhol, Alex Katz, and George Segal, alongside paintings, photography, and sculpture by Kehinde Wiley, Deborah Kass, and Nicole Eisenman. Tours may focus on exhibition themes of global cultural connections and shared experiences or on a specific medium or time period.
Art: Materials and Process
Art & Social Justice
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George Segal, Abraham and Isaac (in Memory of May 4, 1970, Kent State University), 1978, plaster, cloth, rope, metal, and acrylic paint. Gift of the George and Helen Segal Foundation.
Explore ways that artists address social and political issues and even advocate for change through their works of art. Students examine art made in response to historical events and movements; to intolerance; to representations of gender, identity, and race; and to social conventions and customs.
English Language Arts
Signs and Symbols
Hanukkah Lamp, India, end of the 19th-20th century.
From the six-pointed star to eagles and lions, symbolic imagery can convey personal, cultural, and historic meaning. Students decode and discuss these powerful symbols as they appear in art, including paintings and ritual objects.
BOOK TOUR
Art: Materials and Process
The Art of the Book
Prayer Hymn for Alexander I, Benjamin Nathansohn, Vilnius (Lithuania), 1818, ink and paint on silk; brocade cover.
In this studio-based workshop, students examine parchments, reed pens, and the natural resources used to produce medieval books. Students view original manuscripts in the galleries, grind natural pigments such as saffron or malachite using a mortar and pestle, and illuminate their own works of art with gold leaf.
Art: Materials and Process
Materials in Art
Harriete Estel Berman, Alms Container, 1999.
Students compare works of art in a variety of media and consider the choices artists make. Tours may explore art from ancient to contemporary, from paintings and photographs to sculptures created from lightbulbs and other everyday objects.
History and Global Studies
Immigration Past and Present
Maurycy Minkowski, After the Pogrom, c. 1910.
Art can offer new perspectives on the experiences of immigrants by focusing on themes such as assimilation and collective identity. Through close looking and discussion, students reflect upon the personal and communal experience of immigration and make connections between historical movements and contemporary issues.
History and Global Studies
Remembering the Holocaust
Abshalom Jac Lahav, Anne Frank, 2007.
Students discuss, interpret, and establish connections between the events of World War II and works of art and artifacts related to the Holocaust.
History and Global Studies
Number the Stars
Michael David, Warsaw, 1980, pigment and wax on Masonite. The Jewish Museum, New York.
Elementary school students reading Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars focus on issues of resistance and hope through an exploration of age-appropriate works on view.
Ritual and Ceremony
Festivals of Light
Rod Baer, Every December, Hanukkah Lamp, 1995.
Explore the role of light in the Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa holidays and view the Museum’s spectacular collection of Hanukkah lamps. Groups may request to focus solely on Hanukkah.
Ritual and Ceremony
Ceremonial Objects
Reddish Studio: Naama Steinbock and Idan Friedman, Menorah (Candlesticks United Hanukiyah), Hanukkah Lamp, 2011.
Examine ritual objects and related paintings, exploring how artists merge artistic style with function. Students learn about Jewish culture and ceremonies through an examination of traditional objects.
BOOK TOUR
Identity
People and Portraits
Reuven Rubin, Goldfish Vendor, 1928.
Consider how artists depict people, using the gestures, facial expressions, and body language of their subjects to communicate ideas and emotions. Compare and contrast works in different media to explore how artistic choices impact the viewer’s experience.
Identity
Art and Identity
Raphael Soyer, Dancing Lesson, 1926.
Students consider personal, collective, and cultural identity through an examination of paintings, sculptures, or photographs. Tours may address issues of assimilation, stereotypes and discrimination, and heritage.
English Language Arts
Objects Tell Stories
Wedding Sofa from North Germany, possibly Danzig (Gdansk, Poland).
Students examine works of art and cultural artifacts in the Jewish Museum’s collection as primary sources to learn more about their historical and artistic contexts and the stories they reveal.
English Language Arts
Writing Through Art
Ken Aptekar, I Hate The Name Kenneth, 1996.
By analyzing works of art, students gain insight into how art can inspire creative writing and how writing can be a powerful means of engaging with the visual world. Tours may focus on poetry, narrative, and language development.
Archaeology and Ancient Civilizations
Ancient Civilizations
Bottle, Eastern Mediterranean, 2nd-3rd century C.E, free-blown glass.
The past comes alive through a close examination of original artifacts from ancient communities. Students consider pottery, mosaics, and glassware as evidence of societal change and daily life in ancient times.
Archaeology and Ancient Civilizations
Archaeological Dig
Horse Figurine, Israel, 1000-586 B.C.E., clay: hand-formed, incised, and fired. The Jewish Museum, New York, purchase: gift of the Betty and Max Ratner Collection, 1981-223.
Students make connections between past and present, discover artifacts from ancient cultures, and learn about excavations in the Museum’s hands-on, simulated archaeological dig.
To schedule a visit for your students or camp group, please fill out the Tour Request form. If you have additional questions, please contact us at schedulingcoordinator@thejm.org or 212.423.3270.
Plan a VisitPicturing People
Reuven Rubin, Goldfish Vendor, 1928
Learn how body language, facial expressions, gestures, and even clothing convey meaning in portraits. Tours may include a visit to Modern Look: Photography and the American Magazine featuring photographs by Richard Avedon, Margaret Bourke-White, Robert Frank, Gordon Parks, Irving Penn, and others.
From Ordinary to Extraordinary
Matthew McCaslin, Being The Light, 2000
Encounter unusual materials and everyday objects used to create amazing works of art. Tours may explore art from ancient to contemporary and from paintings and photographs to sculptures.
Digging for Treasures
Lamp, Israel, second half 3rd-5th century C.E. Clay: mold-formed and fired, 2 1/4 × 5 1/2 × 4 1/4 in. (5.7 × 14 × 10.8 cm) The Jewish Museum, New York Gift of the Betty and Max Ratner Collection, 1981-75
Discover artifacts from long ago in the Museum’s hands-on, simulated archaeological dig. Examine objects from ancient cultures, and learn about the tools and techniques of archaeologists.
The Jewish Museum invites professors and students to engage with our collection and special exhibitions through close looking, guided conversations, and studio workshops. Our university programs aim to provide accessible and flexible formats for incorporating art in the Museum into teaching, learning, and making.
Conversations with Art
University classes may book hour-long visits to our temporary exhibitions or permanent collection, guided by the Museum’s educators and curators. Conversations with Art can be tailored to specific class topics.
Studio Workshops
We offer university studio workshops in tandem with our special exhibitions. Following a guided conversation about art on view in the Museum, students participate in related creative practices by making their own work with a teaching artist in our studio.