Newly acquired portrait of American Jewish leader & Philadelphian Rebecca Gratz to be featured in tour, alongside other objects that illuminate the Jewish experience
WHEN: Wednesdays, December 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Rosenbach Museum & Library,2008-2010 Delancey Place, Philadelphia
INFO: House Tours are free with museum admission. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $5 for students and free for children under 5. For more information, please call (215) 732-1600 or visit www.rosenbach.org.
WHAT: Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Museum & Librarywill present From Menschen to Mezuzahs: Jewish History Tours of the Historic House, a unique holiday tour for all audiences, secular or religious, each Wednesday in December from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. From Menschen to Mezuzahswill feature a close-look at portraiture, silver, and other objects from the museum’s collection which tell a story of the Jewish experience, in addition to eccentric tales of the Rosenbach brothers,A.S.W. and Phillip Rosenbach.
The museum’s docent led Historic House tours guide small groups of visitors through the beautifully-appointed period rooms of the Rosenbach’s 19th-century townhouse.Objects explored in From Menschen to Mezuzahs include:
- Portraits of the Gratz Family,a prominent early American Jewish family who lived in Philadelphia, painted by Thomas Sully, Gilbert Stuart, and George Peter Alexander Healy.
- A Hebrew grammar book written by Judah Monis, North America’s first instructor of Hebrew, who taught at Harvard College from 1722 to 1760.
- A silver salver by Myer Myers, who along with Paul Revere and Joseph Richardson, was one of the leading silversmiths of America in the 18th century. In the 1760’s he began to create the ritual silver for the old and established synagogues in New York, Newport and Philadelphia. Myers’s Torah finials were extraordinary examples of 18th century American Jewish silver.
- Hand forged gates by Philadelphia artisan, Samuel Yellin.
The Rosenbach’s recent acquisition of two artistically and culturally significant portraits originally belonging to the Gratz Family will be a highlight of the tour. The paintings include a visually stunning portrait of philanthropist, social activist, and Jewish leader Rebecca Gratz painted in 1831 by Thomas Sully, and a portrait of her brother, Joseph Gratz by George Peter Alexander Healy (not dated). Both portraits were originally painted in Philadelphia, and documentation suggests the portrait of Rebecca Gratz has not been displayed on public view since 1922 and the portrait of Joseph Gratz has never been exhibited. After two generations apart, the portraits of Rebecca and Joseph joined the portraits of other Gratz family members in the Rosenbach’s collection on November 9, 2010.
Judaica & Rosenbachiana
Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach,founder of the Rosenbach Museum & Library, formed a highly important collection of early American Judaica. He gave the bulk of this collection to the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) in 1931. Nonetheless, significant Judaica remain at the Rosenbach, including several Hebrew incunabula, the Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695 (the first with a map of the Exodus), and the first Hebrew grammar printed in the United States (1731). Correspondence in the Rosenbachiana collection documents family members’ participation in organizations ranging from Philadelphia’s Congregation Mikveh Israel to the AJHS and the American Friends of the Hebrew University.
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