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Jewish name no barrier
for art gallery’s success
by David Schwartz
Art galleries draw crowds these
days, but what is art? It’s not
anything you can eat or wear.
Israel Zangwill said “art is truth
seen as beauty.”
So art is concerned with
important things—truth and
beauty. One thing that stands out
above all about art is that it is
universalistic. You may not be able
to understand a Frenchman’s
language or a Chinese speaking
but there is no difficulty in
understanding and appreciating
their art. The language of art
transcends all national, racial or
religious boundaries.
So art is worthy of some
appreciating. Anyway, Joe
Hirshhorn did almost all of his life.
Hirshhorn came from Riga.
Russia. In America he first lived in
Brooklyn and it was at the early
age of 17 that he invested a hard
earned $75 for two engravings that
impressed him. That was the
beginning of a kind of love affair
with art that has continued even up
to today—at an age close to 80.
Year after year, he added to the
collection. His business affairs,
which had nothing to do with art,
prospered, so he had money to
purchase more and more pictures
and sculptures.
One day in President Johnson’s
Administration, Joe Hirshorn
visited the White House. He
wanted to present his art
collection, estimated then to be
worth $50 million—now double
that amount-to America.
President Johnson naturally
was pleased and worked to get
Congress to provide a building for
the proposed new gallery and there
was general praise of the President
for having secured the collection.
It was known that England and
other countries were anxious for it.
Yet not much later, there was a
flood of criticism about the
project. Any and every kind of
statement was made. The
collection, it was said, was of an
inferior quality. Also the site
chosen for the new gallery could be
better used. The gallery, it was
said, was sure to prove a great flop.
Few would ever visit it.
Hirshhorn was told by many
others that if he didn’t insist on the
gallery bearing his name, there
would be smooth sailing.
Damn it, no, said Hirshhorn.
This had been his whole life. There
were other museums, the Whitney,
the Corcoran, the Smithsonian
named for individuals who had
established them. Why shouldn’t
the art gallery have his name?
Joe Hirshhorn finally of course
had his way. The prophecies that
the art museum would be a failure
are now proven ridiculous. Anne
Lewis, art critic of the Washington
Post writes that the Hirshhorn Art
Gallery had a bigger attendance
last year than the Museum of
Modern Art in New York.
The idea of attacking a museum
because it bears a Jewish name
seems so utterly stupid.
What would Rembrandt have
thought of it? Recently the press
reported the many millions asked
for Rembrandt’s picture, The
Rabbi. No doubt, Rembrandt
knew that the rabbi had a Jewish
name. Most rabbis do. Rembrandt
painted many pictures of Jews
which are today most prized
possessions of art galleries.
Chagall is probably one of the
top living painters of the world
today. He, being a Jew, has also a
Jewish name. Rothko, Gottlieb,
Newman — top figures of
American art—also are Jewish
names. Not only that, they were
Jews.
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