Art & Home Decor
All of the artifacts in this gallery were used to decorate people's homes. Each object is art, whether it is used as a wall hanging or a table setting. Some of these are pictures or paintings of our ancestors. Others have some Jewish cultural significance, some are merely decorative.
Our families made some of these artifacts, and some were received as gifts. But overall, these are all pieces of art that have some sort of historical significance to our families.
Viewers
New York
Ann Dicker
These were passed down in my family for years, from my great-grandmother to my grandmother to my father. This is an account of who my great grandparents were, because there are not many pictures of them.
My great grandparents, Ann and Harry, got married in 1933. For their 25th anniversary, this was a gift from Harry to Ann. Inside each of the capsules is a picture of them, one in a garden and one in front of a curtain. There is another set of these featuring pictures of their wedding at my grandmother's house.
"Henchie's Kitchen" Sign
Delray, Florida
Henchie Glazer
My mother and my family use this artifact to remember my great grandmother by hanging on the fridge. It brings back memories of her and how much she loved to cook foods like mandel bread.
This was given to my great-grandmother as a gift for moving to Delray, Florida. My mother really loved my great grandmother and wrote to her every week. When she died, mother asked for some of her things, but her car was too full to carry everything, so she only took this sign. To this day, there is a box of my great grandmother's possessions in my grandmother's basement for my family to take.
Sewing Room Knick Knack
Probably New York
Anne D.
Anne's mother thought it was important for a young Jewish girl to learn household chores, particularly how to sew. To Anne this gift served as a reminder from her mother of how to be a proper woman and become a mother of a family. This was passed down to my grandmother, who dutifully also learned how to sew, and to my father in memory of his grandmother Anne.
My great-grandmother, Anne was among the first of her family to venture into America with her many brothers and sisters. At the time, sewing was considered an important skill for a young woman to have in order to be able to have a proper family. As a gift and reminder from her mother, Anne received a small metal replica of a sewing room which opened to reveal a small iron for a doll. This gift signified the beginning of Anne's journey into adulthood.
Clown Painting
Merrick, New York, USA
Larry Z.
This painting is a reminder of my grandfather Seymour who died in the late 1970's. The painting was given to Larry, the friend Seymour bet with. Until three years ago, Larry and his wife kept the painting in their main household but they grew elderly and decided to move. They gave the painting back to Seymour's wife Helen, who gave it to her daughter Madeline. Madeline is my mother and she keeps the painting hung in our living room as a tribute to her father Seymour.
My grandfather Seymour painted this painting just after the 1960 election between Kennedy and Nixon. Seymour made a bet with his friend Larry. The bet claimed that if Nixon lost and Kennedy won, Seymour would have to make a painting. Since Kennedy won, Seymour spent two years painting his take on Picasso's painting, "Harlequin".
Portrait of Grandmother
New York
Natalie S.
This portrait was from around 1925 when my grandmother was a dancer.
The portrait if important because it is a memory from almost 90 years ago. It is her dancer portrait and she was about 18 years old.
Picture of Tailor Shop
Baltimore, MD
Celia B.
In this picture, my great grandmother and her siblings are working in a tailor shop. This takes place in Baltimore, Maryland.
This is a picture of my great grandmother (My grandfathers mother). This photograph is part of an exhibit in the Baltimore Jewish Museum.
Picture Frame, with Picture of Rabbi
Israel or the Bronx
David R. M.
My great grandmother, Mae, got this in the Catskill mountains, in NY. It was passed down to my grandpa. It was on the wall of Mae's house, and my grandfather's son, my dad, remembers seeing it on the wall of her house.
This shows the rabbi's role, interpreting the Torah, which is what my grandpa grew up doing. He was raised in a kosher household and was quite Jewish, and this represents his Jewish heritage, which was how he was raised. It represents him. It represents a tradition.