Chiara A.
Yelp
I went to The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life before a film class last Friday. Must make another return visit and spend more time to write a through updated review. My first impression is that the museum is still a work in progress. I like the layout: The books and the archives look like a museum exhibit/display here with the central museum exhibit in the centre upon entering. I get the impression that the exhibits will change, that will be very interesting to see. In the back, when one comes in, there is a art movie room and on the left, an auditorium. Other areas are meeting rooms and offices, which are not open to the public unless one has an appointment, I believe.
I saw a lot of art oil portraits there. Many of them were family portraits in the library and archive rooms which were locked up.
In the museum section, which is right in the centre, among the artifacts displayed is a portrait by Sarah Samuels Stein of Theresa Ehrman, who taught Mrs. Stein's son, Allan, to play piano during the years in France. I learned that Ms. Ehrman was a teenager when she travelled to France with the Steins and met many of the artists who were associated with the Steins. Lucky lady! Ms. Ehrman's papers are open to researchers to look at, contact the Magnes for more details. Here is the Magnes's blog entry on Ms. Erhman's papers: http://blog.magnes.org/opensourceblog/?p=661
(I wish and hope I will be among future researchers to peruse those papers! I am very interested in knowing about her time and experiences with the Stein Family in France.)
If it was not for the fact I had to rush of to a class, I would have spent more time and soak up the atmosphere. I will have to make another return here. Oh, it is free admission to The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, open on Wednesdays thru Sundays from 12:00 to 4:00 P.M; open Thursdays from 12:00 to 7:00 P.M.
I shall return. . . .