Standing Horse with Jeweled Trappings, ca. 1911-1927. Marcus Charles Illions (1865/1874–1949). Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. Paint and metallic leaf on wood with jewels and glass eyes. 59 1/2 x 70 x 19". The Charlotte Dinger Collection, I1-B. Photo by August Bandal, New York.
Decalogue, Lions, and Large Crown, 1882. Artist unidentified. Probably Ohio. Paint and gold paint on wood. 38 x 66 x 3”. Hillel Jewish Student Center, Cincinnati, gift in memory of Jack Katz by his wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, 1989.035. Photo by Mark Bealer, Cincinnati.
Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses: The Synagogue to the Carousel
May 24, 2008 - September 1, 2008
Fenimore
From the shtetlach (villages) of Eastern Europe to the boisterous shores of New York’s Coney Island, immigrant Jewish artisans brought with them a vital and meaningful artistic tradition that helped bridge the transition from the Old World to the New. “Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses: The Synagogue to the Carousel” traces the journey of Jewish woodcarvers and other artists from Eastern and Central Europe to America and the unsung role they played in establishing a distinct Jewish visual culture in communities throughout the United States. As Jewish immigrants struggled to balance the continuation of an observant life with the realities of adjusting to a new environment, artists responded to the vigorous pull of the spiritual and the secular through the perpetuation of familiar forms and the new application of traditional artmaking skills. It was within this powerful dynamic that a surprising link was forged between the synagogue and the carousel.
This exhibition is organized by the American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY. Major support for the exhibition and accompanying catalog was provided by Michael Steinhardt; Kekst and Company; the David Berg Foundation; the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation; the Smart Family Foundation; the Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation, Allentown, Pennsylvania; the Betty and John A. Levin Fund; the Robert Lehman Foundation; the Nathan Cummings Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts; and the New York Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
