Tercentenary Exhibit Opens at Art institute

• MD

Early Americ tn Jewish Silver, and
Portraits Included in Collection;
Lecture by Miss Bortman April 18

Charles E. Feinberg, chairman
of the committee arranging the
exhibitions in celebration of the
American Jewish Tercentenary,
announces that the exhibit
which opened at the Detroit In-
stitute of Arts, Woodward and
Kirby, on Wednesday, will con-
tinue through May 1.
The exhibition, presented by
the Art Institute with the coop-
eration of the Detroit Committee
of 300 for the American Jewish
Tercentenary, commemorates the
celebration of the first settlement
of Jews in the present United
States when the French armed
vessel Saint Charles brought 23
Sephardic (Spanish and Portu-
guese) Jews from Recife in
Brazil to New Amsterdam (now
New York) in September, 1654.

The pieces of Revere silver and
most of the silver by Myer
Myers (1723-1795) come from
the celebrated collection of Mr.
and Mrs. Mark Bortman cf
Boston, Mass., who has gener-
ously lent so many objects
from his collection to this ex-
hibition: 25 pieces of silver; a
miniature of Rachel Gratz by
Edward Malbone, over a score
of silhouettes, including a
hitherto unknown portrait of
Edouart the silhouettist, made
by himself in Edinburgh, and
some portraits in oils of Jewish
subjects, as well as two fine
profile crayon portraits of Mrs.
Samson Levy, Sr., and her son,
Samson Levy, Jr., by Saint-
Memin.

In presenting this exhibition
The Detroit Institute of Arts
joins with the Detroit Commit-
tee for the American Jewish
Tercentenary in celebrating
the part played by the Jews
as creative artists and as
patrons of the arts in the peri- -
od before 1850.
•
Throughout the United States

Other oil portraits and minia-
tures, as well as important his-

many such exhibitions have been
held during the Tercentenary
Year, 1954-1955, some very ex-
tensive, some limited in scope,
all making a contribution to the
story that is of meaning to all
Americans, the part played by
the Jews in the culture of Amer-
ica.
The present exhibition at the

Detroit Institute of Arts is not
large but it includes some
works of art of prime import-
ance in the story of American
silversmithing and portraiture.
It presents the largest gather-
ing of silver of Myer Myers,
distinguished 18th Century
New York silversmith of Jewish
family, yet seen in Detroit. It
has also a group of miniature
portraits of Jewish subjects,
more extensive than any ever
shown at The Detroit Institute
of Arts.

It shows for the first time
in Detroit the large collection
of silhouette portraits of nota-
ble Jews of the middle of the
19th century made by Augustin
Edouart, the celebrated French
silhouettist who cut so many
life-like profile portraits, usu-
ally in full length, in the urban
centers of the United States in
the 1840's (Saratoga, New York,
Boston, Baltimore, Washington,
and elsewhere). And there will
also be examples of the silver
made by Paul Revere about
1783 for Moses Michael Hayes,
the noted Jewish business man
of New York, Newport, and
Boston in the 18th century.

torical documents and early
printed bookS in Hebrew, have
been lent by the American Jew-
ish Historical Society of New
York, through the cooperation of
the Librarian, Rabbi. Isidore S.
Meyer.
Local collections will contrib-
ute to the exhibition : two paint-
ings (a portrait of Mrs. Aaron
Lopez and her son, Joshua, by
Gilbert Stuart, and a self-por-
trait by Frederick E. Cohen, mid-
19th century Detroit:artist), and
a piece of Myers silver from the
Detroit Institute ,of Arts; a silver
salver by Myer Myers from the
Henry Ford Museum -in Dear-
born; a Myer Myers silver bowl
from the collection of Mr. and
Mrs. Lawrence A. Fleischman;
and items from the Collection of
Charles E. Feinberg and from the
Harvey and Ethel Goldman Col-
lection of Temple Beth El.

On Monday evening, April 18,
Miss Jane Bortman of Boston,
Mass., will present an illus-
trated lecture on the contribu-
tion of the Jews to the early
.artistic heritage of America.
This will be held in the lecture
hall of the Detroit Institute of
Arts, and -will be followed by a
reception, under the joint aus-
pices of the Arts Commission
of the - City of Detroit, the
Trustees of the Detroit Muse-
um of Art Founders Society
and the Detroit Committee for
the American Jewish Tercen-
tenary.

.

The exhibition-has been assem-
bled by Francis W. Robinson,
Curator at the Detroit Institute
of Arts, with the cooperation of
Philip Slomowitz, chairman of
the Detroit Committee for the
American Jewish Tercentenary,
and . of Mr. Feinberg, chairman
of Tercentenary exhibitions for
the Detroit committee.

To Dedicate New Davison Gym at
Annual Jewish Center Meeting

-

•'; ■ :*:**Wio&

..........

View of a portion of Davison Jewish Center showing new gym-
nasium at left,

Harvey H. Goldman, president,
announces that the annual meet-
ing of the Jewish Community
Center will be held on Sunday,
April 24, 2 p.m. in the Davison
Building. Members and their
friends are invited.
The program will feature the
dedication of the new Davison
gymnasium. As a demonstration
of the- many uses of the gym,
the dedication will be highlight-
ed by • exhibitions of boxing,

tumbling, basketball, volleyball
and fencing.
Of special interest will be this
presentation of plans for new
Jewish Community Center build-
ings.
The 'meeting also will include
awards to volunteers, election of
directors to the board, the pres-
ident's annual report, and the
Hannah Schloss Old Timers' re-
port. The program will close
with a reception.

Miss Bortman to Speak
At Tercentenary Show
At Institute of Arts

Miss Jane Bortman, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Bortman
of Boston, whose collection of art

Around the World . • •

A digest of current worldwide news reported by the Jewish

Telegraphic Agency.

United States

UNITED NATIONS—Major General Burns, head of the,U.N.

truce observance organization for Palestine, calls mine-laying the
worst border problem. He has recommended mixed Israel-Arab-
U.N. patrols to deal with the practice.
WASHINGTON—The Jewish Labor Committee has urged
Secretary Dulles and High Commissioner Conant to investigate
charges that West German publishers are issuing memoirs of
leading Nazis and other literature glorifying Nazism. J.L.C. asks
whether denazification has failed . . . With ratification of the Paris
pacts, the U.S. may return to the Bonn government masses of
Nazi documents seized at the end of World War II. Jewish re-
searchers fear that, unless photostats are made, a huge store of
information on the Nazis' program of hate and mass murder will
be lost.
NEW YORK—A two-day Labor Zionist Assembly, to map fu-
ture activities in the U.S. and Canada, will open here, April 30 ...
New York University's convocation to commemorate the Tercen-
tenary has awarded honorary degrees to Ambassador Eban of
Israel and four American Jewish leaders: rabbis Leo Jung and
David deSola Pool, Surrogate Maximilian Moss of N.Y. and Pres.
Abraham A. Neuman of Dropsie College ... The Gustav Wuerzweiler
Foundation has granted $100,000 to erect' a new wing of the
Shaare Zedek Hospital, the only institution in the Jerusalem area
with an isolation ward.

Israel

TEL AVIV—Defense and Education Ministry officials con-

MISS JANE BORTMAN

objects is being displayed at the
Tercentenary Art Exhibition at
the Detroit Institute of Arts, will
be guest speaker at a special
program on April 18.
Miss Bortman will give an il-
lustrated lecture on the numer-
ous display articles and on her
father's collec t i o n, following
which a reception will be held.
The exhibit will be viewed _from
7:30 to 9 p.m., that evening,
after which the reception will
conclude the program.
A graduate of Smith College,
Miss Bortman also did under-
graduate work at University of
Geneva, Switzerland, and took
post graduate studies - at Rad-
cliffe College.
• She' has appeared widely as a
lecturer since 1952, has written
newspaper and magazine articles
on early Jewish art in the
United States and also has been
viewed on television.

Dr. Decter Speaks
in Series Finale

ferred here on plans to assign two weeks of agricultural work
annually to all secondary school students . . . The Israel-Egyptian
Mixed Armistice Commission has condemned Egypt for a mine
ambush of an Israel vehicle in the Gaza border region on March
27. Shortly before the decision another such incident occurred
. High officials reviewed a parade of over 10,000 Jewish veterans
of World Wars I and II on the tenth anniversary- of the Jewish
Brigade's entrance into battle on the Italian front . . The first
anniversary of the establishment of the Argentine village in Israel
was marked in a special ceremony. Two streets were named for
Presidents Peron and Ben Zvi.

JERUSALEM—The Israel Cabinet has authorized Premier
Sharett to negotiate with labor and management to end a
paralyzing strike. at Israel's newest deep sea port, on the Kishon
River adjoining Haifa Bay .. Israel's Supreme Court refused to
invalidate a government order dissolving the municipal council
here and creating a temporary commission to administer munici-
pal functions . . . Israel and Spain have approved an agreement
for the extension of- mutural credits of $560,000 . . . All_ children
between six months and three years, whose parents give per-
mission, will be inoculated with the Salk vaccine against polio.
The vaccine was a gift to Israel from the U.S. National Founda-
tion for Infantile Paralysis . . . Israel's income tax receipts are
expected to increase in 1955-56 as a result of greater efficiency in
collection, despite decreases in individual assessments ... Prof.
Benjamin Mazar has been re-elected president of the Hebrew
University. Dr. George S. Wise, head of the American Friends of
the University, has been named president of the Board of. Gover-
nors A delegation from the American dental fraternity, Alpha
Omega, has arrived here. Alpha Omega plans a $300,000 drive to
enlarge the Israel Dental School . . . Israel archaeologists have
unearthed a 2,000-year-old palace of Herod the Great. The ruins
include the earliest mosaics yet found in Israel.

.

Europe

GENEVA—Dr. Nahum- Goldmann, at an international con-
ference to eradicate discrimination, declared that discrimination
cannot be wiped out by "generalized propaganda alone" or "an
appeal only to good sense." He stressed that laws are required
in the battle. The conference's resolution for the formation of
international bodies to hear complaints on prejudice and dis-
crimination is now being considered at the annual meeting of
the UN Commission on Human Rights.
VIENNA—Dr. Emil Maurer, president of the Vienna Jewish
Community, has charged Austrian Chancellor Julius Raab with
greatly exaggerating the compensation given Jewish sufferers
from Nazism. Maurer is concerned about the attitude the Austrian
government will take in negotiations set for May 5 with the Jew-
ish Claims Committee.
LONDONSi • Anthony Eden announced British adherence
to the Turkish-Iraqi defense pact, but said it would be "rather
difficult" to discuss now the question of a similar pact with
Israel, and other Arab countries. •
FRANKFURT—The local Superior Court has upheld a prece-
dent-setting decision invalidating the Hitler-era sale of a Jewish-
owned publishing house to a high-ranking Nazi.
BONN—Additional payments have now been authorized for
claims of Nazi victims who are over 60 years old, indigent, or
suffering from invalidity that has cut their earning power by at
least half . . . The Federal Republic of West Germany has incor-
porated into its penal code the provisions of the U.N. convention
against genocide, the crime which Germany originated.
MUNICH—The first family to quit Foehrenwald for Israel
under a plan for previously unacceptable "hard-core" cases is now
on its way to a kibbutz. Foehrenwald is the last Jewish DP center
in Germany.
BERLIN—Dr. Nahum Goldmann conferred with Berlin's
mayor, Dr. Suhr, on a global settlement of claims for heirless
and communal Jewish property.

"Looking Forward— the Next
-50 Years of Labor Zionism" will
be the theme of Dr. Aaron Dec-
ter, who haS just returned from
Israel, izl, the concluding ad-
dress of the Labor Zionist For,
urn, at 8:3(1 p.m., MOnday in
the Davison Jewish Center.
Marking the 50th 'Jubilee Year
of Labor Zion-
ism in- America,
Dr. Decter, edi-
tor of "Israel
Speaks," will
talk on the role;
of Labor Zion-,,
ism on the
American scene
in 1955.
Dr. Decter
long active in
Jewish and Is-
raeli affairs,
participated i n
wartime Hagan- Dr. Decter
ah activities and helped in the
rescue work from the D.P.
Camps. He also played a leading
role in organizing the. "Emer-
gency Conference to Save 'the
Jewish People in Europe."
He has studied at Harvard,
the Sorbonne in Paris, Hebrew
University in Jerusalem, and at
Middle East
the Dropsie College of Jewish
ISTANBUL—An Israel trade delegation arrived here and
and Cognate Studies in Phila-
delphia. He is secretary of the placed orders for large quantities of Turkish products.
American Friends of Givat Ha-
South Africa
sofar, the Writers Center in Is-
JOHANNESBURG—Thousands of local Jews turned out for
rael.
functions welcoming crewmen and officers of the Israel frigate,
Michigan was the first state Misgav, first Israel naval vessel to pay a goodwill visit to South
in the country to make provi- African ports.
sion in its earliest constitution
for a state library• -
20-DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, April 8, 1955

