30 | MAY 5 • 2022

OUR COMMUNITY

B

arbara Madgy Cohn,
a trained docent at
the Detroit Institute
of Arts (DIA), has been to
the museum many times, but
a few years ago, she noticed
for the first time four paint-
ings that included Hebrew
writing. An art history spe-
cialist with a master’s degree
in museum studies from
Johns Hopkins University,
Cohn undertook research to
learn about the meaning and
context of these paintings.
This led her to devel-
op a Jewish-themed art
tour at the DIA for the
Jewish Historical Society of
Michigan (JHSM); she is one
of its vice presidents. The
first tour in 2019 was enthu-
siastically received with 80
participants and a waiting
list. Unfortunately, the pan-
demic meant that additional
tours were put on hold.
But now, JHSM is plan-
ning to start the tours
again in June. Recently,
Cohn led a pilot tour with
JHSM members Ron Elkus,
who has served as a JHSM
docent; Jeannie Weiner, a
JHSM vice president; and
Suzanne Curtis, who serves
on its board of directors.
The group viewed a diverse
selection of paintings with
Jewish themes, such as The
Jewish Cemetery by Jacob van
Ruisdael, Ben Shahn’s Book
Shop, and portraits of Samson
and Delilah with Hebrew
names above them.

Cohn views the art tour
as “a way to connect with
the DIA in a new way.” The
museum has one of the
largest and most prestigious
collections in the U.S. with
65,000 works of art.
In addition to paintings
with Jewish themes and ref-
erences, including biblical
stories, Cohn pointed out
several works of art origi-
nally owned by European
Jews that were taken from
them by the Nazis and later
“restituted”— returned to
the original owners or their
descendants. In 1950, the

DIA was the first U.S. muse-
um to return a piece of Nazi-
looted art, a painting by
Claude Monet, to its rightful
owner.
The DIA’s very famous
and popular Detroit Industry
murals, which adorn the
walls of the Rivera Court,
have a Jewish connection.
The murals painted by Diego
Rivera include portrayals of
Henry and Edsel Ford. But
they also depict a tool and
die worker named Harry
Glicksman — an Orthodox
Jew who worked at Ford
from 1916 to 1952. Cohn

Jewish Historical Society plans to restart
Jewish-themed tours.
Art Tours at the DIA

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ABOVE:
Barbara Cohn
describes fea-
tures of Diego
Rivera’s mural
to Ron Elkus
and Jeannie
Weiner.

RIGHT: Jeannie
Weiner and
Suzanne Curtis
at the DIA.