Talk and Tour with the Jewish Museum: Edith Halpert and the Rise of American Art

A pioneer in the field and the first significant female gallerist in the United States, Edith Halpert propelled American art to the forefront at a time when the European avant-garde still enthralled the world.

The artists she supported, including Stuart Davis, Jacob Lawrence, Georgia O’Keeffe, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Ben Shahn and Charles Sheeler, became icons of American modernism. Halpert also brought vital attention to overlooked nineteenth-century American artists, such as William Michael Harnett, Edward Hicks and Raphaelle Peale, as well as little-known and anonymous folk artists. With her revolutionary program at the Downtown Gallery, Halpert inspired generations of Americans to value the art of their own country, in their own time.

The exhibition, on view at the Jewish Museum from October 18, 2019 through February 9, 2020, will feature approximately 100 works of American modern and folk art, including paintings, sculptures and prints by such artists as Davis, Lawrence, O’Keeffe, Kuniyoshi, Shahn and Sheeler, as well as Arthur Dove, Elie Nadelman, Max Weber, and Marguerite and William Zorach, among others, as well as prime examples of American folk art portraits, weathervanes and trade signs. Along with these major artworks that were exhibited at and sold through the Downtown Gallery, highlights from Halpert’s acclaimed personal collection of both modern and folk art, reassembled for the first time since its landmark sale in 1973, will also be on view.

Join Associate Curator Rebecca Shaykin for an in-depth talk about Edith Halpert and the exhibition at 92Y before walking over to the Jewish Museum as a group to enjoy a private tour of the exhibit.