Discover the rich mosaic of Jewish cultures from around the world.
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Image: Untitled (SHGb02+14a Version B) painting by Jonathan Keats, 2006
The Magnes
Art, textiles, ceramics, texts — objects of sacred ritual and everyday use.
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Image: Wedding Dress, detail (Rhodes, 19th Century) Gift of Sara Levi Willis
The Magnes
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Image: Wedding Dress, detail (Rhodes, 19th Century) Gift of Sara Levi Willis
A message from Director John Efron
What's On at The Magnes
Exhibitions and Public Programs that foster community, learning, and deeper understanding.
The Magnes Collection
The material culture of Jewish life throughout history and across the globe.
Research at The Magnes
Explore the archives, library, exhibitions, and holdings on site and online.
Opening this Fall
In Twilight: Ori Sherman’s Creation
The work of Ori Sherman (1934-1988), an artist and illustrator beloved in the San Francisco Bay Area, was often infused with Jewish themes. At the end of his life after being diagnosed with AIDS, Sherman completed a cycle of 18 paintings depicting the seven days of the creation of the world as emerging directly from the Hebrew words in the Book of Genesis. The original pieces are displayed together in this exhibition.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Cal 2022 Homecoming Open House
Sep 25 @ 12:00 pm
Alumni and Parents Weekend at Homecoming is scheduled for September 23–25, 2022. Join us as we come together to celebrate the Cal community with three days of engagement with fellow […]
TRAVELING EXHIBITION
In Real Times. Arthur Szyk: Art & Human Rights (1926-1951)
Created to showcase the Taube Family Arthur Szyk Collection, In Real Times. Arthur Szyk: Art & Human Rights (1926-1951) will open on September 1st at The National WWII Museum and stay through May of 2023 before heading to the Fairfield University Art Museum in Connecticut. As The Magnes’ first ever traveling exhibition, these partnerships set in motion plans to showcase the Arthur Szyk and Vishniac collections across the US and internationally.
Discover the unexpected at The Magnes
Textiles
Torah Ark Curtains
Textiles created to cover and adorn the Torah Ark.
Texts
The Karaite Canon
Manuscripts from Cairo, Egypt
Images
![Painting [2014.2.1]: Portrait of David Hofstein, by M. Vaisberg (Ukraine, 1988)](https://magnes.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/portrait-of-david-hofstein.jpg)
Portraiture
Works by Ukrainian artist, Matvey Vaisberg.
Help The Magnes Collection infuse the future with the best of the Jewish past.
Latest News
News about The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. Learn about exhibitions, programs and events, collection highlights, and read Confluence, The Magnes newsletter.
A message from Director John Efron
In early May, members of the Magnes community gathered for a multi-screen display of Roman Vishniac photographs and an all-day virtual symposium of panels, discussions, and conversation entitled “Roman Vishniac. In Focus, 1922–2022.” Your support made this event...
Focusing on Vishniac
The inaugural 2-day event Roman Vishniac. In Focus: 1922-2022 Open House and Symposium celebrating the Roman Vishniac Archive was a huge success! Both an in-person Open House and a virtual Symposium, The Magnes and UC Berkeley’s Center for Jewish Studies shared...
Vishniac’s Ukraine
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is the latest development in the long and turbulent history of the “borderland” between the east and west, a complex history that includes significant moments in Jewish life, art, and culture. “We at The Magnes Collection of...