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Image: Louise Bourgeois by Nancy Lee Katz, 1986. Gift of Michael S. Sachs, 2024.1.17
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Upcoming Exhibition
SEPTEMBER 2, 2026 – MAY 13, 2027
Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon
Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon explores the artist’s decades-long effort to photograph artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers she admired, including Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Sondheim, Maya Lin, Roy Lichtenstein, and Seiji Ozawa. Created in the intimate environments of personal studios and workplaces, these 133 portraits look behind public accolades to reveal a quiet, private presence. Unfolding in two parts (fall and spring), the exhibition presents, for the first time, the entirety of Katz’s Pantheon.
Nancy Lee Katz (1947–2018), Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1994, Gelatin silver print, Gift of Michael S. Sachs, 2024.1.51.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Roundtable | On Nancy Lee Katz’s Photography
Sep 2 @ 12:00 pm
Join the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life for On Nancy Lee Katz’s Photography, a Lunch and Learn Roundtable discussion with guest curator Lauren Graves, master printer Brian Young, and Katz’s partner, Michael S. Katz, sharing their perspectives on the photography of Nancy Lee Katz.
NEWS
25 years, 133 cultural icons: A private portrait series makes its public debut
A new exhibition at UC Berkeley’s Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life marks the first public presentation of photographer Nancy Lee Katz’s 133-piece “Pantheon” series, which portrays influential American cultural figures.
Latest News
News about the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. Learn about exhibitions, programs, events, and collection highlights.
25 years, 133 cultural icons: A private portrait series makes its public debut
A new exhibition at UC Berkeley's Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life marks the first public presentation of photographer Nancy Lee Katz’s 133-piece “Pantheon” series, which portrays influential American cultural figures. By Anne Brice In a time when influencers...
Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon opens at the Magnes this fall
A two-part exhibition exploring decades of intimate portraits of cultural giants. The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the University of California, Berkeley, announces its upcoming two-part exhibition, Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon, opening on...
Woven into the Fabric: 250 Years of Jewish Life in America
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life reminds us how deeply Jewish history is woven into the American story. The objects in the collection tell a powerful narrative about the many ways Jewish people, art, and...
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