FORMER STAFF

Trustee, Donor, and Curator of Jewish Art (Judah L. Magnes Museum)

Florence B. Helzel (1921-2024)

Florence B. Helzel was a former curator of prints and drawings at the Judah L. Magnes Museum. She and her husband, Leo Helzel, were among the early supporters of the Museum. With degrees from Mills College and John F. Kennedy University’s Museum Studies Program, Florence began a twenty-year tenure at the Magnes in the 1980s, curating exhibitions, spearheading new acquisitions, and authoring several pathbreaking catalogues, including Witnesses to History: The Jewish Poster 1770-1985, and Shtetl Life: The Nathan and Faye Hurvitz Collection. She also served on the Museum’s Board of Trustees. The Florence Helzel Collection Study room honors her scholarly and philanthropic contributions to the Magnes.

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