Paintings, Prints & Drawings

The Jewish Museum has a small but important collection of paintings of high quality with portraits by Thomas Hudson, Tilly Kettle, Solomon Hart and Abraham Solomons among others. Some are of the Rabbis of the Great Synagogue who were effectively Chief Rabbis, but many are of community notables such as the merchant Naphtali Franks, born in New York, but later the lay head of the Ashkenazi community in London.

		The Museum's collection of historic prints and drawings was considerably augmented by the acquisition of the Rubens Collection, bequeathed by Alfred Rubens, one of its original founders. The range now covers several print series of Ceremonies, popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, anti-semitic cartoons produced at the time of the Jew Bill in 1753, and images of Jewish life and personalities from all over Europe. Space does not currently permit many of these to be on display but they are used within special exhibitions and can be inspected by appointment. Alfred Rubens' own catalogue, 'A Jewish Iconography', is available for browsing. A highlight of the collection, the wonderful sequence of Jewish costume from around the world was the subject of a Museum exhibition entitled 'Coats of Many Colours', now available as a travelling display.
Photographic Archive >