Art in Midcentury American Synagogues: Expressions of Memory, Identity, and Vulnerability

Between 1947 and 1967, American Jews adopted contemporary art in synagogues to express how they saw themselves, their religion, their history, and their place in society. Susan G. Solomon explores how artists transformed traditional parts of sanctuaries into modern works even as a new era of anxiety and confidence impacted postwar Jewish life.

Solomon focuses on unmovable pieces—including the ark, its curtain, and the eternal light—and on the materials that artists used, like metal, wood, fiber, and stained glass. Once looked upon as aesthetically impoverished, synagogue art underwent a mid-century shift into forms of inventive art filled with purpose. Artists catalyzed by the vibrant American art scene inventively worked in metal and wood to update the iconography on the ark; re-imagined the eternal light as a full sculptural entity; and altered the ark curtain from long-established needlework into gallery-worthy fiber art or rugs. At the same time, advances in stained glass facilitated works that dramatically altered the sanctuary’s atmosphere. A final chapter discusses the importance of stewardship at a time when many midcentury synagogues have declined as buildings and institutions.

Insightful and original, Art in Midcentury American Synagogues documents a rich and complicated artistic response to the needs of Jewish Americans in a time of change.