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Fall 2019 (Opening Date: Friday September 20, 2019)
"...Service in Every Cause Which Seemed Right and Good." ~ Edith Emerson
Centennial exhibition - President Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Stained Glass Window
On Friday September 20th, the Temple Judea Museum will open an important original exhibition:
"...Service in Every Cause which Seemed Right and Good."
Edith Emerson writing about President Theodore Roosevelt
Through the prism of historic, 1919 architectural stained glass a contemporary look at Theodore Roosevelt.
BACKGROUND: Encouraged by Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf, immediately following the death of Theodore Roosevelt in 1919, Congregation Keneseth Israel (KI) commissioned a huge stained glass window in Roosevelt’s memory. This memorial window was installed at the synagogue's Broad Street building and was dedicated November 2, 1919. Designed by the noted artist, Edith Emerson the intricately faceted glass was executed by the noted D'Ascenzo Studios, Philadelphia. In the late 1950s the glass was one of four important windows that were moved to the synagogue's current Elkins Park campus.
This is the fourth Temple Judea Museum (TJM) exhibition** to focus on the historic and contemporary stained glass in the collection of Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, the museum's home. The museum considers its historic glass an important heritage to be preserved and interpreted for contemporary audiences.
THROUGH CONTEMPORARY ART*, ORIGINAL OBJECTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS, THIS EXHIBITION TOUCHES ON MANY STORIES: Edith Emerson and Violet Oakley; the awarding of the commission; origin of the Teddy bear; the life, times and current controversies of Theodore Roosevelt; Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf (KI's nationally prominent rabbi and TR were personal friends); The Prophet Elijah - the theme of the window imagery.
*CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS: (List in formation): Cheryl Harper, Joan Shrager, Marlene Adler, Rhea Dennis, Rob Dennis, Elsa Wachs, Mordechai Rosenstein, JT Waldman, Linda Nesvisky
** PREVIOUS TJM STAINED GLASS EXHIBITIONS:
2004 - Tradition Reflected: The Hebrew Bible in American Stained Glass
In cooperation with The Willet/Hauser Stained Glass Studio and Rambusch Studios
2014 - "Step into My Studio", Said the Artist to the Prophet: Jacob Landau's Massive Stained Glass, The Prophetic Quest, * Forty Years Later
2015 - Opening the Windows: JT Waldman Considers "The Prophetic Quest", Jacob Landau's Massive Stained Glass
SELECTED IMAGES:
From this Point Forward, Let's Make only Beige Bears - Artist: Cheryl Harper
Speak Softly... - Artist: Joan Shrager
Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf in Cuba - KI Archives Collection
The Calling of Elisha - by Edith Emerson - Reproduction courtesy of Woodmere Museum
Save Cuba! - Reproduction courtesy Dickinson College - TR Center
TR and the Rough Riders - Reproduction courtesy Dickinson College - TR Center
In the works for the past two years with the help of Rabbi Lance J. Sussman, the KI Archives, members of the TJM Artists' Collaborative and numerous research institutions, the exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of President Theodore Roosevelt, as well as the 100th anniversary of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial window at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel through original artifacts, documents, loans from private collectors, photographs and contemporary art work.
A FEW THEMES IN THE EXHIBITION:
The artist, Edith Emerson; Teddy bears; the life and times of President Theodore Roosevelt; Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf (The Rabbi and TR met in Cuba during the Spanish American War and became friends) ; the theme of the window imagery - the Prophet Elijah.
The exhibition will close Friday December 20, 2019 (Reception date TBA)
