The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art & Life

09/01/2026

👁️ The Magnes is a museum with vision! Our new exhibition Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon opens this Wednesday and includes a portrait of the visionary artist, Fernando Botero.

The exhibition presents 133 intimate black-and-white portraits of American cultural giants — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, sculptor Louise Bourgeois, pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, architect Maya Lin and experimental musician Laurie Anderson to name a few. Created in the intimate environments of personal studios and workplaces, these 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.

The museum is open Wed, Sun, and Tues 11-4 and Thurs 11-7. Admission is free.

🔗 Learn more at https://magnes.berkeley.edu/exhibitions/nancy-lee-katz-a-private-pantheon/



Image) Fernando Botero by Nancy Lee Katz, 1987. Gift of Michael S. Sachs, 2024.1.15

08/28/2026

In a time when influencers abound and unabashed self-promotion feels almost de rigueur, late photographer Nancy Lee Katz stands out for having done just the opposite.

Born into a Jewish family in Los Angeles in 1947, Katz spent the first half of her adult life traveling the world and working as an assistant film editor and still photographer. For the next 25 years, she pursued an ambitious private project: photographing American cultural figures whose work she admired. Reaching out by letter or email, she secured portraits of subjects ranging from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to architect Maya Lin, pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and pianist André Watts.

Few ever knew these portraits existed. That’s because Katz never exhibited, sold or published any of the photos — or even showed them to anyone. But now, for the first time, the complete collection will be on display at UC Berkeley’s Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life.

This private portrait series of cultural icons makes its public debut in the Magnes's new exhibition, "Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon," opening on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.

Full story by Anne Brice on UC Berkeley News: https://bit.ly/4hYGu5M

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.

08/27/2026

Welcome back, Cal Students!

UC Berkeley’s Magnes is a campus museum located on Allston Way between Shattuck and Oxford. It's a great place for exciting programs and performances, inspiring exhibitions, object-based research, and to just chill surrounded by beautiful objects and inspiring art.

✏️ Scholarship & Research
Undergraduate Research Apprentices (URAP)
Class Visits
Object-based Research Appts
Museum Work-Study positions
Conference room for study groups

🖼️ Museum & Programs
$5 Student Tix: Ari Stachel’s "Other"
New Exhibition: Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon
Free Lectures, Panels & Workshops
Free Gallery tours
Free Museum Admission

Follow us, sign up for our newsletter, and stop by the museum!

Learn more at https://magnes.berkeley.edu/

UC Berkeley Center for Jewish Studies Berkeley Hillel

08/26/2026

Museum hours at the Magnes begin for the fall semester in one week!

The galleries will reopen on Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at 11:00 am

🕚 Fall Hours
Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 11 am - 4 pm
Thursday: 11 am - 7 pm

📍 Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life
2121 Allston Way
Downtown Berkeley - between Shattuck and Oxford near Bart

🖼️ Exhibitions
Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon
An Archive of Archives: Roman Vishniac’s Exhibition History | New York, 1971-72
Time Capsules: Exploring the Permanent Collection

🎟️ Admission is FREE

Visit our website to learn more - https://magnes.berkeley.edu/

08/25/2026

🗽 Liberty means looking out for one another.

As the United States grew, its promise of freedom became deeply intertwined with global humanitarian relief.

This 1917 World War I poster, Share, was created for the Jewish Relief Campaign. It powerfully depicts the United States as a maternal figure serving a bountiful meal to refugees, set against the backdrop of the New York skyline and the Statue of Liberty.

As we mark America’s 250th anniversary, this poster is a testament to the philanthropic ideals that have shaped the American character. It is a visual reminder that defending freedom has long been paired with a deep commitment to helping those in need.



https://maven.magnes.berkeley.edu/records/ef97dd0c-f9a1-406f-b6db-9fafd6ade39a/ Alfred Burke, Johnstone Studios, Sackett & Wilhelms Corporation, Brooklyn, NY, Share. Jewish Relief Campaign, [1917], Judah L. Magnes Museum Purchase, 75.224

08/21/2026

Check out What's On at the Magnes in our August newsletter!

Learn more about the new exhibition, Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon, opening September 2nd PLUS upcoming programs and a new education initiative.

🔗 Read the issue at https://mailchi.mp/berkeley/magnes-newsletter-aug-2026

Get the latest news from the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life in our August 2026 What's On issue!

08/20/2026

Today we celebrate the birthday of Peter Krasnow (1886 – 1979), a modernist and colorist artist whose work often involved subjects related to his Jewish heritage.

Born in 1886 in Novohrad-Volynskyi, Russian Empire, Krasnow emigrated to the United States in 1907 and graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1916.

The Magnes holds many of the artist's paintings, prints, and sculpture, including "The Embrace."



https://bit.ly/4gk9Bhs The Embrace by Peter Krasnow, United States, 1930. Oil on canvas. Gift of the artist 80.16.3

08/19/2026

Today, August 19, on World Photography Day 📸 we celebrate the birth of Roman Vishniac (1897–1990), a man who's work spanned some of the greatest decades of photography.

From interwar Jewish communities and the streets of post-war Berlin to the vibrant energy of 1940s America, his work bridges the gap between art and archive.

Thanks to a landmark gift from his daughter, Mara Vishniac Kohn, in 2018, the Magnes is proud to be the home of the Roman Vishniac Archive. Our team is currently digitizing and preserving over 30,000 images and items to ensure his perspective lives on for generations.

All photographs by Roman Vishniac. Gift of Mara Vishniac Kohn © The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at UC Berkeley

https://bit.ly/4hDLzAc [Untitled], Berlin, 2018.15.5.1.19

https://bit.ly/4zo6vlf Students in Chinese language class in Manhattan offices of the American Women's Voluntary Services, New York City, circa 1943, 2018.15.1.12.112

https://bit.ly/4hIS58N [Albert Einstein in his office, Princeton University, New Jersey] 1942, 2016.6.10

https://bit.ly/4cOBGMC His books are his companions, Warsaw, 1935 - 1938, 2016.6.19

08/18/2026

✴️ The Magnes's upcoming exhibition, Nancy Lee Katz: A Private Pantheon, really pops with Katz's portrait of the the artist Roy Lichtenstein in his studio.

Opening September 2, 2026, this new exhibition explores the Nancy Lee Katz's decades-long effort to photograph artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers she admired. Created in the intimate environments of personal studios and workplaces, these 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.

🔗 Learn more at https://magnes.berkeley.edu/exhibitions/nancy-lee-katz-a-private-pantheon/



Image) Roy Lichtenstein by Nancy Lee Katz, 1986. Gift of Michael S. Sachs, 2024.1.74

08/14/2026

One of many Kiddush cups in the Siegfried S. Strauss collection at the Magnes, this silver goblet from France is engraved with Hebrew and fleurs de lys.

Shabbat Shalom! 🍷✨



https://bit.ly/4zj5ryX Kiddush cup, France. Silver. Judah L. Magnes Museum purchase, Siegfried S. Strauss collection 67.1.16.8