The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life

Just saw a fantastic play here about Charlotte Solomon. The play was superbly done but it would have been better with a raised stage. We were unable to see the majority of the action that happened on stage. We didn't see a whole lot of the rest of the museum. Restrooms were fine. There is a great tile mural as you enter. And we were lucky in finding street parking a block away.

I went to The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life before a film class last Friday. Must make another return visit and spend more time to write a through updated review. My first impression is that the museum is still a work in progress. I like the layout: The books and the archives look like a museum exhibit/display here with the central museum exhibit in the centre upon entering. I get the impression that the exhibits will change, that will be very interesting to see. In the back, when one comes in, there is a art movie room and on the left, an auditorium. Other areas are meeting rooms and offices, which are not open to the public unless one has an appointment, I believe.I saw a lot of art oil portraits there. Many of them were family portraits in the library and archive rooms which were locked up. In the museum section, which is right in the centre, among the artifacts displayed is a portrait by Sarah Samuels Stein of Theresa Ehrman, who taught Mrs. Stein's son, Allan, to play piano during the years in France. I learned that Ms. Ehrman was a teenager when she travelled to France with the Steins and met many of the artists who were associated with the Steins. Lucky lady! Ms. Ehrman's papers are open to researchers to look at, contact the Magnes for more details. Here is the Magnes's blog entry on Ms. Erhman's papers: http://blog.magnes.org/opensourceblog/?p=661(I wish and hope I will be among future researchers to peruse those papers! I am very interested in knowing about her time and experiences with the Stein Family in France.)If it was not for the fact I had to rush of to a class, I would have spent more time and soak up the atmosphere. I will have to make another return here. Oh, it is free admission to The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, open on Wednesdays thru Sundays from 12:00 to 4:00 P.M; open Thursdays from 12:00 to 7:00 P.M. I shall return. . . .

FREE - I'm there. I went to the Grand Opening of the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art & Life on Allston Way, close to Downtown Berkeley Bart. Got there by 12pn to see the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. Didn't see the Mayor of Berkeley Tom Bates. UC Berkeley Marching Band was Great - I watched them perform a few songs.Got some mushroom/ricotta tarts & cup of iced water.FREE Small museum, it was super crowded opening day. There were some Jewish stuff in glass cases, room with some films I guessing is the Dissolving Localities: Berkeley-Jerusalem by Israeli artist & composer Emmanuel Witzthum. Another digital film in the lobby by a Berkeley-based artist Gale Antokal: The Spill was showing. Milk spilling down steps.Went back before 3pm and got a snack of panini & chocolate/walnut cookie from Cafe Panini.

I had never heard of this gallery but I noticed it as I was walking past and though it has quite limited hours, it was open. It is a sparely decorated space with a small but interesting collection. The place is clearly used for openings and entertaining for fundraisers from what I could see. The main exhibit the day I was there was "Landscapes" all by Jewish painters. It was an international collection, both by artist and by locale of the painting from collections donated to UCBerkeley.The older classic paintings were rather ordinary but the 1974 silkscreen collection from Israel was quite interesting.There are a few display cases of very old religious artifacts and also a collection from a synagogue in India that was quite unusual. There are some research rooms visible behind glass windows, full of file cases of documents and artifacts. There were two student receptionists seated at a desk by the entry that really were just there to answer questions but not interact in any other way. There were 3 other visitors when I was there.From their calendar, I could see that they do events of various sorts on the premises at other times and my visit was midday on a Wednesday, so I would not have expected it to be any busier.

A very nice museum featuring Jewish art, artifacts, and more. The exhibit hall featured a fascinating multimedia exhibit on a fictional survivor of the Holocaust. Not a large museum, but it's a must stop for anyone interested in Judaism. Plus, there is no admission charge!

Great docent- knowledgeable and interesting. Comprehensive collection of Judaical artifacts. Roman Vishniac photo exhibit is more than simply evocative. Coins from ancient Israel, bemah from India- quite a collection. People there couldn't be more gracious. Bay Area people need to support these kinds of ethnic museums. So go already !

When my professor told me we were going to a field trip, I was expecting something a little larger.The exhibit itself is fair small and very brief. When you walk in, there's a very small seating area which the leads to the exhibit with are broken up into 4 categories. The exhibits topic is very interesting regarding Jewish history, however, I felt like there wasn't a natural flow within the exhibit. It's a nice place to visit, somewhat informative but the bottom line is that it's a small exhibit with some cool artifacts.

Not much there yet. Don't waste your time until they get more serious. Just a few nice pieces of art in the lobby. No other gallery with any collection that I could find. Plan on a 15 minute visit.