Rahel Wischnitzer-Bernstein American art scholar, writer, historian of Jewish art Date of Birth: 14.04.1885 Country: USA

1. Early Life and Education
2. Marriage and Career in Europe
3. Fleeing Nazi Germany and Moving to New York
4. Later Career and Legacy

Rachel Wischnitzer: American Art Historian, Writer, and Jewish Art Historian

Early Life and Education

Rachel Bernstein was born in Minsk, Russia, in 1885. She graduated from high school in Warsaw in 1902 and studied art at the University of Heidelberg (1902-03) and the University of Munich (1910-11). From 1903 to 1905, she also studied at the Royal Academy in Brussels and was later transferred to the School of Architecture in Paris, where she received her diploma in 1907.

Marriage and Career in Europe

In 1912, Wischnitzer married historian and sociologist Mark Wischnitzer in St. Petersburg. They had a son, Leonard, in 1924. In 1920, they moved to London, where she worked with ancient Hebrew manuscripts at the British Museum and the Bodleian Library.

In 1921, Wischnitzer moved to Berlin and became the art editor for the Yiddish magazine "Milgroym" and the Hebrew magazine "Rimon." She also served as the art editor of the Encyclopedia Judaica (Berlin) from 1928 to 1934 and worked at the Jewish Museum from 1928, becoming its director from 1934 to 1938. One of her major achievements during this period was the publication of her first book, "Symbole und Gestalten der jüdischen Kunst" (Symbols and Forms of Jewish Art) in 1935.

Fleeing Nazi Germany and Moving to New York

The Wischnitzer family fled Nazi Germany in 1938 and briefly lived in Paris, where she studied with Comte Robert du Mesnil du Buisson, which greatly influenced her future work. After moving to New York in 1940, she resumed her research at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University and completed her degree in 1944. She also pursued scholarship at the American Academy for Jewish Research. Her doctoral dissertation was published in 1948 as "The Messianic Theme in the Paintings of the Dura Synagogue."

Later Career and Legacy

Her research on synagogues was also published in 1955 in the book "Synagogue Architecture in the United States." The following year, at the age of 71, she founded the Department of Fine Arts at Stern College for Women in New York and taught there until her retirement in 1968. "The Architecture of the European Synagogue," her final book, was published in 1964. Yeshiva University awarded her an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in 1968, and the Journal of Jewish Art dedicated an issue to her work in 1979. This special issue included an autobiography and a bibliography of the scholar's art publications, totaling 344 items. Her final publication was an article on Pablo Picasso's "Guernica" on the occasion of her 100th birthday.

Rachel Wischnitzer died in New York at the age of 104. She is survived by her son, engineer Leonard James Winchester.