EXHIBITION OPENING

Founded in 1969, the Jewish-American Hall of Fame (JAHF) celebrates its fiftieth anniversary in 2019. Each year, an inductee is honored with a 2-inch bronze medal. Among the inductees are Leonard Bernstein, Albert Einstein, George Gershwin, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Emma Lazarus, and Hank Greenberg, to name a few. These medals comprise the longest continuing series of art medals being issued in America. The 2019 inductee is Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, the founder of HUC-JIR and many of the institutions of American Reform Judaism. 2019 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of this iconic Jewish-American rabbi. The exhibition features all 50 medals as well as displays that chronicle the history and origin of portrait medals; the process of creating the medals from original sketches to clay and plaster models and dies; and text and video about the accomplishments of many of the inductees. Exhibition runs through June 2, 2019.