Bells & Pomegranates: Jewish American Art from The Columbus Museum

This exhibition’s title comes from Exodus 28:33, which describes the decorative elements to adorn the hem of the first Hebrew priestly garments: “Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them.”

The antiquity of the text and the specificity of its detail reflect the enduring significance of aesthetic objects in Jewish life. Drawn entirely from the Museum’s permanent collection, Bells and Pomegranates celebrates the many contributions that Jewish creatives have made to American visual and material culture.

The prints, drawings, and three-dimensional objects featured in the exhibition are divided into several sections: Jewish Life, Faces…and Figures, Landscapes, and Abstractions. The project includes renowned artists like Peter Max and Ida Kohlmeyer, as well as lesser-known talents such as Jolán Gross-Bettelheim, Marguerite Wildenhain, and Marty Kalb. Many of these makers, who became naturalized U.S. citizens during the first half of the 20th century, contributed to the transformative wave of immigration that shaped American modernism over the course of the twentieth century. The Straus family, sometime residents of Columbus, are spotlighted with the inclusion of a stunning pair of goblets from their Brilliant-Period cut glass manufactory.