Masonry Blog

Adolph S. Oko

Jewish Cincinnati Adolph S. Oko Eric Goldberg (Germany 1890–1969 Montreal) Oil on canvas, undated Cincinnati Skirball Museum   This canvas usually hangs proudly on the first floor of the Klau Library, where Adolph Oko served as librarian from 1906 until 1933. During his tenure, Oko significantly expanded the Klau’s collections and began assembling a collection of art [...]

Isaac Mayer Wise

Jewish Cincinnati Isaac Mayer Wise Artist unknown Oil on canvas, after 1879 Cincinnati Skirball Museum    At his death in 1900, Isaac Mayer Wise was described as “the foremost rabbi in America.” His major achievements were the establishment of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (today’s Union for Reform Judaism) in 1873, the Hebrew Union College in [...]

Jeptha

Jewish Cincinnati Jeptha Moses Jacob Ezekiel (Richmond, VA 1844–1917 Rome, Italy) Bronze relief, 1898 Inscribed: J E P T H A; He loved his neighbor as himself; ME Rome 1898 Cincinnati Skirball Museum, gift of Cecil L. Striker   In his memoirs, renowned Jewish sculptor Moses Jacob Ezekiel describes at some length the summer of 1896, when [...]

Therese Dreyfoos and Samuel Dreyfoos

Jewish Cincinnati Therese Dreyfoos and Samuel Dreyfoos Raphael Strauss (Bavaria, Germany 1830–1901 Cincinnati) Oil on board, ca. 1862 Cincinnati Skirball Museum, gift of the W. Gunther Plaut Family   Therese Pappenheimer (1819–1908) came to the United States a few years after Samuel Dreyfoos (1815–1895) who emigrated in 1839–40 to avoid military service. Both were born in Aldingen, [...]

Hebrew Union College Sisterhood Dorm

Jewish Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Sisterhood Dorm A. Lincoln Fechheimer (1876-1954) Cincinnati, Ohio, 1921 Watercolor Cincinnati Skirball Museum, 41.424