The Most Popular Works of 2015 in the Jewish Museum Online Collection

Based on Google Analytics data, we pulled the most viewed works of the past year in our online collection:

1. Max Is Rushing in the Bagels to a Restaurant on Second Avenue for the Morning Trade, c. 1940, Weegee
2. Monument (Odessa), 1989–2003, Christian Boltanski
3. Hanukkah Lamp, second half of the 19th century
4. The Return of the Volunteer from the Wars of Liberation to His Family Still Living in Accordance with Old Customs, 1833–34 Moritz Daniel Oppenheim
5. The Holocaust, 1982, George Segal
6. The Flight of the Prisoners, from The Old Testament, c. 1896–1902, James Jacques Joseph Tissot
7. Being the Light, 2000, Matthew McCaslin
8. Marriage Dress, Fashions for the Millennium: Protective Amulet Costume, 2000, Michael Berkowitz
9. Portion of a Synagogue Wall, 16th Century
10. Hanukkah Lamp, Unorthodox Menorah II, 1993, Joel Otterson
11. The Steerage, 1907, Alfred Stieglitz

Joel Otterson, Hanukkah Lamp, Unorthodox Menorah II, 1993, mixed metal pipes, cast bronze, porcelain, and glass, 1993–216

The Jewish Museum’s collection began in 1904 with a gift of ceremonial objects donated to the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. After moving to the Warburg Mansion in 1947, the collection expanded to include fine arts, archaeological artifacts, decorative arts, media, and photography. Today our collection is comprised of nearly 30,000 objects. Our most searched objects showcase the incredible range and depth of the collection.

The Jewish Museum boasts the largest collection of Hanukkah lamps in the world. In our permanent collection galleries, traditional forms are often displayed next to irreverent versions like Joel Otterson’s Unorthodox Menorah II.

George Segal, The Holocaust, 1982, plaster, wood, and wire, 1985–176a-l

One of our most iconic works, George Segal’s monumental sculpture about the Holocaust also speaks to this meeting of the traditional and the contemporary. “Of course I intended references to Judaism’s spiritual past,” the artist says in a letter to a visitor found in the Museum’s archive, dated Valentine’s Day 1996, giving us courage amidst this difficult subject. “A sensual Eve, a protective Abraham shielding his son’s eyes from the horror around them, a reference to Christ’s gesture on the cross … For me, a fervent belief in the principles of Judaism does not preclude friendship with like-minded idealists from all religions.”

Hanukkah Lamp, Germany (?), second half 19th century, silver: engraved, traced, punched, appliqué, and cast, D 205

Sometimes the history of how works came to the Jewish Museum is as fascinating as the works themselves. For example, objects in our collection with the accession number “D,” like the silver German lamp on this list, indicate that they came from the Free City of Danzig. In the summer of 1939, 10 crates were delivered to the Jewish Museum (then part of the Jewish Theological Seminary). They contained the precious possessions of a community on the brink of war. The city’s legacy — their Torah ornaments, Hanukkah lamps, textiles, and other objects — were sent here for safekeeping. (A month later, the German army marched into Danzig.)

Weegee, 1899–1968, Max Is Rushing in the Bagels to a Restaurant on Second Avenue for the Morning Trade, c. 1940, gelatin silver print, 2000–72

Just a year later, around 1940, Weegee photographed a bagel man in New York. Here, in Max Is Rushing in the Bagels to a Restaurant on Second Avenue for the Morning Trade, the smiling, confident Max rushes toward us, delivering bagels to a restaurant in lower Manhattan. Weegee used a flash called his “Aladdin’s lamp” to achieve the image of a solitary, glowing figure emerging from darkness.

Alfred Stieglitz, The Steerage, 1907, photogravure

Of course, with such a large collection, only a fraction of it is on view at one time. Our rotating series Masterpieces & Curiosities has allowed the Museum’s curators to bring out of storage some incredible objects and to tell their full stories — such as Alfred Stieglitz’ The Steerage, on view now. Of his own masterpiece, the artist said, “If all my photographs were lost, and I’d be represented by just one, The Steerage, I’d be satisfied.”

But these are just 11 objects in our collection of thousands. Be sure to visit the Museum (online and in person) to see some of these works and discover more while you’re here.

— Katherine Danalakis, Collections Manager, the Jewish Museum