FRIEDA SCHIFF WARBURG: THE FEMALE VOICE OF THE JEWISH MUSEUM

 Walk of Fame | Annabelle Kolomeisky 

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The Jewish Museum in New York City is one of the oldest institutions in the world dedicated to the display of Jewish culture with its founding in 1904. Forty years later, in 1944, Frieda Schiff Warburg donated her family residence at 1109 Fifth Avenue to house the museum and allow for its expansion from the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Although this donation may seem like a small gift to the museum world, it definitely was not! Freida’s contribution to the Jewish Museum and how she lived her life as a strong Jewish woman strongly reflects the role and operation of the Jewish Museum today.

 

Frieda Schiff Warburg, 1936 | Source

Frieda Schiff Warburg was born on February 3rd, 1876 to a family that was quite prominent in the Jewish elite of New York City. Outside of her family’s success, Frieda herself was no stranger to greatness and in 1938 she became the first woman on the Jewish Theological Seminary’s board of directors. Her relationship with religion was slightly different from that of her family when it came to her experience with Judaism. Frieda's father was a significant religious leader among the Jewish community of New York, she did not have the same connection to religious observance as her father and instead decided to invest herself in her philanthropic work. However, this did not mean she was not a proud Jewish woman! Frieda Schiff Warburg was very active among the Jewish community beyond her donation to the young Jewish Museum in New York. She supported important organizations throughout her life as a philanthropist such as the American Jewish Join Distribution Committee, the 

Women’s Division of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, and the Jewish Welfare Board.

 

 

The Jewish Museum in New York City | Source

Frieda’s story of discovering her Jewish identity is a key part of what the Jewish Museum in New York strives towards today. The Jewish Museum is very focused on exploring the Jewish culture and identity from not only a religious perspective, but also an ethnic point of view, opening up space for a conversation about what it really means to be Jewish. For Frieda, although she was not a very observant Jew, she supported her cultural background through her donations to various Jewish charities while continuing to be an active member of the community.

This idea of Jewish culture and ethnicity on display in museums is not a new concept, but at the same time it is not very common. The Jewish Museum in New York is an amazing example of the intersection of Jewish culture and other important themes that appear in museums today such as social issues and engaging in activism. As illustrated by Frieda Schiff Warburg’s experience, the Jewish experience is not a straightforward concept but it encompasses multiple experiences, conversation, and community, and that is the importance and value of the Jewish Museum. The Jewish Museum helps harbor these experiences and is a safe space to hold conversations through exhibitions and displays that support the Jewish community and those interested in the question, “what does it mean to be Jewish?”