National Art Education Association

Jewish Art by Cecil RothReview by: Herman CohenArt Education, Vol. 28, No. 2 (Feb., 1975), p. 30Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3192044 .

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JEWISH ART, Cecil Roth. Greenwich, Connecticut: New York Graphic Socie- ty Ltd., 1971, 332 pp., Illustrated, $20.00. This is a first-rate documentation and scholarly presentation of a specific area in the history of art which has been a source of controversy (especially to those who identify themselves as Jewish artists.). Since the first printing of Jewish Art in the United States in 1961, and culminating in this revised and enlarged edition (1971), we can, I believe, say with confidence that these are the facts about Jewish art as we know them to the end of the 19th cen- tury. And the controversy for and against a concept of Jewish art can proceed, identifying real issues in con- text and then assume the level of rational discussion.

The real issue concerning Jewish art, stated clearly in the book, is an issue basic to discussions of all contem- porary art, i.e., the relationship of the concepts of the artists to the objects they may produce.

This book, profusely and relevantly illustrated, presents a coherent and factual case for Jewish art which at times in history has not been as easily discernible in a national context as has other ethnic and religious art.

This new edition of an already out- standing contribution (1961) to the concept of art as a history, serves as both an authoritative milestone and a memorial to its original author, Cecil Roth, who passed away in 1970 before completion of the revised edition. This work completed for Dr. Roth by Bezabel Narkiss is a must for those in

the field of art history who are seriously concerned with the relationship of art to its multifaceted human setting.

The list of contributors and their ac- companying credentials is impressive. The text is heavy but clear and will be an excellent addition to the high school and college library.

The most obvious exception one must take with this otherwise out- standing work is its neglect of the con- temporary scene (in the State of Israel) and the possible influence or lack of it on Jewish art. Artists who profess their Jewishness and are contributing to the contemporary art scene are not included.

Herman Cohen Glassboro, New Jersey

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30 Art Education, February 1975

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