STUDY SESSION: WARREN KLEIN

Warren Klein
Through the Archives: Our Crowd

Stephen Birmingham’s 1967 bestseller Our Crowd: The Great Jewish Families of New York explored the tight-knit social circle of German Jewish families who built New York, many of them prominent members of Emanu-El and Beth-El. Using archival and museum collections, this talk will go deeper into the lives of Lehmans and the Loebs, the Goldmans, Guggenheims and Sachs – and take a critical look at Birmingham’s research.

Warren Klein has been curator of the Herbert and Eileen Bernard Museum of Judaica at Temple Emanu-El since 2013, his exhibitions including graphic posters, contemporary Jewish wedding gowns, Golda Meir, and Jews and Chocolate. Previously, he worked at the JTS Library, Skirball Museum in Los Angeles, Magnes Museum in Berkeley, and several private collections in New York. He holds an MA in Jewish Art from the Jewish Theological Seminary and a BA in the History of Art from the University of California, Santa Cruz.