Philip Johnson, Torah Ark, English oak; bronze, 1956–57
Object Name:
Torah Ark
Artist/Maker:
Philip Johnson
Bio:
American, 1906-2005
Artist/Maker:
Ibram Lassaw
Bio:
American, b. Egypt, 1913-2003
Place Made:
United States
Date:
1956–57
Medium:
English oak; bronze
Dimensions:
101 × 70 × 27 1/2 in. (256.5 × 177.8 × 69.9 cm)
Credit Line:
Purchase: Contemporary Judaica Acquisitions Committee Fund; Dr. Harry G. Friedman, by exchange; Mrs. Bernhard Kahn, by exchange; Judaica Acquisitions Fund; and Dorothy George Baker, by exchange
Accession Number:
2006-59a-e

Not On View

Kneses Tifereth Israel is a classic example of 1950s synagogue design that reflects the growth in American Jewish life in the post-war era when more than 500 synagogues were built throughout the United States. Philip Johnson (1906-2005) was one of the leading American voices for Modernism, first as head of the Museum of Modern Art's architecture and design department in the 1930s, and subsequently as a leading architect. Kneses Tifereth Israel was his only synagogue design. He undertook the commission for no fee as a public atonement to the Jewish people for his pro-fascist activities in the 1930s. In its adoption of a Modernist style, the Port Chester congregation reflected the movement at the time to develop new themes and forms appropriate to the contemporary synagogue.

Johnson designed the Torah ark (of English oak decorated with bronze Hebrew letters made by Ibram Lassaw) and other furnishings including a number of bimah chairs of English oak. The letters affixed to front of the ark doors compose four Biblical acrostics, which translate: "God is one and His name is One / The Fear of the Lord is the Prerequisite to Wisdom / Shun Evil and do Good / For This is the Whole Man." The numerical value of the letters adds up to 613. In 2006, when Kneses Tifereth Israel decided to renovate the sanctuary, the Lassaw and Johnson suite (with the exception of the menorah sculpted by Lassaw) was sold to The Jewish Museum.

Information may change as a result of ongoing research.

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