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Dizengoff House after the “facelift” transforming it into the
Tel Aviv Museum (1938)
Modigliani, Chagall, and Chana Orloff. Another room displayed works on loan from
34 local artists, including Joseph Zaritsky, Aaron Avni, Arieh Allweil, David Handler,
Anna Ticho, Arieh Lubin, Pinhas Litvinovsky, Batya Lishansky, Abraham Melnikov,
Joseph Kossonogi, Avigdor Steimatzky, Israel Paldi, Yitzhak Frenkel (Frenel), Reuven
Rubin, Zvi Shor, and Siona Tagger. A third room exhibited works that gave expression to
biblical themes, including copies of Michaelangelo's Moses and of the statues of David by
Verrocchio and Bernini.
E ach floor of the building had a different purpose. The first floor housed the offices of
Bank Ashrai; the second floor was occupied by the offices of Meir Dizengoff and of the
museum; and at the rear of the offices, in three rooms, was the museum itself. The rooms
that had been built on the roof were the living quarters of the owner of the building, Meir
Dizengoff.
Thus, Tel Aviv made its appearance on the art map, and soon replaced Jerusalem as a
center promoting the plastic arts in the growing Yishuv.
D izengoff invited Dr. Karl Schwarz, a well-known scholar of art history and a former
director of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, to serve as director of the Tel Aviv Museum, and
Schwarz filled this position until mid-1947. He brought with him hundreds of art books
and more than a thousand works on paper from his private collection. During the years
that he spent at the museum he continued to expand its collections, until the museum
offered the finest and richest collections of Jewish art.
Other Perspectives 197
Tel Aviv Museum (1938)
Modigliani, Chagall, and Chana Orloff. Another room displayed works on loan from
34 local artists, including Joseph Zaritsky, Aaron Avni, Arieh Allweil, David Handler,
Anna Ticho, Arieh Lubin, Pinhas Litvinovsky, Batya Lishansky, Abraham Melnikov,
Joseph Kossonogi, Avigdor Steimatzky, Israel Paldi, Yitzhak Frenkel (Frenel), Reuven
Rubin, Zvi Shor, and Siona Tagger. A third room exhibited works that gave expression to
biblical themes, including copies of Michaelangelo's Moses and of the statues of David by
Verrocchio and Bernini.
E ach floor of the building had a different purpose. The first floor housed the offices of
Bank Ashrai; the second floor was occupied by the offices of Meir Dizengoff and of the
museum; and at the rear of the offices, in three rooms, was the museum itself. The rooms
that had been built on the roof were the living quarters of the owner of the building, Meir
Dizengoff.
Thus, Tel Aviv made its appearance on the art map, and soon replaced Jerusalem as a
center promoting the plastic arts in the growing Yishuv.
D izengoff invited Dr. Karl Schwarz, a well-known scholar of art history and a former
director of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, to serve as director of the Tel Aviv Museum, and
Schwarz filled this position until mid-1947. He brought with him hundreds of art books
and more than a thousand works on paper from his private collection. During the years
that he spent at the museum he continued to expand its collections, until the museum
offered the finest and richest collections of Jewish art.
Other Perspectives 197
