Large embroidered needlepoint designed by Yankel Ginzburg

Identifier
irn40
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 1987.80.1
Dates
1 Jan 1976 - 31 Dec 1986
Level of Description
Item
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

overall: Height: 123.875 inches (314.643 cm) | Width: 177.750 inches (451.485 cm)

Creator(s)

Archival History

The embroidered needlework was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1987 by the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington.

Acquisition

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Bicentennial Commission of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington, D.C., Aaron Goldman, Chairman

Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Scope and Content

Colorful, embroidered wall hanging created by Yankel Ginzburg for the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington in 1976. The three-panel image was designed by Ginzburg and then executed in needlepoint by sixty-one artisans, 60 women and one man, between 1976 and 1986. The design is intended to symbolize the Jewish people's arduous journey to freedom.

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on access

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Embroidered needlepoint wall hanging, stitched primarily in yellow, orange, and blue wool yarn, on a brown, double needlepoint, Penelope, cotton canvas measuring ten to the inch. It is composed of six narrower, vertical segments sewn together to form three visual panels. The central panel is depicted in orange tones with red, green, purple, white, and yellow highlights. Several key design elements are highlighted, including five ladders near the top, rising from the geometric orange shapes of the background, and many Hebrew characters scattered across the center. The left and right panels are separated from the center by vertical, white bands. They are embroidered mostly in blue tones with green, white, and purple line details, some curved and others wavy. The designer's name is embroidered in orange yarn at the bottom of the center panel. The canvas is stretched and slightly misshapen from use, and there are several small tears.

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.