Kleeblatt, Norman L(eslie) 1948-

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KLEEBLATT, Norman L(eslie) 1948-

PERSONAL: Born November 7, 1948, in Bridgeton, NJ; son of Karl and Frances (Aaron) Kleeblatt; married Nancy Polsky, June 24, 1971 (divorced, November, 1975). Education: Rutgers University, A.B., 1971; New York University, M.A. and diploma in conservation, both 1975.

ADDRESSES: Home—330 East 63rd St., New York, NY 10021. Office—Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10128-0118.

CAREER: Jewish Museum, New York, NY, conservator, 1975-94, curator of collections, 1981-87, Susan and Elihu Rose Curator of Fine Arts, 1995—. Museum of the Art and History of Judaism, member of scientific council. Guest lecturer at numerous institutions in the United States and abroad, including Columbia University, Princeton University, Georgetown University, University of Leeds, Smithsonian Institution, and National Foundation for Jewish Culture; consultant on art exhibitions and ecclesiastical art commissions.

MEMBER: International Association of Art Critics (American section), American Association of Museums, College Art Association of America.

AWARDS, HONORS: Nomination for Henry Allen Moe Prize, 1985, for Jewish Heritage in American Folk Art, and 1988, for The Dreyfus Affair: Art, Truth, and Justice; fellow, National Endowment for the Arts, 1996.

WRITINGS:

(Compiler, with Jørgen H. Barfod and Vivian B. Mann) Kings and Citizens: The History of the Jews in Denmark, 1622-1983, two volumes, Jewish Museum (New York, NY), 1983.

(Compiler, with Gerard C. Wertkin) The Jewish Heritage in American Folk Art, Universe Books (New York, NY), 1984.

(With Vivian B. Mann) Treasures of the Jewish Museum, Universe Books (New York, NY), 1986.

(Editor and contributor) The Dreyfus Affair: Art, Truth, and Justice, University of California Press (Berkeley, CA), 1987.

(Editor, with Susan Chevlowe) Painting a Place in America: Jewish Artists in New York, 1900-1945; A Tribute to the Educational Alliance Art School, Indiana University Press (Bloomington, IN), 1991.

(Editor) Too Jewish? Challenging Traditional Identities, Rutgers University Press (New Brunswick, NJ), 1996.

(With Kenneth E. Silver) An Expressionist in Paris: The Paintings of Chaim Soutine, Prestel (New York, NY), 1998.

(Editor) John Singer Sargent: Portraits of the Wertheimer Family, Jewish Museum (New York, NY), 1999.

(Editor and contributor) Mirroring Evil: Nazi Imagery/Recent Art, Rutgers University Press (New Brunswick, NJ), 2001.

Shorter works include (with Anita Friedman) "Larry Rivers' History of Matzah: The Story of the Jews," Jewish Museum (New York, NY), 1984. Contributor to books, including Diaspora and Modern Visual Culture: Representing African and Jewish Diaspora, 1998, and Encyclopaedia of American History and Culture.

SIDELIGHTS: Norman L. Kleeblatt once told CA: "The underlying theme of many of my publications and exhibitions is the convergence of art history and cultural history. I generally explore areas of neglected artists and art historical movements which likewise elicit a consideration of the definitions of art."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Book Review, January-February, 2003, Corinne Robins, review of Mirroring Evil: Nazi Imagery/Recent Art, pp. 21, 23.

Burlington, July, 1998, review of An Expressionist in Paris: The Paintings of Chaim Soutine, p. 502.

Choice, November, 1996, review of Too Jewish? Challenging Traditional Identities, p. 528; March, 1999, review of An Expressionist in Paris, p. 1254.

Journal of American Ethnic History, fall, 1994, Selma Berrol, review of Painting a Place in America: Jewish Artists in New York, 1900-1945; A Tribute to the Educational Alliance Art School, p. 115; fall, 1998, Selma Berrol, review of Too Jewish?, p. 140.

Library Journal, May 15, 1996, review of Too Jewish?, p. 66; November 15, 1998, review of An Expressionist in Paris, p. 64.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, March 31, 2002, review of Mirroring Evil, p. 8.

MultiCultural Review, January, 1992, review of Painting a Place in America, p. 58.

New York Times Book Review, July 26, 1998, review of An Expressionist in Paris, p. 18.

Reference and Research Book News, February, 2002, review of Mirroring Evil, p. 186.