Type of Tour: Walking

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Suitability: Teenagers and adults with an interest in art, architecture, history, or the Kibbutz Movement.

In Hebrew it is known as the Mishkan LeOmanut (House of Art). Before the Israel Museum (which opened in 1965) and the Tel Aviv Museum (built in 1970) the Museum of Art at Ein Harod, opened its doors in 1948 - it was in fact the country's first art museum. Today, with 14 exhibit halls it is still the country's third largest art museum.

The museum's roots can be traced back to 1937 in a small wooden shack, where kibbutz member and painter Chaim Atar (1902-1953) created many of his works. Atar, (Aptekar), who was born in the Ukraine, was one of the first artists in the Kibbutz Movement and was well known for his portraits. His own personal collection, of paintings by Jewish artists and sacred Jewish objects laid the foundation for the museum's collection. The permanent collection now includes Judaica items, 1,000 Jewish folk art objects from 30 countries, archaeological finds that emphasize Jewish civilization in Israel as well over 1,000 paintings, 8,000 drawings and 300 sculptures. Throughout the year special exhibitions are also held. The museum is housed in a building designed by architect Samuel Bickels and was designed to be an integral part of the landscape. One of its most unique features is its natural, indirect, lighting.

Your tour will begin with coffee and cake in the museum's small cafeteria, (adjacent to one of two patio sculpture gardens). One of the Curators, Galia Bar Or/Yaniv Shapira will open the tour with a half hour discussion about the history of the museum and its holdings. The tour of the museum will last roughly an hour during which time you will also hear about the history of the kibbutz itself. The tour will be capped off by a half hour look "Behind Closed Doors" - a chance to view things that regular visitors to the museum never get to see, The Restoration Department, Warehouse etc.

About the Museum's Holdings: The museum includes works by many nineteenth century Jewish genre artists, whose works portray the life of Jews in Eastern Europe. They include works by Maurecy, Gottlieb, Horowitz, Hirschenbreg, Wachtel, Minkowski and others. The Impressionists and Realist schools are represented by Rosa Bonheur, Josef Israels, Max Lieberman, Issac Israels to name a few. The collection also includes works by many artists who perished in the Holocaust; Barczynsky, Weinles, Trembacz, Mundlak, Kramsztyk and many others. Israeli art is represented by the works of; Rubin, Zaritzky, Gutman, Ardon, Kahana, Lubin, Shemi, Bergner and others.

The graphic arts collection contains drawings and graphic works by Pissaro, Modigliani, Pascin, Chagall (almost all of his graphic work), and numerous other artists. The sculpture collection includes works by Jewish sculptors from all over the world including leading Israeli sculptors; Ben Zvi, Lishansky, Palombo, Yehiel Shemi, Aharon Bezalel and Tumarkin.

Optional Additional Track at the end of the First Track: This tour may be combined with the Judges in the Jezreel Valley Tour or the Kings of the Jezreel Valley Tour.

Register Now! (please indicate number of people and possible dates).

Stay at the Nearby Ein Harod Guesthouse - One of the Country's Top B&Bs

We are also in the process of developing numerous other specialized tours.
If you don't see what you want, just ask us.

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* This tour is conducted by the Museum's Curator.
Note: The museum is not wheelchair accessible.

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