Irene Lewisohn Explained
Irene Lewisohn |
Birth Date: | 5 September 1886 |
Birth Place: | New York City |
Death Place: | New York City |
|
Parents: | Leonard Lewisohn |
Irene Lewisohn (September 5, 1886 – April 4, 1944) was the founder of the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Museum of Costume Art.
Biography
She was the daughter of Rosalie Jacobs and Leonard Lewisohn.[1] [2] [3] Her father was of Jewish background. In 1905 she and her sister, Alice Lewisohn, began classes and club work at the Henry Street Settlement House in New York. They produced performances with both dance and drama. In 1915, they opened the Neighborhood Playhouse on the corner of Grand and Pitt Streets.[4] There they offered training in both dance and drama to children and teenagers. Irene was in charge of the dance training and production, with the assistance of Blanche Talmud. Alice Lewisohn was in charge of the dramatic arts.[5] In 1928 they opened The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre at 16 West Forty-sixth Street.[6] Irene Lewisohn died in 1944.[7] [8] [9]
Legacy
- The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[10]
Notes and References
- Although she was listed as born in 1892 on her death certificate, all her passport applications list her birth as September 5, 1886 which fits in better with the birth of her sister in 1883.
- News: He Succumbed to Pneumonia in London After a Three Days' Illness. Was Fifty-four Years Old. . . March 6, 1902 . 2008-12-15 . PDF.
- News: Leonard Lewisohn Left $12,000,000. . March 6, 1902 . 2008-12-15 . PDF.
- Web site: Historical note . 2008-12-16 . In 1914, the Lewisohns bought a lot on the corner of Grand and Pitt Streets and donated it to the Settlement as the site of a new theater that would provide better performance space and teaching facilities. The Neighborhood Playhouse opened in 1915, showing both motion pictures and theatrical performances. . . 2016-03-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230659/http://digilib.nypl.org/dynaweb/ead/nypl/mssnplay/@Generic__BookTextView/194;pt=144 . dead .
- Web site: Guide to the Neighborhood Playhouse. Scenarios, 1914-1931. . 2008-12-16 . In 1905 Irene and Alice Lewisohn began classes and club work at the Henry Street Settlement House in New York. While at the Settlement House they also began to present performances featuring dance and drama. In 1915, the sisters opened the Neighborhood Playhouse on the corner of Grand and Pitt Streets, where they offered training in dance and drama to children and teens. Irene Lewisohn oversaw the dance training and production, with the assistance of Blanche Talmud, while Alice Lewisohn led the dramatic work. . .
- News: Theatre Parties To Aid Charities And War Relief. 'Candle in the Wind' Special Performances to Help Britain And Children's Village . The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, 16 West Forty-sixth Street, is a non-profitmaking organization founded in 1928 by Miss Irene Lewisohn of ... . . September 28, 1941 . 2008-12-16 .
- News: Irene Lewisohn Dies. Founder Neighborhood Playhouse and Museum of Costume Art . . April 5, 1944 . 2008-12-16 .
- News: Irene Lewisohn Rites Today . The funeral service for Miss Irene Lewisohn founder and codirector of the ... Miss Lewisohn died Monday night in the Doctors Hospital after an illness ... . . April 6, 1944 . 2008-12-16 .
- Web site: 1944 . 2008-12-16 . Philanthropist Irene Lewisohn died today in New York City. She and her sister Alice built and endowed the Neighborhood Playhouse. With Aline Bernstein she founded the Museum of Costume Art on Fifth Avenue in 1937. . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090408051558/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/68652.html . 2009-04-08 .
- Web site: The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library . 2008-12-16 . The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library is one of the world's foremost fashion libraries. Its collection includes approximately thirty thousand noncirculating monographs, rare books, and periodicals, as well as design archives, sketchbooks, photographs, drawings, prints, and extensive files of clippings pertaining to the history and study of the arts of adornment throughout the world. The library maintains fifty current fashion periodical subscriptions, including a wide range of international magazines and scholarly journals. . .