The Seymour Fromer papers document the life and work of the founding director of the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkeley, CA (now the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life). A large portion of the collection is dedicated to Fromer's directorship of the Magnes, including the Western Jewish History Center and the Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries and Landmarks, and includes correspondence and working files for its various exhibits and programs, as well as financial and administrative records. Also documented is Fromer’s involvement with various Jewish agencies and organizations, such as the Agency for Jewish Education, the American Association for Jewish Education (including performances organized by its Festival of Faith and Freedom Committee), the Jewish Education Council, B’nai B’rith, the Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay, and various other societies and institutions. The collection also contains Fromer’s personal files and correspondence.

Seymour Fromer was the founding director of the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkeley, CA. Born in the Bronx, NY, on October 3, 1922, he attended Brooklyn College and Columbia University and worked as a school administrator in New Jersey until moving to Los Angeles in the 1950s. In Los Angeles, he worked with the American Association for Jewish Education to present the Darius Milhaud opera “David” at the Hollywood Bowl. He later moved to Oakland, CA, where he was a founding director of the Jewish Education Council of Alameda and Contra Costa counties and helped form the Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries and Landmarks, which was responsible for the preservation of seven gold- rush era Jewish cemeteries.

16.5 Linear Feet 13 cartons, 1 box, 1 oversize folder

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Collection is open for research, with exception of unprocessed digital material.