The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life will launch its pop-up lunchtime exhibition series with a presentation by Berkeley author Frances Dinkelspiel. The Wednesday, Oct. 1 event features Dinkelspiel displaying and discussing artist Toby Rosenthal’s “Portrait of Two Women at a Piano,” an 1872 painting that portrays members of the Dinkelspiel family in 19th-century San Francisco. Admission is free.
The painting is part of the Magnes collection. Rosenthal (1848-1917), who was born in Prussia and moved to San Francisco as a child, was one of the first important Jewish artists in California.
Dinkelspiel is the author of the 2008 history “Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California.” She also co-founded Berkeleyside, an independent web-based news site.
Co-presented with the Jewish Federation of the East Bay, the free weekly series brings U.C. Berkeley faculty, students, visiting artists and other guests together for lectures focused on selected items from the Magnes collection. Complimentary refreshments are provided.
Magnes’ PopUp exhibitions take place from noon to 1 p.m. at the Magnes, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley. The series runs until Dec. 17; for a full listing, see www.magnes.org/visit/calendar.