Jeanette Jena
Jeanette Jena | |
|---|---|
 Jeanette Einstein, later Jena, from the 1917 yearbook of Vassar College | |
| Born | Jeanette Ruth Einstein 1896 Kittanning, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | October 10, 1971 (age 75) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, arts patron |
Jeanette Ruth Einstein Jena (1896 – October 10, 1971) was an American arts patron and journalist. She was art critic for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for over thirty years, from 1935 to 1969.
Early life and education
[edit]Einstein was born in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Jacob R. Einstein and Augusta Cohen Einstein. Her family was Jewish; her father was a bank president,[1] and her mother founded "one of the first kindergartens in western Pennsylvania".[2]
Einstein graduated from Vassar College in 1917.[3] She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.[4]
Career
[edit]Jena worked in advertising in Pittsburgh, before moving into journalism by writing book reviews for the Pittsburgh Press in the late 1920s. She became art critic at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about 1935. She was "official art critic of the Annual Carnegie International Art Exhibit", and a contributor to The New York Times and The New Yorker magazine.[5]
Jena reviewed the Silver Jubilee show of the Pittsburgh Salon of Photographic Art in 1938.[6] a Van Gogh exhibit in 1943,[7] an exhibit of European armor in 1953,[8] and the annual show of the Pittsburgh Society of Sculptors in 1955.[9] She also reviewed art history books,[10] and helped to edit a cookbook, The Artists' Palate. She retired from the Post-Gazette in 1969.[11] In 1975 she gave an oral history interview to the National Council of Jewish Women.[4]
Jena was a member of the West Penn Hospital Guild, the Pittsburgh Press Club, and the Vassar Club of Pittsburgh, and served on the board of the Pittsburgh Planned Parenthood Association.[11]
Personal life
[edit]Einstein married physician and cancer researcher Milton Jena in 1922.[12] She died in 1971, at the age of 75, in Pittsburgh.[11][13] A sculpture on the grounds of the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts was dedicated as a tribute to Jena.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ "Jacob R. Einstein, Kittanning Leader". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. 1956-07-30. p. 15. Retrieved 2025-05-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Einstein Rites Sunday". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. 1960-01-15. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-05-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Vassar College (1917). The Vassarion. Poughkeepsie, N.Y. : Vassar College. p. 68 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b Lidji, Eric (April 17, 2025). "Jeanette Jena". Rauh Jewish Archives. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
- ^ "Art Critic Visits in Laguna Beach". The Register. 1951-11-13. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-05-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jena, Jeanette (1938-03-25). "Salon of Photographic Art Celebrates Silver Jubilee". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 14. Retrieved 2025-05-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jena, Jeanette (1943-02-05). "Pittsburgh Art Lovers Get Van Gogh Exhibit". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 14. Retrieved 2025-05-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jena, Jeanette (1953-10-16). "Armor Exhibition is Splendid Show". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 34. Retrieved 2025-05-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jena, Jeanette (1955-05-02). "Petrencs' Sculp-Metal Man Wins First in Show". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-05-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jena, Jeanette (1938-10-31). "Book Tells of House Painter Who Rose to Fame as Artist". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-05-02 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Mrs. Jeanette Jena, Ex-P-G Art Critic". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1971-10-11. p. 10. Retrieved 2025-05-01 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Rosensweet, Alvin (1984-04-30). "Milton Jena, physician, cancer researcher, dies". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 20. Retrieved 2025-05-01 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Jeanette Jena". The New York Times. 1971-10-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
- ^ Lowry, Patricia (1985-05-25). "75 Years; Associated Artists publish lively book of local art history". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-05-01 – via Newspapers.com.