Mordechai Omer ( he, מרדכי עומר; April 1941 - 10 June 2011) was an Israeli art historian and museum administrator who served as Director of the

Tel Aviv Museum of Art Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( he, מוזיאון תל אביב לאמנות ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art from Israel and aroun ...

. Born in Haifa, he was educated at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

(BA Art History, 1961),

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

under

Meyer Schapiro Meyer Schapiro (23 September 1904 – 3 March 1996) was a Lithuanian-born American art historian known for developing new art historical methodologies that incorporated an interdisciplinary approach to the study of works of art. An expert on earl ...

(MA Art History, 1968) and the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

(PhD, 1976) where his doctoral dissertation was on the biblical subjects of

J M W Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbule ...

supervised by

John Gage John Burdette Gage (born October 9, 1942) was the 21st employee of Sun Microsystems, where he is credited with creating the phrase The Network is the Computer. He served as vice president and chief researcher and director of the Science Office ...

. Omer lived in the United States from 1967–72, studying and working at the

Museum of Modern Art New York The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of the ...

. He lived in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London 1972 - 75 whilst completing his doctorate. He held a professorship in Art History at the

University of Tel Aviv Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

from 1986 and was also head of the University’s Museum Studies Program. Omer was guest curator for the Saõ Paulo Biennial (1987 and 1989) and the Commissioner of the Israel Pavilion at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

(2003). He served as Director and Chief Curator of the

from 1995 until his death in 2011 and was instrumental in the commissioning of the Herta and Paul Amir Building. Omer died from cancer after a short period of illness and was buried in

Har Hamenuchot Har HaMenuchot ( he, הר המנוחות, Ashkenazi pronunciation, Har HaMenuchos, lit. "Mount of Those who are Resting", also known as Givat Shaul Cemetery) is the largest cemetery in Jerusalem. The hilltop burial ground lies at the western ed ...

cemetery, Jerusalem. Tel Aviv Mayor

Ron Huldai Ron Huldai ( he, רוֹן חוּלְדָּאִי; born 26 August 1944) is the current Mayor of Tel Aviv, since 1998. Before he entered his role as Tel Aviv mayor, Huldai served as a fighter pilot and a commander in the Israeli Air Force. After ...

was among those who delivered eulogies

Publications

** ''J.M.W. Turner and the Romantic Vision of the Holy Land and the Bible'' McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Boston 1996 ** ''Turner and the Bible'' The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1981, ** ''Turner und die Dichtkunst''Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung, München, 1976 ** ''Turner And The Poets: Engravings And Watercolours From His Later Period'' ** ''Dina Recanati Passage'' 2001, Tel Aviv Museum, Israel ISBN B000OK6BBI ** ''Avigdor Arikha: Drawings'' Tell Aviv Museum,1998, Israel ** ''Hiriya In the Museum Artists and Architect'' Tel Aviv Museum,1999 ** ''Adam Berg, Adam Berg (Illustrations)'', Mordechai Omer (Text), 2008, Tel Aviv ** ''Enzo Cucchi'' original title ''Enzo Cucchi: The Tel Aviv Mosaic'' Charta 2000, Tel Aviv, ** ''Universo y Magia De Joan Ponc'' Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona, 1971

References

1941 births 2011 deaths Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Columbia University alumni Alumni of the University of East Anglia Tel Aviv University faculty Directors of museums in Israel Deaths from cancer in Israel {{Israel-bio-stub