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

Tel Aviv Museum of Art The Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( ''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 both from Israel and around the world. History The Tel Aviv ...

. Born in Haifa, he was educated at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

(BA Art History, 1961),

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

under

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

(MA Art History, 1968) and the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

(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 turbu ...

supervised by John Gage. Omer lived in the United States from 1967–1972, studying and working at the Museum of Modern Art New York. He lived in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, London 1972-1975 whilst completing his doctorate. He held a professorship in Art History at the

University of Tel Aviv Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and research of the ci ...

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 ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

(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 cemetery, Jerusalem. Tel Aviv Mayor

Ron Huldai Ron Huldai (; born 26 August 1944) is an Israeli politician and businessman who has been Mayor of Tel Aviv since 1998. Before taking office as mayor, Huldai served as a fighter pilot and commander in the Israeli Air Force. After leaving the ...

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 Academic staff of Tel Aviv University Directors of museums in Israel Deaths from cancer in Israel Burials at Har HaMenuchot {{Israel-bio-stub