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Irene Lewisohn
Irene Lewisohn
Born	September 5, 1886; New York City
Died	April 4, 1944 (aged 57); New York City
Known for	Neighborhood Playhouse; Museum of Costume Art
Parent	Leonard Lewisohn
Relatives	Jesse Lewisohn (brother); Lillie Lewisohn Vogel (sister); Alice Lewisohn (sister); Adolph Lewisohn (uncle); Adele Lewisohn Lehman (cousin); Sam A. Lewisohn (cousin);

Irene Lewisohn (September 5, 1886 – April 4, 1944) was the founder of the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Museum of Costume Art.^[1]

Biography

She was the daughter of Rosalie Jacobs and Leonard Lewisohn.^[2]^[3]^[4] Her father was of Jewish background. In 1905 she and her sister, Alice Lewisohn, began classes and club work at the Henry Street Settlement House in New York. They produced performances with both dance and drama. In 1915, they opened the Neighborhood Playhouse on the corner of Grand and Pitt Streets.^[5] There they offered training in both dance and drama to children and teenagers. Irene was in charge of the dance training and production, with the assistance of Blanche Talmud. Alice Lewisohn was in charge of the dramatic arts.^[6] In 1928 they opened The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre at 16 West Forty-sixth Street.^[7] Irene Lewisohn died in 1944.^[1]^[8]^[9]

Legacy

The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b "Irene Lewisohn Dies. Founder Neighborhood Playhouse and Museum of Costume Art". New York Times. April 5, 1944. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
^ Although she was listed as born in 1892 on her death certificate, all her passport applications list her birth as September 5, 1886 which fits in better with the birth of her sister in 1883.
^ "He Succumbed to Pneumonia in London After a Three Days' Illness. Was Fifty-four Years Old" (PDF). New York Times. March 6, 1902. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
^ "Leonard Lewisohn Left $12,000,000" (PDF). New York Times. March 6, 1902. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
^ "Historical note". New York Public Library. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-12-16. In 1914, the Lewisohns bought a lot on the corner of Grand and Pitt Streets and donated it to the Settlement as the site of a new theater that would provide better performance space and teaching facilities. The Neighborhood Playhouse opened in 1915, showing both motion pictures and theatrical performances.
^ "Guide to the Neighborhood Playhouse. Scenarios, 1914-1931". New York Public Library. Retrieved 2008-12-16. In 1905 Irene and Alice Lewisohn began classes and club work at the Henry Street Settlement House in New York. While at the Settlement House they also began to present performances featuring dance and drama. In 1915, the sisters opened the Neighborhood Playhouse on the corner of Grand and Pitt Streets, where they offered training in dance and drama to children and teens. Irene Lewisohn oversaw the dance training and production, with the assistance of Blanche Talmud, while Alice Lewisohn led the dramatic work.
^ "Theatre Parties To Aid Charities And War Relief. 'Candle in the Wind' Special Performances to Help Britain And Children's Village". New York Times. September 28, 1941. Retrieved 2008-12-16. The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, 16 West Forty-sixth Street, is a non-profitmaking organization founded in 1928 by Miss Irene Lewisohn of ...
^ "Irene Lewisohn Rites Today". New York Times. April 6, 1944. Retrieved 2008-12-16. The funeral service for Miss Irene Lewisohn founder and codirector of the ... Miss Lewisohn died Monday night in the Doctors Hospital after an illness ...
^ "1944". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2008-12-16. Philanthropist Irene Lewisohn died today in New York City. She and her sister Alice built and endowed the Neighborhood Playhouse. With Aline Bernstein she founded the Museum of Costume Art on Fifth Avenue in 1937.
^ "The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2008-12-16. The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library is one of the world's foremost fashion libraries. Its collection includes approximately thirty thousand noncirculating monographs, rare books, and periodicals, as well as design archives, sketchbooks, photographs, drawings, prints, and extensive files of clippings pertaining to the history and study of the arts of adornment throughout the world. The library maintains fifty current fashion periodical subscriptions, including a wide range of international magazines and scholarly journals.