As part of our Online Programming opportunities, the Holocaust Documentation & Education Center is pleased to share the following program from Classrooms Without Borders:

Program:  “Life, Legacy and Love Story”

Date:        Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Time:        12:00 PM

Platform:  This event will take place online and is free to the public.

Please note registration is required. Please click here to register.

Life, Legacy and Love Story: The story of Holocaust Survivor and handbag design genius Judith Leiber and modernist artist Gerson Leiber.

“If Romeo and Juliet had lived into their 90s, they would have been Judy and Gerson.” That’s how Jeffrey Sussman described Judith and Gerson Leiber.

Join us as we explore a beautiful tribute to their creativity, their humanity, their love and their genius.

Judith Leiber was known for her small crystal-covered handbags called minaudieres, many of which took the forms of small animals, flowers or other objects. The bags often were decorated with gems or semi-precious stones and were gold plated. Singers and Hollywood celebrities, as well as several US first ladies, have carried her bags, which are part of several museum collections.

Gerson Leiber, known as Gus, was an artist who created abstract landscapes, prints and sculptures. His work has been featured in several prominent US museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Leiber Collection: The Leiber Collection is a beautiful jewel of a museum that sits majestically in a sublime sculpture garden, located in the East Hampton, New York hamlet of Springs. We are dedicated to sharing the life and legacy of Judith and Gerson Leiber through the continuation of their museum and through exhibitions, talks and presentations showcasing their creative genius across the country and around the globe.

The Leiber Collection offers unique insight into the astonishing story of Judith Leiber, a survivor of Hitler’s Europe who came to America and took the fashion accessory industry by storm, breaking taboos right and left, changing fashion history forever.

We also chronicle the extraordinary seven decades long career of Gerson Leiber, exhibiting the stunning paintings, etchings, lithographs, and drawings of this highly accomplished and creative artist.

The Leiber Sculpture Garden continues the Leibers’ lifelong commitment to supporting the arts by highlighting sculptors who were friends and neighbors of the Leibers’ as well as contemporary artists creating some of the most exciting work of today.