Jersey Homesteads Mural, Ben Shahn (1898–1969), with Bernarda Bryson Shahn (1903–2004), 1936–7; located in the Roosevelt Public School. Photo by © RicardoBarros.com 2019
Additional Roosevelt Resources
Want to learn more? Scroll down to view some of the resources Morven’s curators consulted in preparation for Dreaming of Utopia: Roosevelt, New Jersey or click to jump to the following themes.
The Founding of Jersey HomesteadS
Jersey Homesteads footage
Early footage of Jersey Homesteads including the opening of the factory, courtesy of Ilene Levine. (17:12)
Destination Anywhere: The Story of Jersey Homesteads
Video on how Jersey Homesteads came to be built. (6:55)
Around and About New Jersey: Jersey Homesteads
Profile of the town, focusing on footage of the oral history project conducted by fourth graders at Roosevelt Public School. Includes interviews with Bernarda Bryson Shahn and Augusta Chasan, as well as an art lesson based on the mural. (14:42)
Notes for an Intellectual History of Jersey Homesteads (Roosevelt, New Jersey) -- A Successful Experiment in Democracy and Creation of Community
Article by Roosevelt resident Pearl Seligman about the town’s history.
“Homecoming Trip” to Jewish Cooperative Community
Yiddish Book Center oral history with Penina Glazer describing her experience growing up in Roosevelt. (5:42)
Library of Congress photographs
Browse photos taken by the federal government documenting the creation of Jersey Homesteads.
Philip Goldstein assistant cutter in the cooperative garment factory at Jersey Homesteads. He is secretary of the Colonists' Association, Inc., Hightstown, New Jersey. Photograph by Russell Lee.
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, [LC-USF33-011015-M3]
Consumer's cooperative. The homesteaders have their own kosher meat shop and grocery, which they expect to enlarge as the colony grows. This picture shows manager, Nathan Dubin, doing a flourishing business in his temporary store. Jersey Homesteads, Hightstown, New Jersey. Photograph by Russell Lee.
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, [LC-USF33-011029-M3]
![Family group playing cards in one of the new homes on the Hightstown Project, New Jersey. Photograph by Carl Mydans.Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, [LC-USF33-T01-000735-M4]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a05f50f12abd9831a579618/1577989799559-E3FW430RRUTFSI0T7UZ5/8a02332r.jpg)
Family group playing cards in one of the new homes on the Hightstown Project, New Jersey. Photograph by Carl Mydans.
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, [LC-USF33-T01-000735-M4]
Inventory to the Borough of Roosevelt Historical Collection
Finding aid for the collection of Roosevelt materials at the Special Collections and University Archives of Rutgers University Libraries.
Jersey Homesteads: In The Architectural Vanguard
Documentary film on the architecture of Roosevelt using archival photographs and interviews, including some with descendants early residents of the town. (1:08:32)
Ben Shahn’s Jersey Homesteads Mural
Mural Guide
An in-depth look at the Jersey Homesteads Mural, created for Morven’s Dreaming of Utopia: Roosevelt, New Jersey exhibit.
Ben Shahn’s Jersey Homesteads Mural
Video of a 2013 talk about the mural by Roosevelt resident Alan Mallach. (13:27)
Electronic New Jersey
A look at the mural on New Jersey Digital Highway, including text and recordings of an interview with Bernarda Bryson Shahn, who worked on the mural as Ben Shahn’s paid assistant.
The Mural by Mical Moser
Moser grew up in Roosevelt and attended Roosevelt Public School. She currently lives in Montreal, Canada.
Art and Artists
Generations of Artists: Roosevelt, NJ
Documentary by Dreaming of Utopia: Roosevelt, New Jersey co-curator Ilene Dube, featuring interviews with Roosevelt artists including, Naomi Brahinsky, Jonathan Shahn, Ani Rosskam, and Bill Leech as well as a score of works by Roosevelt musicians. (19:50)
Roosevelt Arts Project
Website for the Roosevelt Arts project.
Bernarda Bryson Shahn
A Quiet Audacity: The Life and Work of Bernarda Bryson Shahn
A 1991 documentary produced by New Jersey State Council on the Arts and New Jersey Network. (28:49)
For Arts Sake: Bernarda Bryson Shahn
A 1994 interview that aired on East Brunswick Municipal Access Television. (28:24)
Oral History interview with Bernarda Bryson Shahn, 1995 July 3
Transcript of an oral history conducted for the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art.
Louis Kahn
My Architect
Portrait of the architect legend Louis Kahn and his private life from the point of view of his son. (1:02:20)
Jacob Landau
The Lost Comics of Artist Jacob Landau
Article in Print magazine about the life and works of Jacob Landau.
Sol Libsohn
Interview with Sol Libsohn
Transcript of an oral history interview by Gary Saretzky for Remembering the 20th Century: An Oral History of Monmouth County.
Eye on America: Roy Stryker’s Standard Oil Photography Project
Video about the project that Sol Libsohn and Louise Rosskam worked on documenting the work of the Standard Oil Company. (6:29)
David Stone Martin
Verve Art Covers by David Stone Martin
Video showing David Stone Martin album art. (4:42)
Gregorio Prestopino
Gregorio Prestopino
Browse Prestopino’s oil paintings, watercolors, magazine covers, and more.
Days Work, 1940. Gregorio Prestopino (1907—1984). Oil on canvas. Estate of Gregorio Prestopino.
Portrait of the Artist as a Landscape Painter, 1958. Gregorio Prestopino (1907—1984). Oil on canvas. Estate of Gregorio Prestopino.
Nude - Fallen Log, 1983. Gregorio Prestopino (1907—1984). Ink and watercolor. Estate of Gregorio Prestopino.
Wiska Radkiewiez
Welcome Sound
A film by a Roosevelt artist on a sound installation in town.
Louise Rosskam
Interview with Louise Rosskam
Transcript of an oral history interview by Gary Saretzky for Remembering the 20th Century: An Oral History of Monmouth County.
Arthur Rothstein
The Arthur Rothstein Legacy Project
Learn about and explore the work of Arthur Rothstein, one of the photographers who documented the work of the Resettlement Administration for the federal government.
A Lens on FDR’s New Deal: Photographs by Arthur Rothstein, 1935-1945
An exhibit about the New Deal photography of Arthur Rothstein, on view at Roosevelt House in New York City through March.
Ben Shahn
Ben Shahn: Passion for Justice
A 2001 documentary by Susan Wallner talking about Shahn’s art and how it was affected by his political views. (56:53)