From Homesteader to Art Collector

A remarkable man who “led an extraordinary life.”

Leaving an equally impressive legacy as both an art collector and philanthropist, Jacob Greenberg’s life, spanning most of the twentieth century, illuminates many unfamiliar yet fascinating facets to the American Jewish experience.

After his birth on a homestead in the Badlands of North Dakota to Eastern European Jewish immigrants, Greenberg was fortunate to pursue intellectual studies, first at the progressive Mechanic Arts High School in St. Paul, then the University of Minnesota, and Columbia University. He focused on economic geography, and upon graduation, he served an apprenticeship at the Sears headquarters in Chicago under the transformative direction of Julius Rosenwald.

Determined to follow his own star, Greenberg left his mark, and made his fortune, first in the garment industry in rural Oklahoma then in the energy industry in Tennessee and Texas. In the 1990s, Jacob and his wife Joyce embarked on a new project: the Jewish Heritage Program, which protects and restores Jewish sites throughout the world.

Zaretsky’s fine biography of this extraordinary man explores the dark history of anti-Semitism in this country, and the struggles and successes of the Eastern European Jews who fled hostilities in their homeland only to find further blockades in the land of opportunity.

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“Zaretsky vividly sets the life of one (extra)ordinary man into the American twentieth century in the context of immigration, anti-Semitism, and assimilation; capitalism, education, and philanthropy. A secular Jew who moved and worked in assimilated America, Jacob Greenberg lived a rich life grounded in a deep sense of the ethical imperatives of the Jewish tradition.”—Martha T. Roth, Chauncey S. Boucher Distinguished Service Professor, Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (OI), Dept. of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, and the College, The University of Chicago

"The story of the remarkable of life of Jacob Greenberg reflects a passion for global culture and history witnessed through decades of travel and a dedication to preserving heritage. Jacob and Joyce Greenberg’s generous support of World Monuments Fund’s Jewish Heritage Program during its early years, played a transformative role in restoring several synagogues across Europe and beyond, and provided a strong foundation for this important initiative that continues to preserve and protect Jewish heritage around the world."—Bénédicte de Montlaur, President and CEO of World Monuments Fund