Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Community

16 Over 61: Meet Matthew Baigell

This profile appears as part of “16 Over 61,” a collaboration between the Forward and the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan’s Wechsler Center for Modern Aging.

Matthew Baigell, 88, is professor emeritus of art history at Rutgers University. As a scholar and writer, his interests always spanned a huge range of topics. But Judaism, and how Jews are represented in American visual culture, has in recent years been central.

Matthew Baigell

Image by Matthew Baigell

In the 20-plus books he’s authored, Baigell has written about how cartoons in the American press have advanced antisemitic stereotypes, the tradition of left-leaning politics in American Jewish art and more. The most recent of those books, which examines how American art represented Jewish identity in the mid-20th century, was published only last year.

“The main thing is to be constantly restless and to keep asking questions,” Baigell, a member of the inaugural cohort of “16 Over 61” honorees, said in an interview about his retirement. “You cannot think in terms of beginnings and endings.”

Describe your ideal birthday celebration.

Dinner with family.

16 over 61

The Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan and the Forward present 16 over 61. Courtesy of Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan and The Forward

You wake up on a beautiful Sunday morning with an unplanned day ahead of you, and no responsibilities. How do you choose to spend it?

Reading the Sunday papers with Renee, my wife of 62 years. Planning to make or do a take-out dinner. In nice weather, go for a walk.

What makes you smile, no matter what?

Hearing from grandchildren. A totally unexpected caption under a cartoon. As in: a naked lady is seen walking by a tree with a snake peering out. The caption: “Holy shit! A talking snake.”

When you get good news, who is the first person you tell, and why?

Renee, my wife.

What’s your earliest Jewish memory?

Being unable to communicate with my grandparents, who spoke only Yiddish.

What’s one thing you absolutely cannot live without?

If you include people as things, then family.

How do you feel you’ve changed over the years? What ideas have been most meaningful to you as you’ve traveled through life?

I’ve explored Jewish history and culture, which means identifying more deeply with a real and imagined community — something beyond self.

Has your Judaism informed how you approach the process of aging? If so, how?

Only in the sense that it occupies more of my time, thoughts, intellectual energy. The process of aging is personal.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.