Images(4)

Portrait of Hannah Klein

Object number2015.81.7

Artist Aaron Harry Gorson (1872 - 1933)

MediumOil on canvas; Wood; Metal

Credit LineGift of Steven J. and Jeanne Schimmel

DescriptionFramed oil painting on canvas. Bust portrait. Three-quarter view with female sitter facing slightly proper right. Sitter gazes at the viewer. Sitter wears a black garment with high neck featuring gray ruffle at top; gold details around neckline of garment. Hair is dark and short or tied up. Background is dark green. Canvas is attached to wood strainer with nails around the edges. Painting is signed in the viewer's bottom right corner. Name handwritten in blue ink on back of strainer along bottom. Gold reeded frame with rounded frame members. DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth (Framed): 26.75 x 22.625 x 1.875 in. (67.9 x 57.5 x 4.8 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (Painting only): 24 x 20.125 x 1 in. (61 x 51.1 x 2.5 cm)
SignedArtist signature in the viewer's bottom right corner "A H Gorson / 19[??]"; end of date is illegible.
InscriptionsHandwritten text in blue ink on back of strainer at bottom "Gorson".
Historical NotesHannah Klein founded Klein's Kosher Cafe with her husband Joseph Klein in 1900. Klein's Kosher Cafe was founded by Hungarian immigrants Joseph and Hannah Haupt Klein in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1900. The restaurant served traditional, kosher Hungarian dishes at a location on Fifth Avenue. After their retirement in the 1930s, Joseph and Hannah passed ownership of the restaurant to three of their six children, Samuel, Sidney, and Virginia. In 1935, the restaurant gave up its kosher status and introduced a seafood menu. The pairing of popular seafood dishes with traditional Hungarian meals became the restaurant's hallmark. Klein's Restaurant attracted the attention of both locals and celebrities, and became a popular nightspot in the 1940s. The restaurant remained a family operation until its closure in February 1992.

Related person Hannah Haupt Klein

Related institution Klein's Kosher Cafe (1900 - 1934)

Related person Joseph Klein

Subjects