New-York Historical Society

New York City

Bernard Schwartz serves as a member of the board of The New-York Historical Society, a preeminent educational and research institution, and home to both New York City’s oldest museum and one of the nation’s most distinguished independent research libraries.

The Society was founded in 1804 and its holdings cover four centuries of American history, and include one of the world’s greatest collections of historical artifacts, American art and other materials documenting the history of the United States as seen through the prism of New York City and State.

Forty thousand of the Society’s most treasured pieces are on permanent display in the Henry Luce III Center for the Study of American Culture, and a self-guided audio tour brings these artifacts to life with anecdotes and stories. The collections provide the foundation for exploration of the nation’s richly layered past and support the Society’s mission to provide a forum for debate and examination of issues surrounding the making and meaning of history.

Bernard and Irene Schwartz Distinguished Speakers Series

The Bernard and Irene Schwartz Distinguished Speakers Series is the main component of the Society’s public programs. The Series features a wide array of extraordinary lectures, panels, conversations and classes whose topics range from history and current affairs to exhibition related lectures, to musical events, readings and plays.

Bernard and Irene Schwartz Postdoctoral Fellows Program

The Bernard and Irene Schwartz Postdoctoral Fellows Program was established in 2005 to foster a vibrant relation between the New-York Historical Society and The New School’s Eugene Lang College. Post-doctoral Fellows are invited to help build this connection through research, teaching, and public history programming. In the course of a one-year fellowship, Bernard and Irene Schwartz fellows are expected to develop a major research project with the resources of the New-York Historical Society, to teach two undergraduate courses at Eugene Lang College and to share in both institutions’ commitments to public history.

Bernard and Irene Schwartz Summer Internship Program

In cooperation with the New School University's Eugene Lang College, The Bernard & Irene Schwartz Summer Internship Program is a paid internship program to provide undergraduate students with a rewarding and demanding experience that includes working within the New York Historical Society's operations and visits to other cultural institutions throughout New York City.

"Schwartz Interns" are introduced to the possibility of careers in a wide variety of areas, including education, development, exhibition design, conservations, public programs, collections and more. In turn, the Historical Society’s staff gains a fresh perspective on different roles within its institution.

Current New-York Historical Society Events

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