In Lady Oliphant's Drawing-room

During the second half of the 19th century, numerous Western travelers with a penchant for Orientalism journeyed to the Holy Land. In 1882, Elise and Lawrence Oliphant and a group of family members and friends settled in the German colony in Haifa (at what is currently 16 Ben-Gurion Boulevard). The exhibition features watercolors, drawings and pictures by Lady Oliphant, her sister Jamesina Waller, and her friends Emily Cathburt and John Walker. The works capture the landscapes of Haifa; the German Colony; Daliat El-Carmel (where the Oliphants had a summer home); and images of the Druze. These works offer fascinating documentation of premodern Haifa and its magnificent landscapes. It is particularly moving to compare the relatively bare slopes of the Carmel in these images with the numerous buildings present in the illustrative photographs taken for the exhibition.

This exhibition, which was on display in the Museum of the City of Haifa building, concludes a significant chapter in the history of the Museum: during the period of the Oliphants' residence in Haifa, this building served as a community center, and was often depicted by members of the Oliphant circle from the window of the couple's home. These paintings are also included in the exhibition.