From the Margins: Lee Krasner and Norman Lewis, 1945-1952
About 40 Abstract Expressionist paintings reveal similarities between two New York artists whose works during the 1940s and 1950s were marginalized. Krasner’s Hebrew studies influenced her “Little Image” pictographs, painted from right to left, and African-American Lewis’s Harlem and jazz backgrounds figure in his “Little Figure” works. Both use small brushstroke styles and vibrant cultural references. Through February 1 at The Jewish Museum in New York (212-423-3200). —Sara Trappler Spielman

Stitching History from the Holocaust
Eight dress ensembles were sewn from patterns designed by Hedy Strnad, who was murdered by the Nazis in 1939. Her patterns were sent to relatives through letters from Poland as she and her husband sought deliverance from the war. Meticulously re-created, the sleek and stylish outfits are also on digital display at the Jewish Museum Milwaukee until February 28 (414-390-5730). —Rebecca Levine 

Arnold Newman: Masterclass
There are images of David Ben-Gurion reading Israel’s Declaration of Inde-pendence; poet Allen Ginsberg in extreme closeup; Otto Frank standing in the notorious attic in Amsterdam. Not to mention Marc Chagall, Martha Graham, Georgia O’Keefe, Pablo Picasso, Leonard Bernstein, Marilyn Monroe, Salvador Dali and dozens of other giants of the 20th century. Arnold Newman (1918-2006) photographed them in luminous black-and-white, and over 200 portraits appear in this traveling show. At San Francisco’s  Contemporary Jewish Museum through February 1 (415-655-7800). —Renata Polt