Allentown Art Museum facts for kids
Allentown Art Museum in July 2008
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| Established | March 17, 1934 |
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| Location | 31 N. 5th Street Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Public transit access |  LANta bus: 102, 107, 209, 210, 220, 324 |
The Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley is an art museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was started in 1934 by a group led by Walter Emerson Baum. He was a painter who used a style called Pennsylvania Impressionism. This style focused on capturing light and everyday scenes.
The museum has a collection of over 19,000 art pieces. It is a very important art center for the area. The museum also has a library with more than 16,000 books and magazines about art.
Contents
History of the Museum
How the Museum Started
The Allentown Art Museum first opened as the Allentown Art Gallery. It was started by Walter Emerson Baum. The gallery opened on March 17, 1934, at Hunsicker School in Allentown. It showed 70 paintings by local artists. These artists used the Pennsylvania Impressionism style. The gallery quickly became well-known in the art world.
During the Great Depression, which was a time of economic hardship, Baum helped the museum grow. He added to the collection through a government art program. He also received many gifts of art. In 1936, the City of Allentown gave the museum a permanent home. It was a Federal-style house in Cedar Park. The museum's first curator was John E. Berninger. He was a local artist who lived in the museum building.
A Big Gift of Art
In 1959, the museum received a very special gift. Samuel H. Kress, who was from nearby Cherryville, gave 53 paintings and sculptures. These artworks were from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The Renaissance was a time of great art and learning in Europe. The Baroque period followed, known for its dramatic art. This gift made the museum much more important.
The Kress gift encouraged people to buy and fix up a new building. This building used to be the First Presbyterian Church. It was built in 1902. The new building was perfect for the growing art collection.
In 1960, the Kress gift was shown in the museum's first big catalog. It was called The Samuel H. Kress Memorial Collection. The museum later started "Slow Art" days in 2011. These days encourage visitors to spend more time looking closely at art.
Museum Expansions
In 1975, the museum building was made bigger. This expansion was designed by Edgar Tafel. It helped the museum offer more programs and collect more art. The museum also added a library from a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright was a very famous American architect.
Also in 1975, the museum added more European paintings. It also got a large collection of textile arts. In 1978, the museum bought a painting of Ann Penn Allen. It was painted by Gilbert Stuart. She was the granddaughter of William Allen, who founded Allentown.
The Museum in the 2000s
In 2010, the museum finished a big renovation project. It cost $15.4 million. The project was designed by Venturi Scott Brown, an architecture firm. They added 7900 square feet (734 square meters) of new space. This included new classrooms and galleries. They also added a cafe, a bigger gift shop, and a new glass front.
This expansion was the first since 1975. About 40% of the new space was for showing art.
Art Collection Highlights
The Lehighton Mural
In 2016, the museum got a large painting called Lehighton. It is a mural by Franz Kline. He created this artwork for the American Legion in Lehighton, Pennsylvania. After a lot of careful work to restore it, the painting was shown to the public in January 2017.
Rembrandt's Portrait of a Young Lady
On February 10, 2020, a painting in the museum's collection was confirmed as real. It is called Portrait of a Young Lady. It was painted in 1632 by the famous artist Rembrandt.
American Art
- Ann Penn Allen by Gilbert Stuart (1795)
- Niagara Falls by Gustav Johann Grunewald (1834)
- Floriform Vase by Tiffany Studios (1905)
European Art
- Central Panel of an Altarpiece Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine by Giovanni del Biondo (1379)
- Saint Jerome Penitent by Lorenzo Lotto (1515)
- Portrait of Henrica Ploost van Amstel by Paulus Moreelse (1625)
- Game Stall at Market, by Frans Snyders (1625-37)
- Portrait of a Young Woman by Rembrandt (1632)
Prints and Drawings
- Diogenes after Parmigiano by Ugo da Carpi (after 1525)
- Il Perdono (Vision of Saint Francis of Assisi) by Federico Barocci (1581)
- Untitled by Keith Haring (1982)
Textiles
- Table Cover by Margaret Oothout (1764)
- Bed Curtain (Palampore) from the Coromandel Coast in India (1775)
See also
