Curiosity Connection and the Planetarium remain closed. Masks are recommended to be worn indoors while visiting.
This circa 1815 print entitled, Perry’s Battle on Lake Erie, depicts the most pivotal maneuver of the Battle of Lake Erie, illustrating the moment when Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry transferred his men from the heavily-damaged USS Lawrence to the U.S. Brig Niagara. Aboard the Niagara, Perry ordered an attack that broke the British line and …
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Violet Oakley was a painter, stained-glass artist and illustrator. She is best known for her murals currently on display inside the Pennsylvania State Capitol. Those paintings represent the largest public work ever to be completed by a woman. This week’s Pennsylvania Treasure, an oil-on-canvas entitled Red Rose Studio, depicts the Red Rose Inn, Oakley’s home …
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Samuel B. Waugh, a well-known artist and native of Mercer, Pa., created this oil and canvas portrait of Dorothea Dix. His work became part of the permanent art collection at The State Museum of Pennsylvania in 2008. Previously, the portrait hung in the Dixmont State Hospital, named after its founder Dorothea Dix. The painting will …
Continue reading ‘Dorothea Dix: An early champion for the mentally ill’ »
Television talk show host Dick Cavett is known to audiences for his conversational style and engaging in witty banter with celebrity guests. But, have you have ever seen him in a wetsuit? How about riding on the back of a horse? In December 1971, Andy Warhol, one of Pennsylvania’s most prominent modern artists, took …
Continue reading ‘Andy Warhol and his Little Red Book: The early days of social photography’ »
Curator Amy Hammond recommends Washington bids Adieu to Lafayette, painted by Frederick Kemmelmeyer around the year 1800, as this week’s Pennsylvania Treasure. An antiques dealer bought Washington bids Adieu to Lafayette from a tavern in Turtle Creek, Pa. It was subsequently acquired and donated to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission by Mrs. Roberta F. Griffith of Sewickley, …
Continue reading ‘Washington and Lafayette: A friendship immortalized in fine art’ »