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Allentown Art Museum was founded in 1934 and integrated during 1939. It was only due to the sincere effort of Walter Emerson Baum that the museum was established. In fact, the museum was a Federal-style house that was owned by the city. It served the local community while exhibiting the works of the regional as well as local artists. Allentown museum is a privately funded organization that runs with the support of its members.
History of Allentown Art Museum
The history of the museum is interesting. Its growth and development is based on gifts! Samuel H Kress presented a gift of 53 Renaissance and Baroque paintings and sculptures to the members of the museum in 1959 that triggered its growth process. The community visionaries and museum friends decided to change the location and refurbish the old building of the museum in order to accommodate the gifts.
Around 1975, the building’s boundaries were expanded so that varied collecting plans and other programs could be conducted comfortably and effectively. A room designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was also installed in the museum. This became an integral part of the permanent collection of the museum.
Exhibitions of the Museum
Some of the collections of the special exhibitions of the museum are due for display. They are scheduled to be displayed around 2007-2008:
- Knights in Shining Armor: Myth and Reality, 1450-1650
Kress and Rodale Galleries, JUNE 3, 2007
- Chushingura: Loyalty and Revenge in 18th-Century Japan
Payne Hurd Gallery, MAY 27, 2007
- A Partnership in Art: Selected Gifts from Audrey and Bernie Berman
Trexler Gallery, APRIL 15 – JULY 8, 2007
- Bead-Dazzled: Decoration in Victorian America
Payne Hurd Gallery, JUNE 3 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2007
- The Art of Warner Bros. Cartoons
Kress and Rodale Galleries, JUNE 24 – SEPTEMBER 16, 2007
- Tiffany by Design
Kress Gallery, OCTOBER 7, 2007 — JANUARY 6, 2008
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