Shorts

“Abstraction to Figuration: Selections of Contemporary Art from the Pincus Collection” is an exhibition of works of art drawn from the collection of David and Gerry Pincus currently on view at the Palmer Museum of Art on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. An exhi­bition of post-1945 American painting, sculpture, and photography, “Abstraction to Figuration” presents the work of major abstract expressionist painters Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Wilhelm de Kooning, and Barnett Newman, among others. The pop art of Andy Warhol, portraits by Chuck Close, and photographs by Cindy Sherman, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Andres Serrano bring the exhibition from the 1960s to the present. “Abstraction to Figuration” continues through Sunday, December 15 [1996]. For more information, write: Palmer Museum of Art, University Park, PA 16802-2507; or telephone (814) 865-7672. Admission is free.

Used until his death in 1906, a palette belonging to celebrated postimpressionist painter Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) is on view at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg through Thursday, October 31 [1996]. The palette, often depicted in his paintings, including Self-Portrait with the Palette, is the artist’s last; it has never before been exhibited in the United States. This showing marks only the fourth time in history that it had been exhibited. Previously, it has been displayed in Paris (1936), Tokyo (1974), and Madrid (1974). Tours of the Governor’s Residence are given Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. For more information, write: Governor’s Residence, 2035 North Front St.

“Crossroads: The Story of Transportation in Lawrence County” is on view at the Lawrence County Historical Society in New Castle through the end of the year [1996]. The exhibi­tion traces the history of transportation in the region through artifacts, pho­tographs, documents, and oral histories. For more details, write: Lawrence County Historical Society, 408 North Jefferson St., New Castle, PA 16103; or telephone (412) 658-4022.

Born one hundred years ago on November 14 [1996], Mamie Doud Eisenhower (1896-1979), wife of the nation’s thirty-­fourth president, is the subject of this year’s Eisenhower Seminar, which will be held on Saturday, November 9 [1996], at the Gettysburg Cyclorama Center. “Mamie Eisenhower: Her Impact and Influence on Her Time” ex­amines not only her role as First Lady, but explores American culture of the period. Seminar topics include “Mamie’s Hats: The White House, the New Look, and the Meaning of Style in the 1950s”; “First Lady as Campaigner”; and “Mamie Eisenhower: An Insight from her Personal Letters.” For program information, write: Eisenhower National Historic Site, 97 Taneytown Rd., Gettysburg, PA 17325; or telephone (717) 338-9114. Registration is required.

In conjunction with the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s landmark exhibition, “The Peale Family: Creation of a Legacy; 1770-1870” (on view from Sunday, November 3 [1996], through Sunday, January 5, 1997), the Historical Society of Pennsylvania will sponsor two lectures by art historian Carol Eaton Soltis. Entitled “The Peales and the Philadelphia Art Community,” the talks, to be given on Friday, November 8 [1996], and Tuesday, November 19 [1996], will address primary sources in the society’s extensive collec­tions which illuminate the lives and careers of Philadelphia’s prolific Peale family of painters from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. Both pro­grams will begin promptly at 12:15 P.M. For more details, write: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust St., Philadelphia, PA 19107; or telephone (215) 732-6200. Admission is charged.

A program focusing on the role of women in an ironmaking community in the 1830s through a look at food prepara­tion, harvesting activities, and cooking will be offered by Hopewell Furnace on Saturday, October 26 [1996], from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. Additional information is available by writing: Hopewell Furnace, 2 Mark Bird Ln., Elverson, PA 19520; or by tele­phoning (610) 582-8773. There is a charge for admission.

Continuing through Friday, January 31, 1997, at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, “Painting the Town Victorian” celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the reprinting of a counter-top display book originally is­sued in 1885 by the Devoe Paint Company. Prior to the 1976 reprint, little accessible documentation existed for the ways in which historic American houses were painted. This exhibition features rare pat­tern books and painters’ specifications, colorful publications and sample cards dis­tributed by paint companies, and graining and sanding tools drawn from the collec­tions of the Athenaeum and the Victorian Society in America. Additional information may be obtained by writing: Athenaeum. of Philadelphia, 219 South Sixth St., Philadelphia, PA 19106-3794; or by tele­phoning (215) 925-2688. Admission is free.

An installation of diverse works by Philadelphia area artistic families, drawn from the permanent collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, will be exhibited from Saturday, October 12 [1996], through Sunday, January 12, 1997. “Family Matters,” planned to coincide with the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s “The Peale Family: Creation of a Legacy, 1770-1870,” features works by members of the Peale, Pinto, Calder, Sartain, and Wyeth families. Additional details are available by writing: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118 North Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102; or by telephoning (215) 972-7600. There is an admission fee.