Commemorating a Centennial by Revising a Vision

The American museum was and is an idea. The European museum was a fact. Almost without exception the European museum was first a collection. With few exceptions most American museums were first an ideal,” Philadelphian Nathaniel Burt wrote in his 1977 history of the American museum, Palaces for People. Unlike their European counterparts, which were usually created to house the great...
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The World of Ida Ella Jones

The picture, a small, delicately hued watercolor, is deceptively simple. A plain white farmhouse serves as its centerpiece. A profusion of flower beds and blooming shrubs surrounds the house. Each stone in the front wall is carefully outlined, curving walkways lead to the entryway, and two maple trees stand tall. No occupants are in sight, but their presence is signaled by the comfortable chairs...
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