Art of the State 2016 / Wood Hicks and Bark Peelers

Posted by on Sep 9, 2016 in | Comments Off on Art of the State 2016 / Wood Hicks and Bark Peelers Art of the State 2016 More than 500 guests visited The State Museum of Pennsylvania on June 26 to attend the opening of the 49th annual Art of the State. The juried exhibition, cosponsored by The State Museum and the nonprofit Jump Street, with WITF as a media sponsor, showcases 122 pieces from artists around the state. At the opening, 20 artists received awards in five categories: craft,...
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Preserving Yesterday’s Life for Tomorrow

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Preserving Yesterday’s Life for Tomorrow Historic preservation has taken on a new dimension in Bedford County. Old Bedford Village, just off the Pennsylvania Turn­pike at Bedford Exit 11, is a nonprofit venture helping to preserve the history AND economy of this central Pennsyl­vania county. Bedford County as it exists today, is bounded on the south by the Mason­-Dixon Line, on the west, north and east by Somerset, Cambria, Blair,...
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Commemorating a Centennial by Revising a Vision

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on 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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Finding the Fabulous Furniture of the Mahantongo Valley

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Finding the Fabulous Furniture of the Mahantongo Valley The exuberantly decorated furniture made during the first half of the nineteenth century in the Mahantongo Valley of south central Pennsylvania continues to attract considerable attention. The Mahantongo Valley, roughly seventeen miles long and four miles wide, lies about twenty-five miles north of Harrisburg, and its topography is formed by a series of sharp ridges, meandering creeks, and steep...
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Somerset Historical Center: Portraying the Pioneer Spirit of Southwestern Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Somerset Historical Center: Portraying the Pioneer Spirit of Southwestern Pennsylvania While there are many similar stories to be told on the subject of historical and social evolution in all regions of Pennsylvania, there are also many tales unique to every city, town, or county. Southwestern Pennsylvania has its share of unique stories, and no museum interprets the saga of this region so succinctly as the Somerset Historical Center. Adding to the effectiveness of docu­menting...
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