Carved from Our Roots: The Folk Art Sculptures of Marshall D. Rumbaugh

Posted by on Dec 1, 2025 in | Comments Off on Carved from Our Roots: The Folk Art Sculptures of Marshall D. Rumbaugh   A steel mallet rings like the chiming of a bell, as the delicate petal of a tulip unfolds under the sculptor’s chisel from the surface of the limestone. The fluidity of his hands, the tempo of the mallet, the precision of the chisel — all seemed effortless, as a visitor to the museum asked Marshall Rumbaugh how he learned to carve stone. “Well,” he said modestly with a broad smile, “I’ve...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by on Dec 1, 2025 in | Comments Off on Editor’s Letter What comes to mind when you think of Pennsylvania? The features in this edition spotlight perspectives on commonwealth culture through a painter’s scenic landscapes, a sculptor’s three-dimensional portraits of historical and folkloric figures, the state animal, and a popular food product. In the early 1970s, artist Nick Ruggieri was commissioned by the Harrisburg Patriot-News to select a...
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Monument Man: Chester County’s John Gheen Taylor and His Memorials

Posted by on Sep 8, 2025 in | Comments Off on Monument Man: Chester County’s John Gheen Taylor and His Memorials In Pennsylvania’s Chester County there is an old burial ground called Birmingham Lafayette Cemetery. While it may seem quiet outside the cemetery’s gates, behind them is a collection of monuments that speak loudly, telling a story that once captured the attention of the nation. Between 1893 and 1913, a determined West Chester local named John Gheen Taylor made it his mission to erect certain...
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The Continental Building

Posted by on Aug 29, 2025 in | Comments Off on The Continental Building As Pennsylvania prepares for the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, much attention will be given to Independence Hall and the surrounding mall in Philadelphia. But it’s not only these colonial buildings that deserve our attention. In the adjacent blocks stand several significant modernist structures worth noting, too. One such example, the Continental Building, was listed in the...
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on Oct 21, 2024 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director Yesterday, I attended a birthday party for a very special deer — the Court House Deer — who makes his home outside the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre. This statue, which just celebrated its 158th birthday, was recently conserved through funding in part by a Keystone Historic Preservation grant from the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. It is very different from most of...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Winter 2021

Posted by on Feb 17, 2021 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation Newsletter – Winter 2021 Topics in the Winter 2021 Newsletter: PHF Continues Partnership with The State Museum on Art of the State Art of the State Ceremony and Tours Presented Virtually for 2020 PHF Cosponsors Virtual Archaeology Workshops   Winter-2021-phf-newsletter    ...
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Art of the State 2019 / Scholars in Residence

Posted by on Apr 22, 2020 in | Comments Off on Art of the State 2019 / Scholars in Residence Art of the State 2019 On June 23, 2019, Pennsylvania’s finest artists mingled with guests at the opening of Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2019 at The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. The 52nd annual juried exhibition, presented by the museum in association with the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation, PHMC’s nonprofit partner, showcased 110 works of art by 103 artists from 35 counties...
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From the Executive Director

Posted by on Dec 17, 2019 in | Comments Off on From the Executive Director One of the things I love best about being executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission is sharing our commonwealth’s history with other Pennsylvanians. Although this letter is appearing in the winter issue of Pennsylvania Heritage, I am writing it on one of the hottest days of 2018. Earlier today, I had just come out of a series of meetings related to agency work...
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A British Lord in the Pennsylvania State Archives / Art of the State 2018

Posted by on Dec 1, 2019 in | Comments Off on A British Lord in the Pennsylvania State Archives / Art of the State 2018 A British Lord in the Pennsylvania State Archives In April 2018 a member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom visited the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, to study documents related to Pennsylvania’s founder and first proprietor William Penn in hopes of learning more about issues of tolerance. Nathanael Ming-Yan “Nat” Wei of Shoreditch was introduced in the House...
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Art of the State 2017

Posted by on Aug 22, 2017 in | 0 comments Art of the State, the annual juried exhibition at The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, marked its 50th occurrence this year, showcasing 130 works selected from more than 2,200 submissions. Since 1968 the museum has served as the venue each year for Pennsylvania artists to share their ideas and engage viewers through a diverse body of artwork (see “Representing...
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