Centre County

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Centre County Centre County, as its name implies, geographically is Pennsylvania’s central county. The first known residents to inhabit its lands were the Munsee and Shawnee Indians from the Delaware River. Before 1725 these Indians began to move westward, first to the Susquehanna, later to the Ohio. The Iroquois, who claimed the Susquehanna country, assigned one of their chiefs – a man best known...
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The New Taste in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The New Taste in Pennsylvania Like the nation itself during the so-called “Federal” period, the arts in Pennsylvania reached a crescendo in their development that had an unexpected unity, a strong purpose, and a national style. Despite great varia­tions in the Germanic and English traditions, Pennsylvania emerged from the revolutionary period reasonably cohesive. City and country perspectives, naive and...
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Black Cultural Development in Pennsylvania: Since 1900

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Black Cultural Development in Pennsylvania: Since 1900   The cultural history of Blacks in America is varied and diverse. At the same time, it is deeply inter­woven into the whole of America’s cultural fabric. Yet, the significant cultural contributions of Black Amer­icans have been overlooked. Because of this omission, it was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that the art of Afro-Americans began to receive the recognition...
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The Many Faces of Thomas Eakins

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Many Faces of Thomas Eakins Thomas Eakins, one of the country’s foremost painters, was probably photographed more often – and in more ways­ – than any other nineteenth century American artist. In 1985, the Pennsylvania Acad­emy of the Fine Arts, founded in Philadelphia in 1805, ac­quired a large collection of photographs, manuscripts, and works of art relating to Thomas Eakins. Saved first by his wife,...
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The Day They Raised a Monument in Dixie

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Day They Raised a Monument in Dixie The artillery salvo thun­dered across the land­scape. The pandemo­nium reverberated through the ravines before fading eerily in the distance. The outburst was quickly followed by another, then another. It was reminiscent of an earlier day, many years before, when soldiers uni­formed in blue and gray skir­mished upon these heights and engaged in mortal combat amidst roaring guns and flar­ing...
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A Walk on the Wild Side: Philadelphia’s Wissahickon Creek

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Walk on the Wild Side: Philadelphia’s Wissahickon Creek At one time deli­cately depicted on dainty lamp shades, the Wissahickon Creek has offered generations of Philadelphians a verdant retreat from the stress of urban life. It is a place to meet old friends, engage in spirited recreational activities, or simply seek solitude. Each person’s reason for seeking respite along the Wissahickon is as unique as the individual, but all share a common...
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A Capital Idea! A Brief and Bumpy History of Pennsylvania’s Capitols

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Capital Idea! A Brief and Bumpy History of Pennsylvania’s Capitols A mere one hundred or so miles separate Philadelphia’s Chestnut and Harrisburg’s Third streets. But the path­ – metaphorically, at least­ – between the Keystone State’s first and final capitol build­ings seems far longer and rockier than geography suggests. From the Commonwealth’s earliest days, when the government met in Philadelphia’s elegant State...
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The Protégé Becomes a Prophet: Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Protégé Becomes a Prophet: Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) pronounced her a born artist, and in the dazzling cultural circles of Paris her works of art garnered breathless praise. Yet, in her own country, African American sculptor Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller (1877-1962) of Philadelphia lived and worked unknown to many, until at last she emerged from the stultifying shadows of racial intolerance and domestic responsibilities to...
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A Passion for Wood: The Life and Legacy of Wharton Esherick

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Passion for Wood: The Life and Legacy of Wharton Esherick When Wharton Esherick (1887-1970) left Philadelphia for the countryside and heavily wooded hills near Valley Forge in 1913, he was a disillusioned painter struggling to find his artistic identity. By the time of his death nearly six decades later, he had not only discovered his identity but had become renowned for his sculptural furniture which earned for him the title “the dean of...
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Charles Grafly: An Apostle of American Art

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Charles Grafly: An Apostle of American Art From the earliest days through most of the nineteenth century, sculpture in America was the enterprise of w1tutored artisans, craftsmen, stonecutters, and woodcarvers modestly plying their trade on furniture, gravestones, figureheads, and shop signs. Lacking opportunities for academic training at home, ambitious craftsmen flocked first to Rome and, following the Civil War, to Paris to learn the...
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