Shorts

The Friends of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is offering an in-depth study tour of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania on Monday, October 16 [1995]. Sessions include an exploration of the museum’s extensive collections and the history of the Pennsylvania Railroad, in addition to a living history performance by Richard L. Pawling and lunch on the Strasburg Railroad accompanied by traditional railroad music. For reservation informa­tion, write: Friends of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, P. O. Box 11466, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1466; or telephone (717) 787-2407.

Continuing through Tuesday, October 24 [1995], at the Museum of American Art of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia is “Arthur Dove Watercolors,” an ex­hibit showcasing a number of the early modernist’s works selected from the museum’s permanent col­lections. Arthur G. Dove (1880-1946) is recognized as the most innovative ab­stractionist among the first generation of the country’s early modernists. This ex­hibit serves as a preface to a major exhibition of early modernism, “To Be Modern: American Encounters with Cezanne and Company,” slated to open at the Museum of American Art in June 1996. For more information, write: Museum of American Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118 North Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102; or telephone (215) 972-7600. Admission is charged.

“To the Glory of God: Church Pewter of the Pennsylvania Germans,” orga­nized by guest curator and nationally recognized pewter scholar Donald M. Herr, will remain on view at the Heritage Center Museum of Lancaster County through Saturday, December 30 [1995]. The exhibition features more than one hundred pewter communion and bap­tismal vessels used in Pennsylvania German churches that were established in the eighteenth century. Examples represent Lutheran, Reformed, Mennonite, Church of the Brethren, Moravian, and Catholic congregations. For more information, write: Heritage Center Museum of Lancaster County, 13 West King Street, Lancaster, PA 17603-3813; or telephone (717) 299-6440. There is no admission fee.

On Sunday, October 10 [1995], Hopewell Furnace will host “Iron Plantation Christ­mas,” a living history program which re­creates and interprets a typical celebration of Christmas in the 1830s. For more details, write: Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, 2 Mark Bird Lane, Elverson, PA 19520; or telephone (610) 582-8773. Admission is free.

Works by internationally celebrated artist Keith Haring (1958-1990), born in Reading and raised in Kutztown, Berks County, will be showcased in an exhibit opening on Sunday, October 1 [1995], at the Allentown Art Museum. “Keith Haring: Family and Friends Collect” will feature more than forty works the artist made for, or that were collected by, his family and friends, including paintings, drawings, and prints. More personal and playful applica­tions of Haring’s distinctive style will be represented by Christmas cards, a crib and a chest of drawers painted for a friend’s baby, and his mother’s microwave oven. “Keith Haring, Family and Friends Collect,” will continue through Sunday, December 31 [1995]. A series of lectures will accompany this exhibit. To obtain more information, write: Allentown Art Museum, P. O. Box 388, Allentown, PA 18105-0388; or telephone (610) 432-4333. There is a charge for admission.

On view through Sunday, December 31 [1995], is an exhibit at the Wharton Esherick Museum entitled “Soup to Nuts,” which presents the work of finalists in the mu­seum’s second annual woodworking competition. “Soup to Nuts” features sculpted bowls. A native Philadelphian, Wharton Esherick (1887-1970) is consid­ered the “dean of American craftsmen.” For more details, write: Wharton Esherick Museum, Horseshoe Trail, Malvern, PA 19355-9508; or telephone (610) 644-5822. Reservations are required and admission is charged.

“Chinese Export Porcelain Blue and White Ware,” an exhibit featuring exam­ples made during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and collected in York between 1800 and 1930, remains on view at the Historical Society of York County through January 1996. Also on display through January 1996 is “Centennial Exhibition of the Historical Society of York County,” which docu­ments the organization’s first one hundred years of existence. For more in­formation, write: Historical Society of York County, 250 East Market Street, York, PA 17403; or telephone (717) 848-1587. Admission is charged.

A reenactment of General George Washington’s arrival at Summerseat in Bucks County will be conducted by the Historic Morrisville Society on Saturday, December 9 [1995]. Washington stayed at Summerseat, the residence of Thomas Barclay (and later the home of Robert Morris and George Clymer, sign­ers of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution) in early December 1776, prior to the Battle of Trenton. For more details, write: Summerseat, Historic Morrisville Society, Hillcrest and Legion Avenues, Morrisville, PA 19067; or telephone (215) 295-5518. Admission is free.

The one hundred and thirty-second anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” will be commemo­rated with a program conducted by the National Park Service at Gettysburg National Military Park on Sunday, November 19 [1995]. To obtain additional de­tails, write: Gettysburg National Military Park, P. O. Box 1080, Gettysburg, PA 17325-1080; or telephone (717) 334-1124. Admission is free.

Dick George, an anthropologist for Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum, will pre­sent a talk entitled “Native Americans of Somerset County” at the Somerset Historical Center on Wednesday, November 15 [1995], at 7 P. M. Additional infor­mation is available by writing: Somerset Historical Center, Box 238, R.D. 2, Somerset, PA 15501; or by telephoning (814) 445-6077. There is a charge for admission.

Offering visitors a glimpse of common workdays from the past, “All in a Day’s Work: Occupations in Chester County, 1870-1945,” remains on exhibit through April 30, 1996, at the Chester County Historical Society in West Chester. More than sixty vintage and historical pho­tographs, accompanied by appropriate tools, uniforms, and ephemera, examine a variety of occupations and trace changes in the county’s economy from the close of the Civil War through World War II. “All in a Day’s Work” depicts ordinary occu­pations but also pays special attention to the types of jobs that were available to women and minorities during this period. To obtain more information, write: Chester County Historical Society, 225 North High Street, West Chester, PA 19380-2691; or telephone (610) 692-4800. Admission is charged.

Featuring a diverse array of pho­tographs, objects, and artifacts, and based on oral histories, “Our Community Goes to War,” an exhibit interpreting the im­pact of World War II on the residents of Lawrence County, will continue through Sunday, December 31 [1995], at the Lawrence County Historical Society in New Castle. The exhibit probes the sacrifices made by countians both on the home front and on the front lines. Additional information may be obtained by writing: Lawrence County Historical Society, P. O. Box 1745, New Castle, PA 16103-1745; or by telephone (412) 658-4022. Admission is charged.

One of rural America’s most rapidly vanishing features, the old barn is the subject of a program which will be con­ducted by Meadowcroft Museum of Rural Life on Saturday, November 18 [1995]. “Exploring Old Barns” will introduce participants to the architecture , construc­tion techniques, and the use of barns in nineteenth-century western Pennsylvania. The program will include a tour of four barns on the museum grounds. For registration information, write: Meadowcroft Museum of Rural Life, 401 Meadowcroft Rd., Avella, PA 15312; or telephone (412) 587-3412. Enrollment is limited and pre-registra­tion is required.

Thomas Hovenden (1840-1945), who lived and worked in Plymouth Meeting, Montgomery County, ranks as one of the finest artists of the nineteenth century. His works are charged with a penetrat­ing dignity and a deep understanding of the “country people” who surrounded him. The Woodmere Art Museum has mounted the first major exhibition de­voted to Hovenden and his work, which will remain on view through Sunday, December 3 [1995]. For more information, write: Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118; or telephone (215) 247-0476. A do­nation is suggested.

Albert Gallatin (1761-1849) was a diplomat, statesman, politician, and scholar. He served as secretary of the treasury under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. In addition to his public posts, he was quite the sportsman of his day; in fact, in his corre­spondence he frequently mentioned his hunting and fishing outings in western Pennsylvania. Ken Reinard will present a program, “Albert Gallatin, Gentleman Sportsman,” discussing fishing in the eighteenth century, on Saturday, October 21 [1995], at Gallatin’s country estate, Friendship Hill. The program, which begins at 3 P. M., includes a lecture, slide presentation, and demonstration of “the gentlemanly art of angling.” Additional information may be obtained by writing: Friendship Hill National Historic Site, Box 149-A, R.D. 1, Point Marion, PA 15474; or by telephoning (412) 725-9190. Admission is free.

“Art for the End of the Century: Art and Technology” is the title of an exhibi­tion recently opened by the Reading Public Museum. The exhibition will run through Monday, January 1, 1996. Additional information is available by writing: Reading Public Museum, 500 Museum Road, Reading, PA 19611; or by telephoning (610) 371-5850. There is an admission fee.

Through Sunday, October 22 [1995], the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation of Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, is showing a se­lection of the works of Gary Bukovnik, a Slovene-American artist who has lived in San Francisco for twenty years. To obtain more information, write: Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213- 3890; or telephone (412) 268-2434 . Admission is free.

“Quilt Art: Selections from the Binney Collection” will be exhibited at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art from Friday, September 22 [1995], through Wednesday, November 22 [1995]. The show will feature selections from the New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, Massachusetts, and the private collection of Gail Binney Stiles. The museum is located on the campus of St. Francis College in Loretto. For more information, write: Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, P. O. Box 9, Loretto, PA 15940; or telephone (814) 472- 6400. There is no charge for admission.

Philadelphia’s opulent Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion will host its annual Dickens’ Christmas Evening on Saturday, December 9 [1995], from 6 to 8 P. M. The his­toric house museum will be lavishly decorated in the style of a Victorian era holiday season. To obtain additional de­tails, write: Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion, 200 West Tulpehocken Street, Philadelphia, PA 19144; or telephone (215) 438-1861. Admission is charged.