UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – On June 7, the Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State will be closing the second floor of the museum on Curtin Road to complete much-needed repair work on the facility’s building envelope. The entire second floor, which houses special exhibition and permanent collection galleries, will remain closed through Aug. 26. The first-floor galleries and the Museum Store will be open to the public.
“We are taking the summer months to address critical needs in our facility that relate to the vapor barrier on the second floor of the museum,” said Palmer Museum Director Erin M Coe. “We have carefully planned this temporary closure and the needed repair work in close consultation with Penn State’s Office of Physical Plant and a building envelope consultant.
"We hope the public will take this opportunity to visit our breathtaking exhibition of American Impressionist paintings and bask in the ‘summer light’ of these sun-drenched canvases,” added Coe.
On view in the first-floor special exhibition gallery will be "Summer Light: American Impressionist Paintings from the Thomas Clark Collection." The 24 featured paintings are on loan from Tom Clark, who has promised his collection of pre-1940 American Impressionist landscape paintings to the Palmer. The exhibition, which will be on view through Aug. 29, is the first presentation of works from this major forthcoming gift. Coe and curator of American Art Adam Thomas will present a virtual “museum conversation” on the exhibition at 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 8. Information on how to register for the event can be found on the museum’s website.
The Palmer will reopen the second floor of the building on Curtin Road on Friday, Aug. 27, just in time to usher in the opening of a groundbreaking exhibition, "Global Asias: Contemporary Asian and Asian American Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation." Curated by Penn State professor Chang Tan, "Global Asias" will examine the cosmopolitan, playful and subtly subversive characteristics of contemporary Asian and Asian American art in the works of 15 artists of Asian heritage who draw on a rich array of motifs, techniques and cultural motivations to construct diverse “Asias” in a modern global context. Support for "Global Asias" and related educational programs has been made possible by a grant from the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.
Free timed tickets to visit the Palmer Museum of Art can be reserved through the website for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, with the last timed ticket reservation at 4:30 p.m. for half an hour. The museum is closed Mondays, Tuesdays and some holidays.
About the Palmer
The Palmer Museum of Art on the Penn State University Park campus is a free-admission arts resource for the University and surrounding communities in central Pennsylvania. With a collection of 10,260 objects representing a variety of cultures and spanning centuries of art, the Palmer is the largest art museum between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Areas of strength include the museum’s collection of American art from the late 18th century to the present, Old Master paintings, prints and photography, ceramics and studio glass, and a growing collection of modern and contemporary art. The museum presents 9 exhibitions each year and, with 11 galleries, a print-study room, a 150-seat auditorium, and an outdoor sculpture garden, the Palmer Museum of Art is the leading cultural resource for the region.
For more information on the museum or for the calendar of upcoming events, visit the Palmer Museum website.
About the new University Art Museum at Penn State
Penn State and the Palmer Museum of Art are planning to construct a new University Art Museum located in The Arboretum at Penn State. With nearly twice the exhibition space of the Palmer, new classroom spaces and a teaching gallery, flexible event spaces, and on-site parking, this building would dramatically enhance the museum’s capacity to offer educational and enrichment opportunities for visitors of all ages. It would be integrated with the Arboretum, inspiring collaboration and creating a unique nexus of art, architecture, and natural beauty. And like the Palmer Museum of Art before it, it will depend upon visionary philanthropy from the Penn State community. Learn more at the University Art Museum website.