The Michener Art Museum is a private, non-profit museum that is located in Doylestown , Bucks County , Pennsylvania . Founded in 1988, it was named for the Pulitzer Prize–winning writer James A. Michener , a Doylestown resident.
41-531: Situated within the old stone walls of an historic nineteenth-century prison, it houses a collection of Bucks County visual arts, along with holdings of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American art, and is noted for its Pennsylvania Impressionism collection and an art colony centered in nearby New Hope during the early 20th century, as well as its changing exhibitions, ranging from international touring shows to regionally focused exhibitions. The museum has 40,000 square feet (3,700 m) of public space, including
82-425: A historic district . It can be any property, structure or object that adds to the historic integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, either local or federal, significant. Definitions vary but, in general, they maintain the same characteristics. Another key aspect of a contributing property is historic integrity. Significant alterations to a property can sever its physical connections with
123-415: A plein air style interested in the quality of color, light, and the time of day. The museum presents ongoing adult lecture series and workshops that feature art scholars and artists. There are also children's classes and workshops for children preschool age through high school, inter-generational classes, and school and teacher programs planned in coordination with the area school districts, offered both in
164-454: A flood of artists came to Pennsylvania because of Garber's influence. This group included artists such as Robert A. Darrah Miller (1905–1966), Peter Keenan (1896–1952), Charles Evans (1907–1992), Henry Baker (1900–1957), Richard Wedderspoon (1889–1976), Carl Lindborg (1903–1994), Frederick Harer (1879–1947), Faye Swengel Badura (1904–1991), Louis Stone (1902–1984), and Charles Ward (1900–1962). Other important modernist painters to later settle in
205-488: A historic district historic, while a non-contributing property, such as a modern medical clinic, does not. The contributing properties are key to a historic district's historic associations, historic architectural qualities, or archaeological qualities. A property can change from contributing to non-contributing and vice-versa if significant alterations take place. According to the National Park Service ,
246-632: A historic home can damage its historic integrity and render it non-contributing. In some cases, damage to the historic integrity of a structure is reversible, while other times the historic nature of a building has been so "severely compromised" as to be irreversible. For example, in the East Grove Street District in Bloomington, Illinois , contributing properties include the Queen Anne -style George H. Cox House (1886) and
287-937: A landscaped courtyard, a glass-enclosed, state-of-the-art event pavilion, an outdoor sculpture garden and terrace built in the original prison yard, seminar and conference facilities, a museum shop and café, and the George Nakashima Reading Room. The Martin Wing includes preparation areas and collection storage spaces. The idea of a museum in Doylestown dedicated to the works of the Pennsylvania Impressionists has been around at least since 1949, when local artist Walter Emerson Baum founded an informal committee along with Bucks County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Charles H. Boehm, and The Daily Intelligencer editor George Hotchkiss to explore
328-591: A satellite site in 2003, in New Hope, Pennsylvania, designed by architects Minno & Wasko. This facility closed in 2009. The Bucks County Prison, once on the site of the Michener Art Museum, originally opened in 1884. Philadelphia architect Addison Hutton designed an expanded facility that included a three-story warden's house and guardhouse control center in a “T” shape, using a combination of Italianate and Romanesque Revival styles. The architecture
369-482: A storage vault. A few years later, in 1996, the museum had its second major expansion which included the installation of the Mari Sabusawa Michener Wing, also designed by Lynn Taylor Associates. In 1999, there was a major expansion in the museums collection when Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest donated 54 Pennsylvania Impressionist paintings along with $ 3 million for the museum's endowment. In 2007,
410-537: A venue to hold galleries and exhibitions. Modernist Lloyd R. Ney submitted a painting of the New Hope canal. Lathrop threatened to reject the painting because the colors were too disturbing. Charles Ramsey, Lloyd Ney's good friend, was disturbed by this comment and formed the “New Group.” This group rebelled against the traditional impressionists, hosting its inaugural show the day before the Phillips Mill Exhibition on May 16, 1930. Many years later,
451-535: Is classified as one of four property types : building, object, structure, or site. The line between contributing and non-contributing can be fuzzy. In particular, American historic districts nominated to the National Register of Historic Places before 1980 have few records of the non-contributing structures. State Historic Preservation Offices conduct surveys to determine the historical character of structures in historic districts. Districts nominated to
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#1732802209958492-681: The Baum School of Art and the Allentown Art Museum , would serve to expand the influence of the movement out of Bucks County and into Lehigh County , specifically Allentown and the Lehigh Valley , where the movement continued to flourish into the 1940s and 1950s. Today, this group of artists is collectively known as the Baum Circle . Pennsylvania Impressionist painters include: Contributing property In
533-748: The Delaware River , about forty miles from Philadelphia and seventy miles from Manhattan . The area's rolling hills were spectacular, and the river, its tributaries, and the Delaware Canal were picturesque. The natural beauty attracted the artist Edward Redfield (1869–1965), who settled north of the town. Redfield painted nature in bold and vibrant colors, and was a pioneer of the realistic painting of winter in America. Lathrop's thick layering distinguished him from his contemporaries, and he amassed more honors and awards than any other artist in
574-654: The Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, D.C. a historic district and protected. By 1965, 51 American communities had adopted preservation ordinances. In 1976 the National Historic Preservation Act was passed by Congress. By 1998, more than 2,300 U.S. towns, cities and villages had enacted historic preservation ordinances. Contributing properties are defined through historic district or historic preservation zoning laws, usually at
615-449: The Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art , University of Texas at Austin, where James A. Michener and his wife, Mari, donated a major portion of their private art collection. In addition to the permanent exhibitions, the museum presents fifteen changing exhibitions each year. These exhibitions feature a broad spectrum of artistic styles and mediums. The museum has a collection of works by painters of
656-764: The Louisiana Constitution led to the 1937 creation of the Vieux Carre Commission, which was charged with protecting and preserving the French Quarter in the city of New Orleans . The city passed a local ordinance that set standards to regulate changes within the quarter. Other sources, such as the Columbia Law Review in 1963, indicate differing dates for the preservation ordinances in both Charleston and New Orleans. The Columbia Law Review gave dates of 1925 for
697-582: The National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The museum collection includes more than 2,700 paintings, sculptures and works on paper from the Bucks County visual arts tradition, dating from colonial times to the present. The collection includes works by painters of the Pennsylvania Impressionist or New Hope school , American primitive painters, limners and modernists. Works by abstract expressionists are on long-term loan from
738-668: The New Hope colony. His style is distinguished by its color, light, and usual time of day when painting. The third major artist to settle in the area was Daniel Garber (1880–1958), who came to New Hope in 1907. Garber hated painting winter scenes and applied his paint lightly. He was an instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and popularized rain paintings. As more artists came to
779-594: The National Register of Historic Places after 1980 usually list those structures considered non-contributing. As a general rule, a contributing property helps make a historic district historic. A well-preserved 19th-century mansion will generally contribute to a district, while a modern gas station generally will not. Historic buildings identified as contributing properties can become non-contributing properties within historic districts if major alterations have taken place. Sometimes, an act as simple as re- siding
820-471: The New Orleans laws and 1924 for Charleston. The same publication claimed that these two cities were the only cities with historic district zoning until Alexandria, Virginia adopted an ordinance in 1946. The National Park Service appears to refute this. In 1939, the city of San Antonio, Texas , enacted an ordinance to protect the area of La Villita, the original Mexican village marketplace. In 1941
861-613: The Pennsylvania Impressionism movement. Similar to the French impressionist movement, Pennsylvania Impressionist art was characterized by an interest in the quality of color, light, and the time of day. This group of artists usually painted en plein air (outdoors) to capture the moment. According to the James A. Michener Art Museum ’s senior curator Brian Peterson, “what most characterized Pennsylvania impressionism
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#1732802209958902-662: The area after the initial arrivals were Josef Zenk (1904–2000), Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt (1878–1955), Swiss–born Joseph Meierhans (1890–1980), Clarence Carter (1904–2000), and Richard Peter Hoffman (1911–1997). Finally, there were the “Last Ten." These ten women artists consisted of Fern Coppedge (1883–1951) and Mary Elizabeth Price (1877–1965) from New Hope, as well as Nancy Maybin Ferguson (1869–1967), Emma Fordyce MacRae (1887–1974), Eleanor Abrams (1885–1967), Constance Cochrane (1888–1962), and Theresa Bernstein (1890–2002). These women influenced many other women to join
943-457: The artistic tradition of New Hope and Bucks County. Some examples of artists featured are the Quaker painter Edward Hicks (1780–1849), master woodworker George Nakashima (1905–1990), sculptor Raymond Granville Barger (1906–2001), and authors and illustrators Stan and Jan Berenstain . Pennsylvania Impressionism Pennsylvania Impressionism was an American Impressionist movement of
984-530: The authority of local design controls on buildings within historic districts was being challenged in court. In City of New Orleans vs Pergament (198 La. 852, 5 So. 2d 129 (1941)), Louisiana state appellate courts ruled that the design and demolition controls were valid within defined historic districts. Beginning in the mid-1950s, controls that once applied only to buildings within historic districts were extended to individual landmark structures. The United States Congress adopted legislation in 1950 that declared
1025-484: The changes that can be made to contributing structures within designated historic districts. The first local ordinances dealing with the alteration of buildings within historic districts was enacted in Charleston, South Carolina in 1931. Properties within a historic district fall into one of two types of property: contributing and non-contributing. A contributing property, such as a 19th-century mansion, helps make
1066-659: The colony, the artists formed art groups with different ideas. The two main groups were the Impressionists and the Modernists . The Pennsylvania Impressionists, a key movement in American Impressionism, influenced major artists such as Walter Schofield (1867–1944), George Sotter (1879–1953) and Henry Snell (1858–1943). William Langson Lathrop purchased the Phillips Mill property to use as
1107-497: The council also helped establish a mobile art exhibit, the "Artmobile" of Bucks County Community College. In mid-1988, the Bucks County commissioners approved $ 650,000 to build an art museum in the recently closed Bucks County Prison. Bucks County Council on the Arts became the organization charged with running the institution and their collected works became part of the museum collection. James A. Michener, who grew up in Doylestown, took
1148-405: The first half of the 20th century that was centered in and around Bucks County , Pennsylvania , particularly the town of New Hope . The movement is sometimes referred to as the "New Hope School" or the "Pennsylvania School" of landscape painting. Landscape painter William Langson Lathrop (1859–1938) moved to New Hope in 1898, where he founded a summer art school. The mill town was located along
1189-430: The first instance of law dealing with contributing properties in local historic districts was enacted in 1931 by the city of Charleston, South Carolina ; it designated the " Old and Historic District ." The ordinance declared that buildings in the district could not have changes made to architectural features that were visible from the street. By the mid-1930s, other U.S. cities followed Charleston's lead. An amendment to
1230-544: The law regulating historic districts in the United States , a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district significant. Government agencies, at the state, national, and local level in the United States, have differing definitions of what constitutes a contributing property but there are common characteristics. Local laws often regulate
1271-402: The lead in establishing the endowment, donating $ 500,000 as well as some of the paintings from his own private collection (Michener would go on to donate a total of $ 8.5 million to the museum). The site was renovated by architects O’Donnell & Naccarato, Inc., from Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The warden's house and the control buildings were converted to office space and exhibition space. Part of
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1312-437: The local level. Zoning ordinances pertaining to historic districts are designed to maintain a district's historic character by controlling demolition and alteration to existing properties. In historic preservation law, a contributing property is any building, structure, object or site within the boundaries of the district that contributes to its historic associations, historic architectural qualities or archaeological qualities of
1353-649: The movement as the Late Pennsylvania School , those artists that "came to prominence in Bucks County after 1915 or after the Armory Show and the Panama–Pacific International Exposition ." According to Folk, the three most notable artists in this group were John Fulton Folinsbee , Walter Emerson Baum and George Sotter . One of the artists, Walter Emerson Baum, worked as a teacher and educator and through his founding of
1394-599: The museum and on site at schools. An extensive archival collection that documents the work of regional artists, both past and present, is preserved and maintained by the museum. The museum has an online interactive database of artists from the Bucks County region, also available to be viewed on a kiosk in its Family Education Center. This database contains more than 1700 pages of information and more than 1300 images relating to 371 architects, craftspersons, musicians, painters, photographers, poets, printmakers, sculptors, stage and screen artists and fiction and non-fiction writers from
1435-575: The museum opened the Syd and Sharon Martin Wing, designed by architects RMJM Hillier from Princeton, NJ. This included a new 5,000-square-foot (460 m) gallery space and additional administrative offices. The museum opened the new Edgar N. Putman Event Pavilion designed by KieranTimberlake , from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This new 2,700-square-foot (250 m) all-glass structure with a solid roof and sliding doors on its east and west sides hosts Jazz Nights, lectures and special events. The Michener opened
1476-473: The past, lowering its historic integrity. Contributing properties are integral parts of the historic context and character of a historic district. A property listed as a contributing member of a historic district meets National Register criteria and qualifies for all benefits afforded a property or site listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places. Each property within a National Register historic district — contributing or non-contributing —
1517-610: The possibilities of the establishment of such an institution. In the 1970s, Bucks County commissioners established the Bucks County Council on the Arts , an agency set up to manage federal funded artwork intended to be included in government building projects. Some of the artwork they collected was put on display at their headquarters in the Neshaminy Manor office in Doylestown Township. In 1974,
1558-507: The prison walls remain, which now provide a backdrop to the museum's outdoor sculpture and event pavilion. The museum was named the James A. Michener Art Museum, and opened to the public on September 15, 1988, at a ceremony presided over by Michener and his wife, Mari Sabusawa Michener . In 1993, the museum had its first major expansion designed by Lynn Taylor Associates from Doylestown, Pennsylvania which included larger exhibitions galleries and
1599-412: The school of Pennsylvania Impressionism , a movement from the first half of the twentieth century centered on Bucks County, Pennsylvania . Artists in this movement include John Fulton Folinsbee , Walter Emerson Baum , George Sotter , Nate Dunn , Fern Coppedge , Edward Redfield , Daniel Garber and Walter E. Schofield . Similar to the French impressionist movement, this artwork is characterized by
1640-622: Was inspired by Quaker ideas of reflection and penitence that dominated the American prison system in the nineteenth century. The overall design concept of the prison was modeled after the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, built in 1829. The Bucks County Prison closed in 1985. The warden's house is a significant contributing property in the Doylestown Historic District ; it was listed on
1681-482: Was not a single, unified style but rather the emergence of many mature, distinctive voices: Daniel Garber's luminous, poetic renditions of the Delaware River; Fern Coppedge's colorful village scenes; Robert Spencer 's lyrical views of mills and tenements; John Folinsbee's moody, expressionistic snowscapes; and William L. Lathrop's deeply felt, evocative Bucks County vistas." Art historian Thomas C. Folk defines