Fun Beyond the Festival

American Art Posters of the 1890s

May 22 – August 19

Art posters, many advertising periodicals to a burgeoning middle-class readership, thrived around the turn of the twentieth century. American Art Posters of the 1890s unearths more than a dozen of these works from the museum’s permanent collection. The bold designs of Edward Penfield, a leading illustrator of the era and the art director at Harper’s, will be a main feature of the exhibition.

Edward Penfield, Harper’s March, 1895, color lithograph. Gift of Jack R. Bershad, 95.109.

Framing the City: Photographs from the Permanent Collection

June 5 – August 19

Photographers have long turned their cameras on the city, often framing its architecture and residents from new vantage points and unexpected perspectives. Soaring skyscrapers, factory laborers, and serendipitous moments on busy streets serve as subject for many photographers in their quest to document the surrounding urban environment. Artists featured include Berenice Abbott, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, Lewis Hine, Bill Jacobson, Frank Paulin, Charles Sheeler, W. Eugene Smith, and Andy Warhol, among others.

Frank Paulin, Flower Messenger, Times Square, 1955, printed later, gelatin silver print. Gift of Bruce and Silke Silverstein, 2015.145. © Frank Paulin Archive, Courtesy of Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York.

When the Water Rises: Recent Paintings by Julie Heffernan

Contemporary artist Julie Heffernan’s recent paintings explore imaginative scenarios and alternative habitats as her personal response to the threat of environmental disasters. Intricately wrought, her monumental canvases evoke the fantastical allegories of Hieronymus Bosch and the sublime vistas of Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt. A former professor of painting at Penn State, Heffernan spells out the dilemma of climate change, but also begins the conversation about how we might adapt to vastly different climatic conditions. Organized by the LSU Museum of Art at the Shaw Center for the Arts.

Julie Heffernan, Camp Bedlam, 2016, oil on canvas. Courtesy of Catharine Clark Gallery.

Sidewalk Rain Art, Centre Region MS4 Partners

Locations on Allen Street, Fraser Street, Fairmount Avenue, and in Sidney Friedman Park.

The MS4 Partners, 5 local municipalities and Penn State, work together to manage their storm sewer networks and educate the public about the importance of clean stormwater. The artwork and stormwater messages will be revealed on the sidewalk when it rains or is wet.

Visit their website to learn more. 

Come to Pennsylvania!

Embark upon your own personal happiness adventure. Follow where joy leads you.

Whoever you are, no matter what you love to do, know that happiness is Pennsylvania’s keystone. It always has been. It lives in our historic treasures. Our dynamic urban spaces. Our greater-than-great outdoors.

Mix it up. Make it yours. Visit soon and build your own personal adventure from every corner of our warm and welcoming state.

You’ll be so happy you did.

Check out VisitPA.com to learn more.