Nineteenth Century American Art

February 12, 2011 — September 29, 2013

Various Artists

Curated by Dr. Elizabeth Johns, Professor Emerita, University of Pennsylvania, this exhibition presents the Museum's outstanding collection of American Art, including "Songo River, Maine" by James Fairman (shown). This exhibition is sponsored in part by Spence and Cinda Perry.

American Decorative Arts

August 27, 2011 — September 29, 2013

Various Artists

Objects tell stories and hold within them the history of the time and place in which they were created. This exhibition examines the stories and histories of objects from the Museum's outstanding collection of American decorative arts, as well as objects on loan from local collectors. The aesthetic importance of the pieces and their utilitarian value will be examined. From the intricate repousse of the silver tea and coffee service by Samuel Kirk and Son (1815-1979) of Baltimore to the delicate embroidery of an 1826 sampler by Mary Martin (b. ca. 1812). Also included will be decorative art objects from the 20th century, such as the "Ruba Rombic Sugar Bowl and Creamer" designed by Ruben Haley (1872-1933) for the Consolidated Glass Company (1926-1932) and the silver berry set by Tiffany & Company. Above the cases in the Fulton Gallery, a selection of paintings will be on view displaying how artists used decorative art objects as subjects in still lifes and other compositions. Shown above is a silver "Berry Set," circa 1874, manufactured by Tiffany & Company, a 2005 gift to the museum by Ms. Constance Caplan.

Valley of the Shadow

June 16, 2012 — July 28, 2013

Combat · Customs · Civility · Creativity

With 23,110 casualties, the Battle of Antietam, during the American Civil War, remains a day of great loss for America and stimulated a chain of events leading to the Emancipation Proclamation and the Battle of Gettysburg. This extensive exhibition brings together works of art, such as Eastman Johnson's (American, 1824-1906) "Study for 'The Wounded Drummer Boy'" on loan from the Brooklyn Museum and objects of material culture, such as weaponry, musical instruments and clothing, to tell the stories of the war, from the soldiers who fought in its battles to the women and children who remained at home. Loans from public and private collections and the museum's collection will come together in our largest gallery, the Groh Gallery, to create a "museum within a museum" commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Maryland Campaign of 1862 and the Gettysburg Campaign of 1863.

The 81st Annual Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition is a juried art competition open to both professional and amateur artists. All media will be considered including paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints (intaglio, woodcuts, lithography, monoprints, etchings), please no giclee or offset lithographs and no photograpy. Click here to download the entry form for additional information. Entries must be submitted on a digital CD and the deadline has been EXTENDED! The new deadline is Friday, June 7, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. All accepted works must be delivered by Friday, August 9, 2013, 4:00 p.m. The Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony will be held on Sunday, September 8, 2013 between 2:30 and 4:00 p.m. The exhibition will be on view from August 17 through November 3, 2013.

Transparent Barricades

June 1, 2013 — October 13, 2013

Ian Hornak

In this retrospective exhibition, Ian Hornak's (1944-2002) love for both landscape and still life and his passion for representation will be on display. Though he studied and worked as an artist at a time when abstraction, minimalism and pop art were popular, Hornak created realistic and hyper-realistic canvases that captured the landscapes he photographed in his travels, such as "For Mahler #1," shown, and his still life works depicting flowers and birds that pay tribute to Dutch and Flemish masters. Works of art in this exhibition are on loan from the Ian Hornak Foundation and private collectors. A special Thursday Evening Lecture will take place September 19, 2013 in conjunction with the exhibition. Eric Ian Hornak Spoutz, nephew of the artist and Executive Director of the Ian Hornak Foundation, will discuss his uncle's art and the work of the foundation.

Recognizing and celebrating the work of amateur and professional artists, this juried art exhibition includes paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints. Sponsored in part by Bob and Mary Helen Strauch & Hugh and Marty Talton, the works were selected by juror Ephraim Rubenstein, a faculty member at Columbia University and the Art Students League. Rubenstein received his B. A. in Art History from Columbia University and his M.F.A. in Painting from Columbia University's School of the Arts. A selection of Rubenstein's work will be on display in conjunction with the exhibition.

Works by Ephraim Rubenstein

August 17, 2013 — November 3, 2013

Ephraim Rubenstein

A selection of works by Ephraim Rubenstein, juror of the museum's 81st Annual Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition, will be on view in conjunction with the Cumberland Valley Artists Exhibition. Rubenstein, a faculty member at Columbia University and the Art Students League, received his B.A. in Art History from Columbia University and his M.F.A. in Painting from Columbia University's School of the Arts.

Ski Holm, originally from East Northport, Long Island, began his art studies at the age of sixteen when he was invited to study life drawing at C. W. Post College where he studied composition and painting. During a five year stint as staff Artist-In-Residence for Chrystal Field/George Bartenieff's Theater for the New City in NYC, he expanded his range of work to include set design and scene painting for many productions. In 1992, Holm established a studio at his home in Franklin County, Pennsylvania and is a committed advocate for arts education. In addition to teaching at the museum, he offers private lessons in drawing and painting and created a special course in portfolio development for high school students. Since 2007, he has taught at the museum where he has taught numerous students. This exhibition is a testament not only to his teaching, but to the museum's mission to arts education.

A lifetime of creating works of art in clay will be featured in this exhibition. Through devoted exploration of ceramic traditions and experimentation with clay bodies, glaze formulas and wood fired techniques, Mary Bowron has developed shapes, colors and imagery that began in her childhood in Alabama experiencing red clay and later in the 1960s in California when she discovered a community-based creative clay center.