Allentown Art Museum in Allentown, PA | Museums and Galleries | Pennsylvania Catalog

Allentown Art Museum

The Allentown Art Museum was established through a grass roots effort led by the teacher, painter and critic, Walter Emerson Baum (1886-1956). The museum's collection of more than 13,000 works of art offers our community the opportunity to experience nearly 2,000 years of cultural heritage, in an accessible and visitor-friendly environment.
Our Collections:
- Italian Renaissance Paintings. These paintings from the mid-1300s to the mid 1500s show a shift from religious to human subjects. Renaissance artists made significant advances in painting techniques including the development of linear perspective and the illusion of atmosphere created by newly developed oil paints.
- Frank Lloyd Wright and the Arts and Crafts Movement. In 1973 the Allentown Art Museum purchased a room from a Prairie style house built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright's designs are closely related to the Arts and Crafts Movement from the early 20th Century, which emphasized traditional materials and simple designs. This tour offers decorative arts that compliment our stunning room.
- Mediterranean Textiles. This tour offers woven and embroidered textiles from very different cultures in Europe, Asia and Africa all in close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea. These exquisite examples are associated with marriage and homemaking. They were almost certainly made by women.
- Asian Indian and Tibetan art. This tour explores the aesthetic and technical diversity of the museum’s collection of Asian Indian and Tibetan art. The museum’s holdings of sculpture and textiles of the region was significantly enriched by a generous gift of over 100 objects from the family of Dr. Jaipaul of Glenn Mills, Pennsylvania.
Programs. The Allentown Art Museum gratefully acknowledges endowment funding of educational programs by the Beall and Marlene O. "Linny" Fowler Education Endowment Fund; the Haight Endowment Fund; The Hearst Foundation, Inc.; The Ardath Rodale Education Fund; and Mimi's Fund. Looking for some family fun on a Saturday afternoon? Family Time Program is an afternoon of touchable objects, lively activities, and engaging discussions that will bring works of art to life in new and exciting ways. The Museum Store is open during most programs and special events.
Inspire! is an Arts in Education partnership program between the Allentown Art Museum (AAM) and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA). AAM is one of twelve regional service providers throughout the state creating and supporting arts in education initiatives on a regional level. This program is committed to providing the following services to its region: Advocating on behalf of Arts in Education; Submitting applications to the PCA for artist residency funding; Facilitating artist residencies at schools and community organizations; Identifying and rostering artists to conduct residencies; Providing professional development opportunities for artists and teachers.