Reading Public Museum
Encyclopedia
The Reading Public Museum, in West Reading, Pennsylvania
, has displays featuring science and civilizations, a planetarium
and a 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) arboretum
. It also offers educational programs for families, adults and children, and a yearly cultural festival.
Galleries feature an eclectic variety from art, armor, and artifacts of world civilizations, to natural history and the cultures of Native Americans
and Pennsylvania Germans
.
, Milton Avery
, John Singer Sargent
, N.C. Wyeth, George Bellows
, Raphaelle Peale
, Henry Raeburn
, Frederic Church, Joshua Reynolds
, and Edgar Degas
. In addition, the Reading Public Museum possesses over one hundred sculptures, thousands of graphics, and more than two hundred water colors. Contemporary art in the collection includes works by Dale Chihuly
, Ansel Adams
, and Keith Haring
Art objects of importance have come to the Reading Museum from all over the world. The series of Greek vases contain some excellent examples of the various periods and techniques which illustrate the development of this art form. The museum even features a real mummy from ancient Egypt.
The natural history collection encompasses hundreds of thousands of insects, thousands of birds and mammals, and more than 25,000 specimens that document the mineral wealth of our planet. Over 30,000 objects are included in the anthropological and historical collections, including sculpture from Southeast Asia, ivory and jade from China, a magnificent collection of Roman glass, Incan gold and a large and comprehensive collection of sculpture and textile work of American Indians, much of which is unique to the Museum. Almost all of the present exhibits and the reserve collections have been generously donated by public-spirited citizens.
The Reading Museum contains many priceless collections that could not be duplicated today. Over 11,000 first class specimens, the best of several old collections purchased by Dr. Levi Mengel in the first half of this century, make up the collection of Berks County Indian relics.
. The first important teaching exhibits of museum calibre were obtained at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. Nearly 2,000 items were obtained from China, Japan, India, Ceylon, the Philippines and the Central and South American Republics.
With this as a beginning, the third floor of the Reading School District administration building at Eighth and Washington Streets was converted into a museum in 1907. In 1913, the first suggestion was made that an art gallery be incorporated into the plan. Several paintings were presented and the name of the infant museum became the READING PUBLIC MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY.
It was in 1924 that the Reading
School District asked the citizens of Reading to approve a loan to provide certain needed school buildings. Included in this were provisions for a modern museum building. After a campaign in which the school children took an active part, the loan was passed and the plans for the Museum were drawn up. The present site was selected and donated to the Reading School District by Ferdinand Thun, Henry Janssen, and Gustav Oberlaender, three Wyomissing textile magnates, and friends of Dr. Mengel, breaking ground in 1925.
By 1929 the Museum opened to the public and the collections continued to grow. As with most museums, a comparatively small part of the collection is on exhibit at any one time. Much of the material is held in reserve to permit changes in the displays from time to time, while others are educational collections which may never be exhibited, but are preserved for scholarly study.
The Levi W. Mengel Memorial Trust was established to provide funds to make possible the purchase of some of the many fine and desirable articles which are available from time to time. Increasing the amount of money in the endowment fund is a constant challenge, and gifts or bequests are earnestly solicited.
In 1992 governance of the museum was transferred from the Reading School District to a private, non-profit foundation. With the Foundation's leadership and partnership with the County of Berks, Reading School District, and the City of Reading, there has been a rededication to the Museum's Mission. As a result of this restructuring, the Reading Public Museum is enjoying a renewed vitality.
Concerned for the future of the grounds, the Museum
and its supporters commissioned Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC, an award-winning independent firm of landscape architects, urban designers, and planners, to help create a Landscape Master Plan. The result is a restoration guide that will help recapture the Arboretum’s former spirit, and to provide a memorable, educational and inspiring visit for Museum visitors.
and Sundays noon–5:00 p.m.
West Reading, Pennsylvania
West Reading is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,049 at the 2000 census. It contains a vibrant main street and the large Reading Hospital and Medical Center. It is also the site of the VF Outlet Village, one of the largest outlet malls in the United States...
, has displays featuring science and civilizations, a planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
and a 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
. It also offers educational programs for families, adults and children, and a yearly cultural festival.
Galleries feature an eclectic variety from art, armor, and artifacts of world civilizations, to natural history and the cultures of Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and Pennsylvania Germans
Pennsylvania Dutch
Pennsylvania Dutch refers to immigrants and their descendants from southwestern Germany and Switzerland who settled in Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries...
.
Collection
While the art of many nations and people is represented in the permanent collection, special emphasis has been placed on painting. The fine art collection includes more than seven hundred oil paintings by American and foreign artists such as Benjamin WestBenjamin West
Benjamin West, RA was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence...
, Milton Avery
Milton Avery
Milton Avery was an American modern painter. Born in Altmar, New York, he moved to Connecticut in 1898 and later to New York City.-Biography:...
, John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
, N.C. Wyeth, George Bellows
George Bellows
George Wesley Bellows was an American realist painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City, becoming, according to the Columbus Museum of Art, "the most acclaimed American artist of his generation".-Youth:Bellows was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio...
, Raphaelle Peale
Raphaelle Peale
Raphaelle Peale is considered the first professional American painter of still-life.-Biography:...
, Henry Raeburn
Henry Raeburn
Sir Henry Raeburn was a Scottish portrait painter, the first significant Scottish portraitist since the Act of Union 1707 to remain based in Scotland.-Biography:...
, Frederic Church, Joshua Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
, and Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
. In addition, the Reading Public Museum possesses over one hundred sculptures, thousands of graphics, and more than two hundred water colors. Contemporary art in the collection includes works by Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur.-Biography:Chihuly graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington. He enrolled at the College of the Puget Sound in 1959...
, Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams
Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
, and Keith Haring
Keith Haring
Keith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s.-Early life:...
Art objects of importance have come to the Reading Museum from all over the world. The series of Greek vases contain some excellent examples of the various periods and techniques which illustrate the development of this art form. The museum even features a real mummy from ancient Egypt.
The natural history collection encompasses hundreds of thousands of insects, thousands of birds and mammals, and more than 25,000 specimens that document the mineral wealth of our planet. Over 30,000 objects are included in the anthropological and historical collections, including sculpture from Southeast Asia, ivory and jade from China, a magnificent collection of Roman glass, Incan gold and a large and comprehensive collection of sculpture and textile work of American Indians, much of which is unique to the Museum. Almost all of the present exhibits and the reserve collections have been generously donated by public-spirited citizens.
The Reading Museum contains many priceless collections that could not be duplicated today. Over 11,000 first class specimens, the best of several old collections purchased by Dr. Levi Mengel in the first half of this century, make up the collection of Berks County Indian relics.
History
Dr. Mengel's personal collections, donated during his lifetime, formed the nucleus of the present MuseumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
. The first important teaching exhibits of museum calibre were obtained at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. Nearly 2,000 items were obtained from China, Japan, India, Ceylon, the Philippines and the Central and South American Republics.
With this as a beginning, the third floor of the Reading School District administration building at Eighth and Washington Streets was converted into a museum in 1907. In 1913, the first suggestion was made that an art gallery be incorporated into the plan. Several paintings were presented and the name of the infant museum became the READING PUBLIC MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY.
It was in 1924 that the Reading
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
School District asked the citizens of Reading to approve a loan to provide certain needed school buildings. Included in this were provisions for a modern museum building. After a campaign in which the school children took an active part, the loan was passed and the plans for the Museum were drawn up. The present site was selected and donated to the Reading School District by Ferdinand Thun, Henry Janssen, and Gustav Oberlaender, three Wyomissing textile magnates, and friends of Dr. Mengel, breaking ground in 1925.
By 1929 the Museum opened to the public and the collections continued to grow. As with most museums, a comparatively small part of the collection is on exhibit at any one time. Much of the material is held in reserve to permit changes in the displays from time to time, while others are educational collections which may never be exhibited, but are preserved for scholarly study.
The Levi W. Mengel Memorial Trust was established to provide funds to make possible the purchase of some of the many fine and desirable articles which are available from time to time. Increasing the amount of money in the endowment fund is a constant challenge, and gifts or bequests are earnestly solicited.
In 1992 governance of the museum was transferred from the Reading School District to a private, non-profit foundation. With the Foundation's leadership and partnership with the County of Berks, Reading School District, and the City of Reading, there has been a rededication to the Museum's Mission. As a result of this restructuring, the Reading Public Museum is enjoying a renewed vitality.
Arboretum
The 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) Arboretum at the Reading Public Museum has been a gem of Berks County since the current Museum building opened in 1928. In many ways, these grounds have functioned as Reading’s beloved backyard. For over 80 years the Arboretum has been the home of many events: from light-hearted lilac festivals to educational tree walks; private wedding photo shoots to Public Pops concerts; landscape drawing classes to impromptu picnics; the traditional Easter Parade to “Bark for Art” dog parades.Concerned for the future of the grounds, the Museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
and its supporters commissioned Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC, an award-winning independent firm of landscape architects, urban designers, and planners, to help create a Landscape Master Plan. The result is a restoration guide that will help recapture the Arboretum’s former spirit, and to provide a memorable, educational and inspiring visit for Museum visitors.
Location/Operation
The museum is located at 500 Museum Road, Reading, PA 19611. The museum is open Tuesday–Saturday 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.and Sundays noon–5:00 p.m.