Pennsylvania German Arts and Antiques

Enthusiasm for the Elgin Collection

"Eugene and Dorothy Elgin were well-known, discerning collectors of Pennsylvania German folk art. Most everything in their collection came from country auctions or private homes in York, Adams and Cumberland counties."

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Winterthur Buys an Important Easter Bunny Fraktur

 
Image: Winterthur

"Lisa Minardi, a fraktur expert and assistant curator of the museum’s current exhibition, Paint, Pattern & People: Furniture of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1725–1850, notes, 'The Easter rabbit drawing is one of the rarest of all fraktur, with only two examples known, and is a major addition to Winterthur’s collection.'"

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Listen to Lisa Discuss this Easter Bunny, Here

Southeastern Pennsylvania Furniture on "Antiques and the Arts Online"

"Winterthur presents "Paint, Pattern & People: Furniture of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1725–1850," from April 2 through January 8. This exhibition explores the colorful furniture of southeastern Pennsylvania along with the people who made, owned, inherited and collected it."

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The Washington Post Explores Ephrata

"About 17,000 visitors come to Ephrata Cloister in Lancaster County each year. This is Pennsylvania Dutch country, where black-hatted Amish men drive buggies down Main Street past churches with roots deeper than the U.S. Constitution."

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Pennsylvania Furniture on Exhibit at Winterthur

 
Image: Winterthur

"This landmark exhibition explores the colorful furniture of southeastern Pennsylvania along with the people who made, owned, inherited, and collected it. Featuring nearly 200 objects—including furniture, fraktur, needlework, and paintings—the show focuses on the culture and creativity of the area’s English- and German-speaking inhabitants."

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Pennsylvania Dutch Antiques at the Sigal Museum in Easton

"The kischt displayed in the Pennsylvania Dutch area at the Sigal Museum of the Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society is thought to have been made for Cadrena Sandern in 1796. Her name, the date, and several small hex signs are painted on the front. Henry Marx, the prominent Easton librarian, donated the kischt to the historical society in the early 1900s."

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Pennsylvania German Exhibit at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Center

"Opening Saturday, the exhibit ontains more than150 items ranging from red ware pottery to colorfully painted dower chests to painstakingly decorated manuscripts called frakturs. The items fill two galleries, the atrium and balcony of the museum."

"Curator Jill Youngken, whose grandfather grew up speaking only Pennsylvania German, says she hopes to show the surprising contributions the German immigrants in Pennsylvania have made."

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The Heritage Museum / Historical Society is Here.

Landmark Auction of Pennsylvania German Folk Art at Pook and Pook

 

Image: Pook and Pook Inc.

"The top presale estimate, $300,000 to $600,000, is for a late 18th-century Berks County painted Schrank, another predominantly Pennsylvania German furniture tradition. Inscribed '17 Philip Detuck 75." it is described in the catalog as 'the finest example left in private hands."

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Pennsylvania German Exhibit at Allentown's Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum

"Visitors to a local museum might want to brush up on their Pennsylvania Dutch language skills."

"The Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum in Allentown is getting ready for a big exhibit on the influence of Old World Germans who settled here."

The article and video are here.

Pennsylvania German Arts on Exhibit at Reading Public Museum

Image: bctv.org 

 "A Cultural Celebration: Arts of the Pennsylvania Germans," from a Berks County private collection, opens at the Reading Public Museum on Saturday, June 12, and will be on view through Sunday, Sept. 26."

"The works are in a variety of media, dating largely from the 18th and 19th centuries."

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