The Palmer Museum of Art is Penn State’s art museum. It is the largest art museum between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
The museum opened in 1972 on the core campus. After expansion and renovation, it was renamed in 1993 in honor of benefactors James R. and Barbara Raeder Palmer.
A new $85 million, 73,000-square-foot museum opened in June 2024 within the Penn State Arboretum. It nearly doubles the museum’s size and includes twenty galleries, as well as new education and event spaces, a museum store and café, and a sculpture path.
The museum is a series of interlocking pavilions built of regional sandstone, interspersed with perforated stainless-steel sunscreens, lofted skylights and windows. An overhead bridge connects the museum’s exhibition wing to the administration/education wing and serves as a gateway to the arboretum.
The new fifteen permanent galleries allow more of the museum’s collection of approximately 11,000 works of art to be displayed.
The Palmer’s holdings include American art, contemporary studio glass, ceramics, African art, Asian art, European Old Master paintings and sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs and other works on paper, and modern and contemporary art. Its American art collection is noteworthy, especially its collection of early American modernism.
A new feature of the museum is the Teaching Gallery which enables Penn State faculty to integrate art within their curricula and create learning experiences for students.
James Palmer was the president and chief executive officer of C-Cor Electronics and Centre Video in State College, a predecessor of Comcast. The Palmers began donating works of art to the museum from their private collection before the museum was renamed in their honor.
Barbara Palmer continued the practice after her husband’s death in 2001, and, when she died in 2019, the museum received more than 200 works of art from her estate. The couple’s gifts have been valued at more than $50 million.
The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is free, although a $7 donation is suggested.
Curtis Chan
Sources:
Palmer Museum of Art. www.palmermuseum.psu.edu (Accessed August 5, 2021).
“Palmer Museum of Art announces landmark bequest of benefactor Barbara R. Palmer,” Penn State News, September 10, 2019.
“Trustees approve final plans for new Palmer Museum of Art,” Penn State News, May 7, 2021.
First Published: August 18, 2021
Last Modified: June 7, 2024