In 1960 Samuel H. Kress, the founder of the S. H. Kress & Co. five and ten cent store chain, donated 53 Renaissance and Baroque paintings and sculptures to the museum from his large collection. Subsequently other donors gave generous gifts of textiles and works on paper. The addition of contemporary and regional art gives the museum a diverse and slightly eclectic collection of artwork. The delicate and precise craftmanship employed to create katagami, stencils carved from mulberry bark and used for printing repeating designs on cloth, and molas, colorful inserts for blouses made by indigenous Panamanian women by layering cloth and reverse-appliquéing, are especially intriguing.
A small park with sculptures and a large mural is located on the opposite side of 5th Street.
The museum is accessible but getting to the entrance from the parking lot involves a uphill push along the sidewalk of 5th Street.
Five spaces in the parking lot are reserved for museum visitors. There are also two accessible spaces. All are suitable for cars or vans only. RVs can be parked on Linden Street but turn your mirrors in as the street is narrow. Museum 40.60464, -75.46807
Looks like a really neat museum. Jimmy and I drove thru Allentown a few years ago, and all I remember was the awful condition of their streets!
ReplyDeleteHa,ha, yeah seems like all of the streets are bad in PA!
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