HomeWoodmere Art Museum

Tour of the Woodmere Museum

December 14, 2022

Margherita Abe and Anne Tobey admire Mabel's Doll House

Penn's Village members gathered at the Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill for a tour guided by museum docent, Bonnie. The Woodmere Art Museum was founded with the eclectic personal collection of Charles Knox Smith. Since its inception as a museum, the collections and exhibits have focused on Pennsylvania and specifically, Philadelphia-based artists. The Museum is able to rotate exhibits every 3-4 months.

We enjoyed some holiday-themed works including Mable Marple's Doll House, made by her father, Alfred Marple, as a replica of their row house in Germantown. In the next gallery, we viewed chalk drawings by John Winters of holiday displays from the Wanamaker Department Store, including the much-loved Eagle statue.

Woodmere Art Museum Tour Group Admiring Art

We ventured on to a display of artwork completed by local school children. The exhibit is part of the Museum's KIDS CARE program. They partner with local school art programs to inspire children and expose them to the arts. Later this month, the artwork will be delivered by MANNA, along with a holiday meal to people homebound with chronic illnesses.

Bonnie then led us to a true Philadelphia masterpiece, the stained-glass window from Horn & Hardart! The sight brought forth many happy memories for our group. The window was designed by Nicola D'Ascenzo and conservation funds were generously provided by the Posel family. This piece brings to a clear focus the Woodmere's dedication to preserving Philadelphia's local art.

We ended our tour with an exhibition of George Biddle's work. Among his many achievements, Biddle worked with FDR to create the mural component of the Works Project Administration, putting many artists back to work at a very difficult time during the 1930’s recession. The exhibition also includes works created during his service in the military during WWI and WWII.

Our group slowly departed, taking the time to chat more with Bonnie and each other. Everyone agreed another visit would be welcome to see future exhibits.

If you would like to learn more about the Woodmere Art Museum, please visit their website: https://woodmereartmuseum.org/.