Inaugural Collection Installation in Maguire Hall

In connection with a transformative expansion that will double its exhibition space, the Woodmere Art Museum (WAM) is preparing a major installation of its permanent collection in the recently acquired Frances M. Maguire Hall for Art and Education. Across fourteen galleries, WAM will present a range of objects that tell the complex story of art-making in Philadelphia, showcasing a far more extensive cross-section of its 11,000-object collection than was possible in the original museum building. Collection strengths include late-nineteenth-century Realist paintings, the art and archives of the American Renaissance artist Violet Oakley, and Modernist art in all media. Five of the galleries will be dedicated to the region’s diverse living artists; and purpose-built spaces will display WAM’s notable collections of studio jewelry and works on paper. The building’s setting in a 300-acre green space will allow for the unique contextualization of art and nature, including large-scale sculpture installation. Grant funds will support the associated relocation and conservation of the collections.