Current Exhibitions
Exhibition In the George A. and Herbert T. Wolf Gallery
The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Altoona is pleased to announce its latest exhibition, William H. Rau: Connecting to Community. This exhibition will open December 13, 2019 and will be on display until May 9, 2020 in the Museum's George A. and Herbert T. Wolf Gallery.
The Museum will celebrate the exhibition during Wicked Wednesday on Wednesday, March 25 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with small bites, libations, and live music by Stormy. Cost to attend is $15 per person. Contact the Museum at (814) 946-4464 or for reservations.
William Herman Rau was a master of albumen landscape photography. Although he traveled widely in his early career, he is today best known for his Pennsylvania Railroad photographs, made to encourage rail travel in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Rau’s interest in photography began early. At age nineteen, he secured a position on an expedition to the South Pacific through the U.S. government. The experience from his expedition paved the way for his participation in other photographic surveys. Among these surveys are a summer spent with William Henry Jackson in Colorado and a voyage to Egypt with noted photographer, Edward L. Wilson.
Hired by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1890, he spent the next five years documenting the rail line from New York to Pittsburgh. Rau also served as official photographer for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis and the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland.
Exhibition In the Shirley and Fred A. Pechter Gallery and
Paul I. Detwiler Education Center
SAMA Altoona is excited to announce its newest exhibition 50 Years of Woodstock: Posters from the Mark Del Costello Collection on display from Wednesday, December 20, 2019 until Saturday, April 18, 2020.
50 Years of Woodstock: Posters from the Mark Del Costello Collection features selections from SAMA’s Mark Del Costello Collection. Woodstock began as “An Aquarian Experience: 3 Days of Peace and Music” in 1969 at a dairy farm in New York. Since then, Woodstock has become associated with counterculture and is a staple in pop culture history.
The Mark Del Costello Collection focuses on American graphic design of the modern era. This collection includes posters and ephemera related to a wide variety of topics such as music, theater, film, visual arts, product advertising, and political issues.
Exhibition In the Titelman Galleries
Landscapes and Pastels from SAMA's Permanent Collection
November 15, 2019 - January 12, 2020
A unique selection of landscapes and portraits in oil pastel and is on display. One of the highlights in the exhibit is the work of Colleen Browning’s portraits and nude studies. Arnold Bittleman’s piece called Dreamworld is a beautiful example of pastel and ink.
Exhibition in the Paula and Dean Lemley Gallery
Eclectic Artwork from SAMA's Permanent Collection
November 15, 2019 - January 12, 2020
Eclectic pieces line the historic grand staircase from the first to second floor of the Paula & Dean Lemley Gallery. View the American abstract expressionist artist Paul Jenkins, (1923-2012) his piece Phenomena Vessel for the Four the Four Winds in watercolor. Along with Cambria Counties, Pegi Houck’s popular acrylic on canvas A Wish is displayed together with lithographs from a variety of American artist.
Exhibition In the Donald Robinson Gallery
Landscapes by Donald Robinson
October 18, 2019- February 9, 2020
Exhibition In the Sullivan Gallery
Artists of the 21st Century
January 31 - April 4, 2020
SAMA continues its tradition of celebrating the area’s talented young artists with the return of Artists of the 21st Century, the museum’s twenty-second annual student art exhibition. Student artwork will be displayed at SAMA Loretto from January 31, 2020 until April 4, 2020. Each museum will hold an opening reception to celebrate the exhibition and the region’s student artists. The SAMA Loretto reception will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 15.
Held in conjunction with National Youth Art Month, the exhibition is open to schools that participate in SAMA’s Arts-in-Education (AIE) or Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program. Through the programs, SAMA educators and professional artists travel to public and parochial schools to provide lessons designed to enhance students’ understanding of art creation, technique, history, criticism and aesthetics. SAMA’s award-winning education initiative is the largest of its kind in the Commonwealth.
This project was made possible through the AIE Partnership of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency. State government funding for the arts depends upon an annual appropriation by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The PCA Arts-in-Education Partner in this region is the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art.
Exhibition in the Margery Wolf-Kuhn Balcony Gallery
Deep Cuts from the Permanent Collection
January 31 - April 4, 2020
"A song by an artist that only true fans of said artist will enjoy/know. ... Typically refers to a more obscure or less accessible song in an artist's portfolio, one that only dedicated fans are aware of. Also increasingly used to refer to any obscure or less accessible artwork, opinion, trivia, etc."
Exhibition In the Elizabeth Gamble Shaw Gallery
Artists of the 21st Century
February 14 - April 19, 2020
SAMA continues its tradition of celebrating the area’s talented young artists with the return of Artists of the 21st Century, the museum’s twenty-second annual student art exhibition. Student artwork will be displayed at SAMA Ligonier from February 14, 2020 until April 19, 2020. Each museum will hold an opening reception to celebrate the exhibition and the region’s student artists. The SAMA Ligonier Valley’s reception is scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday,
February, 29.
Held in conjunction with National Youth Art Month, the exhibition is open to schools that participate in SAMA’s Arts-in-Education (AIE) or Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program. Through the programs, SAMA educators and professional artists travel to public and parochial schools to provide lessons designed to enhance students’ understanding of art creation, technique, history, criticism and aesthetics. SAMA’s award-winning education initiative is the largest of its kind in the Commonwealth.
This project was made possible through the AIE Partnership of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency. State government funding for the arts depends upon an annual appropriation by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. The PCA Arts-in-Education Partner in this region is the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art.