November 16, 2024 through July 6, 2025
Scheller and Fowler Galleries
Peruvian, Cuzco School, Virgin of Montserrat, 1700s, oil on canvas. Purchase: Priscilla Payne Hurd Endowment Fund, 2023. (2023.11)
For six decades, the Allentown Art Museum’s Renaissance and Baroque holdings have been a unique asset for our community. New Conversations reengages with this important collection, showcasing a core of familiar works in dialogue with contemporary art, monumental textiles, and recent acquisitions.
This exhibition features several new acquisitions on view for the first time, such as Virgin of Montserrat, a rare eighteenth-century Peruvian painting that reflects the tradition of the Black Madonna; and Andrea del Brescianino’s Madonna and Child with Angel, transferred to the Museum in 2024 from Saint John’s Lutheran Church in Allentown via the Kress Foundation.
Attributed to Domenico Puligo (Italian, 1492-1527), Madonna and Child with an Angel, ca. 1520, oil on panel. Samuel H. Kress Collection, 2024 (2024.1)
Other highlights include a varied selection of contemporary works, ranging from Angel Suarez-Rosado’s portrayal of Saint Sebastian to Creighton Michael’s unexpected sculptures of seventeenth-century ruffs. Offering intriguing juxtapositions and fresh potential for exploration, the works newly on view illustrate Renaissance and Baroque art’s continued relevance for us today. New Conversations also invites visitor participation via in-gallery interactives.
In advance of the Renaissance and Baroque holdings’ return to the renovated Kress Gallery next summer, this exhibition suggests renewed significance and possibilities for this beloved collection.
This exhibition is supported through the generosity of the Bernard and Audrey Berman Foundation and the Leon C. and June W. Holt Endowment.