Sun, 10/16/2011 – Sun, 01/15/2012

Kress Gallery & Scheller Gallery (loaned portion)

The museum reopened its galleries by welcoming the return of art from the Kress Collection to its walls with Shared Treasure: The Legacy of Samuel H. Kress, a special exhibition that celebrated the 50th anniversary of this important gift. The exhibition honored the vision and philanthropy of Samuel Kress and his desire to enrich the cultural life of the nation by presenting almost 3,000 works of European art to museums, universities, and other institutions across the United States. It also recognized and celebrated the pivotal role played by this extraordinary gift in the evolution of the Allentown Art Museum’s rich history.

In addition to a beautiful new installation of 40 key selections from the museum’s own Kress holdings, the exhibition included a special group of works borrowed from other museums and institutions that form part of the Kress Collection “family.” Directors of each of the participating institutions selected one or more of their favorite pieces of art from their Kress holdings to create an exhibition that provided visitors with a visual feast of art as well as insight into the scope of Samuel Kress’s aesthetic vision.

As part of this celebratory exhibition, the museum also hosted a special lecture series that highlighted the importance of the Kress Collection to museums and organizations across the country and the part it has played in expanding the artistic understanding of the many thousands of visitors to those institutions over the years. Following the close of Shared Treasure, the museum’s own Kress works remained a permanent installation in the newly renamed Kress Gallery for our visitors to continue to enjoy.

Special funding and support provided by The Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

Presenting sponsorship provided by The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.
Major sponsorship provided by The Leon C. and June W. Holt Endowment; The Holt Family Foundation; M&T Bank; and WDIY 88.1FM, Lehigh Valley Community Public Radio, Jocelyn Kress Family Foundation.
Sustaining sponsorship provided by Amaranth Foundation, The Audrey and Bernard Berman Endowment Fund, The Express-Times and LehighValleyLive.com, and Weiner Family Foundation.
Supporting sponsorship provided by ICON, The Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.

Unknown Netherlandish Master. “Portrait of a Lady,” about 1525, oil on panel. Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.