James A. Michener Art Museum

Coronavirus -19 Reopening Information:

Visiting, Safety Procedures, Hours, Admission

The Museum is completely accessible to visitors with disabilities. Touch tours, sign language interpreted tours, and interpreted materials, such as listening enhancement equipment, are all available with advance notice.

The art reference library is available by appointment only: 215-340-9800 x 150 or library@michenerartmuseum.org.

About
In 1988, with the support of many dedicated citizens, the James A. Michener Art Museum opened as an independent, non-profit cultural institution dedicated to preserving, interpreting and exhibiting the art and cultural heritage of the Bucks County region. The Museum is named for Doylestown's most famous son, the Pulitzer-Prize winning writer and supporter of the arts who had first dreamed of a regional art museum in the early 1960's.

In November of 1999, the James A. Michener Art Museum publicly announced the largest single gift in the institution's history. Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest gave the Museum an extensive collection of fifty-nine paintings by important regional artists of the Pennsylvania Impressionist School. The museum is now home to a world class collection of Pennsylvania Impressionist paintings.

Ensconced in the Museum's walled, lush "back yard" is an outdoor gallery. Visitors can enjoy lunch and reflect in the Patricia D. Pfundt Sculpture Garden, where the old stone prison wall is juxtaposed against the contemporary award-winning contemporary Edgar N. Putman Event Pavilion. The Museum hosts nationally touring special exhibitions and also showcases important regional artists.

History
The massive stone walls and warden's house that make up the core of the Michener Art Museum today began as the Bucks County prison in 1884. After a century of use, the abandoned and antiquated buildings were being torn down when the County Commissioners agreed to preserve the historic landmark and lease the land and buildings to house the new Museum. After extensive renovation, the Museum opened to the public in September, 1988. Today, the old Bucks County jail, once a place of fear and despair, has been transformed into a welcoming center of culture and beauty... guarding the artistic soul of Bucks County.

Collections

Exhibitions:

Walé Oyéjidé: Flight of the Dreamer
Through April 23, 2023
(more information)

Events