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A work of art can inspire a calculation, scientific investigation or technological discovery.

Even though the Museum is currently closed, we are here for you online! Are you looking for a way to feel connected, inspired, engaged or enjoy a moment of respite? We have an idea! Check out the Michener Art Museum's page on Google Arts and Culture.

The theme of overcoming difficult challenges found in Selma Bortner's work is a common experience many of us face today. How do we seek hope and overcome them? Learn more about the work of Bortner and the many connections that can be made with it.

The exhibition, "Rising Tides: Contemporary Art and the Ecology of Water", provides many opportunities for interdisciplinary curriculum connections in visual arts, science, language arts, history, math, technology and more.

The early 1960s was a prolific period for Franz Jozef Ponstingl (1927-2004). During this time, he explored Surrealist themes in his work. He was fond of the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and made a trip to New York City to see his work, "The Sacrament of the Last Supper".

Have you ever thought about being an artist? Selma Bortner said, "For me, being an artist was always a question of survival. I could not survive in this world if I could not do something creative. It's a commitment that I made when I was a child. I knew from the first time I could think about it that I wanted to be an artist."

Louis Bosa's paintings were influenced by urban realist John Sloan and depicted colorful scenes of city life. The figures in his works were highly expressionistic and stylized, bordering on caricature. He loved to tell stories, but said, “in a picture you must never tell the whole story. Part of the story must be hidden but you must get to the mood.” 

Diane Burko is one of the Philadelphia area's most celebrated contemporary landscape painters and photographers who uses her art to communicate issues of climate change. She often travels to exotic places to find inspiration for her powerful landscapes. Her fascination with the edges of continents, volcanoes, glaciers, and hot springs can be seen throughout her work.

Who was Franz Jozef Ponstingl (1927-2004)? Ponstingl was a man who wore many hats in his lifetime - he worked on his family farm, served in the U.S. Navy for two wars, and worked as a decorator and a draftsman. He traveled the world visiting Europe, the Middle East and South America.  A self-taught artist, Ponstingl created a body of work over his lifetime that was a blend of abstract, modernist and surrealist styles.