Have you visited our Archives exhibit lately? The current exhibit includes Daniel Garber’s studio palette, a 1916 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts catalog featuring his painting Tanis, and a variety of artwork by Morgan Colt.
Garber has roots in Bucks County and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and in Europe. His style of realism and fantasy translated into both his landscape and figure painting. Garber’s studio palette, which is currently on display in the Archives exhibit, was used exclusively while the artist worked indoors in his studio; he had a separate palette for outdoor use.
Colt received a B.S. in Architecture from Columbia University in 1901 and practiced architecture in New York before moving to New Hope in 1905. Colt desired a creative life free from the restrictions that were placed on him by architecture clients and builders. He began building homes and designed hand-crafted wood and iron furniture. Although better known for his furniture, Colt also created brightly colored impressionistic landscapes of Bucks County. He exhibited regularly in various institutions and helped to found the New Hope Group of Painters with other artists, including Garber. Many of Colt’s paintings were lost after his death and can be difficult to find today.
The Archives is featured on the lower level of the museum and is easily accessed by taking the stairs or elevator, both from the Family Education Center. Since its inception in 1988, the Michener Art Museum has collected archival resources relating to visual and other arts in Bucks County, as well as its own institutional history and records. Appointments can be made to explore the vast collection. Please stop by the Archive exhibit during your next visit!
-Caitlin McGrother, Michener Art Museum Intern