Current Visitor Center Exhibit
Pennsylvania Germans: Their Lives Through Color
This temporary exhibition focuses on the use of color in objects created or used by Pennsylvania Germans in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Although form and need always came first, the use of color on these objects. Still, a splash or color on a saddle, embroidery on a textile, a Conestoga wagon, and more, expressed their culture and brought something bright and pleasant into their lives.
Most pieces on display come from the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum’s collection and includes painted furniture, textiles, clothing, fraktur, ceramics, and more. The pieces on display highlight designs and colors form both the old world and new. The colorful pieces on display support the notion that Pennsylvania Germans led lives that were not monochrome but were woven with color.
In addition to the Landis Valley Museum collection, there are pieces on loan from the following:
- Mercer Museum
- Sharon O’Neal-Lehner
- David Dunn
- Tripp Kahn, Rockhill Research
The exhibition is made possible by the Landis Valley Associates and PA Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The exhibition is open during business hours, Wednesday through Saturday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and Sunday noon to 4:00 pm. Admission fee required.