October 2010
Because of an amazing facial reconstruction created by world-renowned forensic sculptor and artist, Frank Bender, and based on the detailed physiological portrait provided by CAT scans made in 2003, this is the first time the public will come face-to-face with this 2,000 year-old woman from the ancient Egyptian town of Akhmim.
The sculpture will be on view in the Ancient Civilizations Gallery, accompanied by a new focus exhibition titled Nefrina's World. You’ll enjoy never-before-seen images of her CAT scans and fascinating new insights into the world in which she lived.
Event Time: Museum Hours
Enjoy one or all three Shows in our state-of-the-art digitally enhanced Planetarium.
1 p.m. - In My Backyard
2 p.m. - Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity
3 p.m. - Astronaut
Prices for Star Shows are $7 for adults and $5 for children, seniors and students. Museum Members and children under 4 are free.
Event Time: 1,2 & 3 p.m.
Speaker: Curator of Art and Civilization, Scott Schweigert
Free with Museum admission. Members free.
Event Time: Noon
TopStory reading, mini tour and hands-on activity for ages 4 and 5.
$5/Participating child, chaperone free.
Today's story: A Story, a Story by Gail Haley
Event Time: 1 p.m.
TopCelebrate the opening of our new exhibition, Tiffany Lamps: Articles of Utility, Objects of Art, in style. Enjoy hors d'oeuvres, refreshments, fun candy buffet and music.
$10 Member/$20 Non-Member. RSVP to lauren.mccarroll@readingpublicmuseum.org
Event Time: 5:30-8 p.m.
This exhibition celebrates Louis Comfort Tiffany’s (1848-1933) revolutionary contributions to
modern decorative lighting. Organized by The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany
Glass in New York City, it presents the first in-depth look at the
Tiffany Studios’ deliberate efforts to produce lamps that balance artistry with
utility and profitability. More than forty stunning objects in an array
of colors, sizes and decorative styles are featured in five sections exploring
the themes of fabrication, design inspiration, changing lighting technologies,
and pricing and affordability. The show also includes tools, materials and
period photographs to enhance the viewer’s appreciation of the objects by
demonstrating how they were made.
Event Time: Museum Hours
Enjoy one or all three Shows in our state-of-the-art digitally enhanced Planetarium.
1 p.m. - In My Backyard
2 p.m. - Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity
3 p.m. - Astronaut
Prices for Star Shows are $7 for adults and $5 for children, seniors and students. Museum Members and children under 4 are free.
Event Time: 1,2 & 3 p.m.
The Berks County Amateur Astronomical Society presents a program by Dr. Ruth Daly, Penn State Berks, in the Museum Auditorium.
Free to Members of the Museum and BCAAS, regular Museum admission for Non-Members.
Event Time: 6 p.m.
TopJoin us for one (or all three) of this enlightening series of lectures on the art of Louis Comfort Tiffany in conjunction with our current exhibition, Tiffany Lamps: Articles of Utility, Objects of Art.
Saturday, October 16, 2 p.m. - Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls
by Martin Eidelberg, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University & Tiffany scholar
While Louis C. Tiffany was the artistic genius behind the creative endeavors of Tiffany Studios, the discovery of a cache of correspondence written by Clara Driscoll, head of the Women’s Glass Cutting Department, has revealed the substantial role of the women who labored anonymously to create Tiffany’s masterpieces.
Saturday, November 13, 2 p.m. - Louis Comfort Tiffany as Painter
by Scott Schweigert, Reading Public Museum Curator of Art & Civilization
Although better known for his successes in the decorative arts including stained glass, mosaics, pottery and Favrile glass, Louis C.Tiffany began his career as a traditionally trained painter. By age 19, he was exhibiting at New York’s prestigious National Academy of Design, having spent time training with renowned American painter George Inness (1825-1894) and landscape artist Samuel Colman (1832-1920). Tiffany was attracted to the natural environment and, following travels abroad and his exposure to French Orientalist paintings, to more exotic themes set in North Africa and the Near East.
Saturday, December 4, 2 p.m. - An Illuminating Look at Tiffany Lamps
by Lindsy Parrott, Director/Curator of The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass
This lecture examines the themes of design inspiration, lampshade fabrication, original pricing and marketing, and changing lighting technologies in greater detail. Illustrations include archival photographs of Tiffany’s studios and craftsmen, rare period advertisements and promotional brochures. This lecture goes beyond the general appreciation of the beauty of Tiffany lamps by examining the artistry and historical context of these iconic objects.
Lecture cost: $10 per Member/$15 Non-Member
Series cost: $25 Member/ $35 Non-Member (Admission included in cost of lecture)
For a flier and registration form, click on "learn more" below.
Event Time: 2 p.m.
The combination of these two important American photographers will show how motion photography was invented by Muybridge, and expanded upon with new techniques by Edgerton. This exhibition premiers previously undisplayed works from the Museum's growing collection of photographs.
Event Time: Museum Hours
Enjoy an exciting two-day trip, "Glass & Wine: A Trip to the Corning Museum of Glass and the Finger Lakes Wine Country in New York."
On Sunday, we will leave the Museum at promptly 7:30 a.m. and arrive at lunchtime at Castel Grisch Winery and Restaurant for a hot lunch (included) and wine tasting (included). Castel Grisch is a charming European-style winery overlooking Seneca Lake in New York. Castel Grisch was founded by a Swiss family and developed at this location because of its similarities to their native Switzerland - the panoramic views of the hillside
and lake. (www.castelgrisch.com.)
Following our lunch and wine tasting, we’ll board the bus to our next destination, a late-afternoon visit to the Rockwell Museum of Western Art in Corning, New York. (Admission and tour is included.) The Rockwell Museum of Western Art is one of the best museum collections of American Western and Native American Art on the East Coast. (www.rockwellmuseum.org)
Our last stop on Sunday will be to check into our hotel, the Radisson Hotel Corning. Located in the downtown Gaffer District, the Radisson Hotel Corning, offers warm hospitality, an inviting atmosphere and top-notch services. During your stay, go for a swim in the indoor pool, work out in the Fitness Center, unwind in the Jacuzzi
and treat yourself to exceptional on-site dining. Participants may have dinner on their own, either out on the town in historic Corning or in the hotel’s restaurant, Grill 1-2-5. ( www.radisson.com/corningny)
Monday morning, enjoy the hot buffet breakfast at the hotel (included). Following breakfast, we will depart the hotel for a half-day visit at the Corning Museum of Glass. Here, we will tour the exhibition Tiffany Treasures: Favrile Glass from Outside Collections, view hot glass demonstrations, and enjoy seeing the collection of the largest glass museum in the world. Participants will lunch on their own at the GlassMarket Café in the Museum or at one of the local eateries in Corning. We will depart Corning at approximately 2:00 pm and return to Reading at dinnertime. Bus leaves Sunday morning from Museum lot at 7:30am and leaves Corning on Monday at 2:00 pm.
Cost: Double Occupancy - $325 Members/$350 Non-Members; Single Occupancy - $350 Members/$375 Non-Members (price is per person and includes transportation, all admissions & tours, hotel stay, lunch and wine tasting on Sunday and breakfast on Monday).
For a flier and registration form, see "learn more."
Event Time: 7:30 a.m (bus departs)
Enjoy one or all three Shows in our state-of-the-art digitally enhanced Planetarium.
1 p.m. - In My Backyard
2 p.m. - Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity
3 p.m. - Astronaut
Prices for Star Shows are $7 for adults and $5 for children, seniors and students. Museum Members and children under 4 are free.
Event Time: 1,2 & 3 p.m.
Story reading, mini tour and hands-on activity for ages 4 and 5.
$5/Participating child, chaperone free.
Today's story: Mary Had a Little Lamp by Jack Lechner
Event Time: 1 p.m.
TopJoin us for one or more shows featuring classic rock music combined with exciting visuals -- all in our digitally enhanced state-of-the-art Planetarium!
This fall, the Friday night lineup includes:
7 p.m. - Laser Beatles
8 p.m. - SonicVision
9 p.m. - Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
10 p.m. - SonicVision
Prices are $5 for Members and $7 for Non-Members (each show).
Event Time: 7, 8, 9 & 10 p.m.
Enjoy one or all three Shows in our state-of-the-art digitally enhanced Planetarium.
1 p.m. - In My Backyard
2 p.m. - Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity
3 p.m. - Astronaut
Prices for Star Shows are $7 for adults and $5 for children, seniors and students. Museum Members and children under 4 are free.
Event Time: 1,2 & 3 p.m.
A World of Glass & Light: The Art of Louis C. Tiffany in Context
Join Marlisa Mizerak for one or all of her fall Friday lectures on Louis Comfort Tiffany and his place in the Arts & Crafts movement.
The End of the World As We Know It (October 29 at 6:00 pm)
Tiffany gained renown during the Fin de Siècle (or “end of the century”) period, when art became more organic and emotional, bordering on the surreal. We’ll compare Tiffany’s work not only to other “decorative” artists, but also to painters like Edvard Munch and Gustav Klimt.
Reflections of the East (November 5 at 6:00 pm)
During his travels through such exotic locales as Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, Tiffany fell under the spell of Eastern art. We will discuss which elements of Near and Far Eastern art emerge in his mature work and what the original context was for those sources.
Say It With Cardboard (November 12 at 6:00 pm)
Tiffany continued to work into the 20th century. However, the world around him was rapidly changing, especially the art world. We will look at what could almost be considered the “Anti-Tiffany impulse” – works by the Cubists, Constructivists and Dadaists made from inelegant materials such as cardboard.
Cost per lecture: $5 for Members/$10 for Non-Members
For a flier and registration form, please click on "learn more" below.
Event Time: 6 p.m.
Enjoy one or all three Shows in our state-of-the-art digitally enhanced Planetarium.
1 p.m. - In My Backyard
2 p.m. - Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity
3 p.m. - Astronaut
Prices for Star Shows are $7 for adults and $5 for children, seniors and students. Museum Members and children under 4 are free.
Event Time: 1,2 & 3 p.m.
Join us for light breakfast and live music in our beautiful Atrium as this popular series continues.
For this concert, complementary to our current exhibition, Tiffany Lamps: Articles of Utility, Objects of Art, our special artists will be the Paragon Palm Court Ensemble,
presenting elegant musical
gems from the Art Nouveau
era. The ensemble, consisting of Yuko Naito (violin), Alistair McRae ('cello),
Leslie Cullen (flute), and Rick Benjamin (pianoforte), will perform original c1890-1920 salon music scores from
collection of Anthony Gasparro, Philadelphia's leading "society"
musician of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The members of the Paragon Palm
Court Ensemble - all top New York concert and recording players - are veterans
of Rick Benjamin's Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, one of the world's best known re-creators of historic music
Cost: $15 Members/$25 Non-Members. Includes concert, Continental breakfast and admission to the Museum after the show. Reservations suggested -- call 610-371-5850 x264 and leave a message.
More details soon! Don't miss this very special event.
Sponsored by Hair On The Avenue
Event Time: 10 a.m. - noon