PHILADELPHIA – To begin celebrating its 125th anniversary year in 2001, the Philadelphia Museum of Art will be open on Monday, January 1, 2001 from noon until 5 p.m. All visitors on New Year’s Day will be given general admission to the Museum free of charge.
A number of family activities are planned including special docent-led and
self-guided tours, a children’s coloring project, and hourly drawings for
Museum-related gifts and prizes. Each visitor will also receive a
commemorative button symbolizing the Museum’s 125-year history.
From noon until 3:00 p.m., the Museum’s award-winning restaurant will
offer a special live jazz champagne brunch featuring caviar, smoked salmon,
roast leg of lamb, and the Chef’s own creation of a New Year’s dessert.
Offered at $40, with a discount for Museum members, New Year’s Day
reservations are recommend by calling +1 215-684-7990.
In addition, the special exhibition “Van Gogh: Face to Face” will also be
open, and tickets are available for purchase by calling 215 235-SHOW or via
the Museum’s web site at www.philamuseum.org.
“What better way to begin the New Year and the start of our 125th
anniversary year than to make the Museum available at no cost to all those who
come? This is just the first of a number of programs, activities and special
events, leading up to our actual birthday on May 10, 2001,” explained Gail
Harrity, the Museum’s Chief Operating Officer.
“Throughout our anniversary year, our special exhibitions will focus on
highly creative artists who have strong connections to this great city, as
well as several wonderful shows culled from important Philadelphia
collections,” commented the Museum’s Director Anne d’Harnoncourt.
The Museum, which just announced a $200 million capital campaign to
coincide with the institution’s 125th anniversary, has also embarked upon a
drive to identify works of art it seeks to acquire over the next two years,
culminating in a significant exhibition in 2002.
Founded in 1876, as the nation marked the 100th anniversary of the signing
of the Declaration of Independence with the great Centennial Exposition in
Philadelphia, the Museum was first established at Memorial Hall in Fairmount
Park. It inaugurated its present neoclassical building in 1928.
For general information on the New Year’s Day activities or special
exhibitions during 2001, please visit the Museum’s web site at
www.philamuseum.org or call +1 215-763-8100.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, among the largest museums in the United
States, showcases more than 2,000 years of exceptional human creativity in
masterpieces of painting, sculpture, decorative arts and architectural
settings from Europe, Asia and the Americas. The striking neoclassical
building, housing more than 200 galleries across an expanse of 600,000 square
feet, is an oasis of beauty and enriching activities — including family
programs, lectures, concerts and films — and has welcomed some 750,000
visitors in FY 2000.
