Allentown Art Museum

This completely free museum is worth a stop if you are in the area. Nice collection and clearly has a focus on accessibility in many forms. Signs on the restrooms indicate where single use bathrooms are located, signage throughout is in both English and Spanish and it would be accessible to someone using mobility equipment such as a walker or wheelchair.

Wonderful little nook. I had a bit of time to kill before my flight back to Denver and I adore getting a taste of the art scene when I'm in a new city. This museum is fantastic, so well kept and have very lovely exhibits. I was there for the 60s Fashion exhibit and it was very diverse and well set up, diverse rooms and just a good spot to take a breather. Highly recommend if you have a chance to stop by.

Also high kudos to the staff, they were super helpful storing my luggage while I walked around and explaining the museum layout to me.

It took us way too long to get here. They have amazing galleries and outstanding community outreach events. Even better that it's free for everyone! We especially enjoyed the Frank Lloyd Wright library.

We will be back! This is an incredible institution and asset to Allentown.

This is an incredible museum... An unexpected surprise... We dropped in for the day... And we really enjoyed the collection and exhibits on display... Museum has a variety of art... Baroque, American, modern... Asian art... Photographic exhibit... Open space... Very competitive art store... Attentive, customer service... Just a gym... A big surprise we would come here again and again... Looking forward to seeing an exhibit in May (fashion)... Worth a trip from Brooklyn ....for sure!!!

What an absolute thrill it is to see the exhibit of the NEW WOMAN... To see the clothes worn by the women's suffrage from 100 years ago.
The exhibit celebrates the 100th anniversary of the women's suffrage, women being able to vote!

Facemasks were worn 100years ago! Yes there was the Spanish flu! The women's movement endured face masks while fighting for freedoms and rights! Take a look at their style of mask ... similar to yours now?

A great way to learn about the struggle.
There are dresses that were donated by family members who had a grandmother who helped lead the way for women's rights and they were just regular people... Regular girls from the Northeast that had a determination to not rush into marriage , rather they just felt the urge/need to attend university. Hard to believe that that kind of thinking was so radical and so outlandish. I learned that The white color of the clothes was also the color of the women's movement.
You can also see quotes of that time period, photos and stories of those amazing women! Don't forget to see the film! It's very interesting and tells the stories of about 5 different women and they are of races . Unique stories!! What a treasure and honor to see I drove about an hour and a half for the opportunity to see it on its first day! Opening day!
I wish their gift shop sold some suffrage items . Ornaments that celebrate the 100th anniversary, postcards and etc etc. I would have bought oodles !!
Thanks for curating this exhibit.

The Allentown Art Gallery was a complete surprise. We had a couple of hours and were looking for something to do. It's reasonably priced and has free parking next to the museum. There were 3 levels. The main level has a nice selection of American and European art, including a small Rembrandt collection. The lower level had local photography entrants; and the top level was their "eclectic" exhibit that likely varies. There were docents throughout who were very approachable. Plus was the coat room and small gift shop. The cafe was closed, but the front desk offered suggestions for local places.

Fun! I'm glad we have an art museum nearby so we don't have to travel all the way to Philadelphia! YT here are a variety of exhibits. It'll definitely take up an hour or more if you take your time! Parking is a little annoying but not that big of a deal.

A jewel of a museum. The permanent collection was amazing. Diverse and beautifully displayed, it was a wonderful surprise to see so many classic styles in their collection.
Strong on American artists, one of the more interesting rooms, and my favorite, featured minority artists, including a beautiful portrait by Nelson Shanks titled Nancy and a large stunning Neo-Expressionist style painting by Joan Snyder, titled Moon Theater.
Also on display, the musical sculpture of Harry Bertoia, titled Reverberations: Sound Sculptures. Don't miss this delightful exhibit of local artist Harry Bertoia, a fascinating combination of metal sculptures that thrum with musical sounds when they are manipulated by an obliging museum guard.
Don't forget to stop at the charming museum gift store before you leave.

Asking me about art is about as useful as asking your nearest Amish farmer what brand of Ultra HD TV he bought on Black Friday. But it doesn't take someone with refined knowledge of paintings and photographs to understand that the Allentown Art Museum has come along way in recent years especially since the 2010-2011 renovation.

We went on a Sunday which is a free admission day (sorry but I'm not dropping $44 for four people on this place for regular priced admission and yes I know that BOGO coupons are plentiful) and everything was really great.

Parking was very easy as we found a space at the end of the block right by the museum. Upon entering you're given a basic map and told what things are on the main floor plus in the basement and that the second floor was closed. Now I don't know if it was just closed because it was a free day or if it's closed permanently or if it's closed because it's being redone but either way, no second floor.

For me the star of the show is the excellent Kress Collection which has numerous European paintings mostly of a religious angle dating back to the Middle Ages. Also noteworthy is the current temporary exhibition (until 1/3/16) that you see as soon as you enter the main gallery called Cocoon Awakenings which are colored glass fixtures which can best be described as Chihuly-esque.

Also worth a look is the library from a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in Minnesota that was moved to the art museum thirty plus years ago (the living room from that same house is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC).

But with all of this high praise is also the truth that to my untrained eye certain parts were dumb like the modern art where you get to look at an old school rotary phone shaped like a face or a large paining of an ear of buttered corn or farm equipment working a field.

Overall the AAM does a very good job with its collection making sure it has something that will appeal to everybody. If you have never been it is well worth taking a test drive on a free day.

If you go:

The galleries are open Wednesday-Friday-Saturday from 11-4, Thursday from 11-8 and Sunday from Noon-4.

Admission prices are Adults $12, Seniors (60+) $10, Students $10, Children 6 and older $10
and Children 5 and younger Free. Weekly free admission is Thursday from 4pm-8pm and on all Sundays.

Parking on Sunday is no problem as you can park anywhere for free but aside of that it's a but of a PIA as the art museum only has a very small lot for free parking and after that you either are feeding the meters or you're hitting one of the parking decks which cost either $3 or $6 depending on the one you choose.

As far as small museum's go, this one stands out. They get some really great touring shows. As I write this there is a good Andy Warhol exhibit on display.

Free on Sundays, its a cheap date.

Also, a great activity center for kids run by Crayola.

And there is rumored that they are going to begin an Art after Dark series, for a fun time out.