The Early Decades

In its first decades, the Museum strongly emphasized the industrial arts, but as its scope was gradually enlarged the collections came to encompass both the fine and decorative arts. Early acquisitions included objects made in Europe and Japan, emphasizing the Museum's international role. Gifts and bequests began to reach Memorial Hall from many public-spirited citizens who saw in the institution a continuation of the ideals of the Centennial and presented collections for the enjoyment of their fellow Philadelphians. Over the next 30 years came the gifts of the W.P. Wilstach collection of paintings, the Bloomfield Moore collection of decorative arts, and the Pall and Tyndale collections of porcelain.

The years at Memorial Hall witnessed a steady but not spectacular growth for the new art museum, funds being limited, but the Board and Staff moved towards establishing the institution's priorities. Two early Directors enhanced the Museum's reputation and collections in diverse fields. Edwin AtLee Barber, director from 1907 to 1916, was especially knowledgeable in the history of ceramics and acquired important examples ranging from spectacular eighteenth-century Talavera pottery from Mexico to Pennsylvania German redware and the latest in contemporary porcelain. His successor, Langdon Warner, who served as Director until 1923, was a noted Orientalist and during his tenure laid the foundation for the development of the collections from Asia and the Middle East.

By the turn of the century, it became increasingly apparent that larger quarters were needed to house the Museum's growing collections. A vast new building on the site of a former reservoir on the hill of Fairmount was first projected in 1907 as the spectacular terminus for the new parkway being planned as a diagonal link between City Hall and Fairmount Park. The dedicated efforts of Eli Kirk Price, Vice-President of the Fairmount Park Commission (who was later to serve as the Museum's President from 1926 to 1933), helped to set the wheels in motion for the new building. Construction was begun in 1919 by the Commissioners of Fairmount Park, with funds provided by the city. The architects retained by the Park Commission to design the new Museum were Horace Trumbauer and the firm of Zantzinger, Borie, and Medary. Julian Abele, one of the first African American architects to come to prominence in the United States, served as chief designer for Trumbauer during this crucial period.