Philadelphia Museum of Art - Information : Press Room : Press Releases : 2010

June 11th, 2010

General Admission to Museum Free on Saturday, June 19 in Honor of Late Director Anne d'Harnoncourt

On Saturday, June 19, 2010, general admission to the Philadelphia Museum of Art will be free all day, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and visitors are invited to discover the treasures of more than 200 galleries and 2000 years of achievement.

In 2008, the Museum along with Governor Edward G. Rendell and Mayor Michael Nutter declared June 19 a day of appreciation for late director Anne d’Harnoncourt (1943-2008).

“Anne d’Harnoncourt, my predecessor, passed away two years ago this month,” noted Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “Next Saturday, to honor her memory and all that she did for this institution and the community it serves, we encourage our visitors to come and discover the collections, both in the Main Building and in the Perelman Building, and bring someone along who hasn’t visited before. We hope visitors will make it a special day of inspiration. Welcome, everyone, to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.”

Anne d’Harnoncourt was an internationally respected art historian and museum leader. She began her career at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as a curatorial assistant in the department of Painting and Sculpture in 1967. She served as director beginning in 1982, and as both director and chief executive officer of the Museum from 1997 until her death in June, 2008.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest museums in the United States, with a collection of more than 227,000 works of art and more than 200 galleries presenting painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, decorative arts, textiles, and architectural settings from Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Its facilities include its landmark Main Building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Perelman Building, located nearby on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Rodin Museum on the 2200 block of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and two 18th-century houses in Fairmount Park, Mount Pleasant and Cedar Grove. The Museum offers a wide variety of activities for public audiences, including special exhibitions, programs for children and families, lectures, concerts and films.

For additional information, contact the Marketing and Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art at (215) 684-7860. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call (215) 763-8100, or visit the Museum's website at www.philamuseum.org.