Museum PR Announcements News and Information

Michener Art Museum and Mercer Museum to Welcome Visitors Back July 23

DOYLESTOWN, PA – With Bucks County making its transition to the “green” phase, the Michener Art Museum and Mercer Museum are delighted to announce that they will jointly re-open their doors and welcome back visitors beginning MONDAY, July 20, 2020 with three special Member-Only Preview Days on July 20, 21, and 22. Both institutions will officially open to the public on THURSDAY, July 23. Keeping the health and well-being of visitors, members, staff, and volunteers as a top priority, the Michener and Mercer Museum are following CDC recommendations and taking new measures to ensure safe environments. While each Museum will have its own set of guidelines, both will be implementing timed ticketing, limited capacities, and social distancing. In accordance with the Borough of Doylestown, masks will be required in all indoor spaces.

The Michener Art Museum will proudly unveil Rising Tides: Contemporary Art and the Ecology of Water along with several other reimagined galleries in the Museum. Advance-purchased timed tickets will allow the Visitor Services staff to welcome guests in a safe manner. Members are also asked to register online for timed tickets. Newly installed traffic-flow signage and stanchions will guide visitors on an enjoyable journey, allowing sufficient viewing areas in ample space. The Museum café and coat check will remain closed at this time. Please visit our website to view available time slots and learn more about the Museum’s safety guidelines.

“I am delighted to see the Michener Art Museum re-opening the building to the community after a long pause. The Museum team has extensive cleaning and social distancing plans to ensure your safety while exploring our latest exhibition, Rising Tides,” comments the new Michener Art Museum Executive Director, Kate Quinn, whose start date coincides with the re-opening.

As the Mercer Museum & Fonthill Castle, operated by the Bucks County Historical Society, both prepare to reopen, a number of safety measures and enhancements will ensure the health and safety of staff and guests alike. Up-to-date information is available here.

The Mercer Museum will unveil its new exhibit 200 Years of Bucks County Art. Since its founding in 1880, the Bucks County Historical Society has collected works of art – fine and folk paintings, portraits and landscapes, genre and decorative works. Never before seen comprehensively, this collection is the centerpiece of the new exhibit. The exhibit highlights local portraiture and landscape painting by noted American artists and important regional painters, as well as numerous companion pieces such as historical artifacts, documents and images from the Bucks County Historical Society collection that relate to the artists or their subjects.

Mercer Museum President & Executive Director Kyle McKoy states, “We are excited to reopen the Mercer Museum and breathe life anew in Henry Mercer’s great concrete castles. We have missed the joy and energy of our guests, and cannot wait to welcome them back to our halls and share the wonder of our new exhibit, 200 Years of Bucks County Art, with them.”

The Michener Art Museum collects, preserves, interprets and exhibits American art, and promotes the work of nationally and internationally known Delaware Valley artists of all eras and creative disciplines. The museum presents exhibitions that explore a variety of artistic expressions and offers diverse educational programs that develop a lifelong involvement in the arts. Throughout the year, the Michener Art Museum hosts a wide range of programs open to the public, including lectures, artist conversations, gallery talks, artist studio tours, dance performances, jazz and other musical performances, family-themed activities, and other events. The museum also offers a diverse selection of art classes for children and adults, which include instruction in drawing, painting, sculpting, and printmaking as well as programs for the public, schools, and teachers designed to support arts and STEAM education. The Michener Art Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

The Michener Art Museum is located at 138 South Pine St., Doylestown, PA. The Museum is open Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 am – 4:30 pm; Saturday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sunday noon – 5:00 pm. For more information, visit MichenerArtMuseum.org or call 215.340.9800.

Located in Doylestown, Bucks County, PA, the Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle are historic castles celebrating the legacy of Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930), American archaeologist, anthropologist, ceramicist and scholar. Both sites are operated by the Bucks County Historical Society.

The Mercer Museum, one of Bucks County’s premier cultural attractions and a Smithsonian affiliate, features both local and national seasonal exhibits as well as a core museum collection of over 50,000 pre-Industrial tools. This permanent collection offers visitors a unique window into pre-Industrial America through sixty different crafts and trades and is one of the world’s most comprehensive portraits of American material culture. The museum also features a research library that is a center for local history related to Bucks County and the surrounding region, with its roots dating back to the founding of the Bucks County Historical Society in 1880.

The Mercer Museum is located at 84 South Pine Street in Doylestown, PA and is open year-round. For up-to-date schedule and admission information, please visit mercermuseum.org or call 215-345-0210.

Fonthill Castle was built between 1908-1912 and was the home to Henry Chapman Mercer. Mercer built Fonthill Castle as his home and as a showplace for his collection of tiles and prints. The castle serves as an early example of reinforced concrete and features forty-four rooms, over two hundred windows, and eighteen fireplaces. Fonthill Castle’s interior features Mercer’s renowned, handcrafted ceramic tiles designed at the height of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Fonthill Castle is located at 525 East Court Street, Doylestown, PA and is open for guided one-hour tours.

Mercer Museum