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Museums and Historic Sites in Westmoreland County
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First opened in 1959, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art focuses on American and Southwestern Pennsylvanian art and has shared such work with the public for over 50 years. The museum features over 3,400 pieces of art from the mid 18th-mid 20th centuries, including paintings, sculptures, portraits, works on paper, objects with images, and decorative arts. In addition to its exhibitions, the museum also hosts many different educational programs, including programs in the classroom, art classes, and summer camps.

The Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

The Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

Exhibit space within the museum.

Exhibit space within the museum.

The inverse of the previous image.

The inverse of the previous image.

The museum was first established in 1949 upon the death of Mary Marchand Woods, an art enthusiast who left her estate to the city for the purpose of opening an art museum.  The museum officially opened to the public in 1959 and then reopened in 1999 after renovations that added six improved gallery spaces and educational facilitates.  Today, the museum continues to honor American and Pennsylvanian art.

The museum's expressed mission is to "...enrich a growing public through innovative and collaborative approaches to the collection, preservation, and presentation of American art."  It accomplishes this mission through the display of works from artists such as Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent.  It also invites guests to visit its Center for Creative Connections, an interactive area where one can participate in its build-a-bridge or stop-motion animation art programs.

Renovations to the museum were completed in 2015 which also added over 13,000 square-feet of exhibit and other spaces.  A wing was added to house traveling exhibits and the museum's collection of post-1950s art.  A community room was also added that hosts concerts, lectures and is available for private rentals.  Finally, outdoor spaces were built, to include gardens and outdoor terraces.

May, Mike.  "Curtain Rises on a Reinvented Westmoreland Museum of American Art."  Pittsburgh Magazine.  October 29, 2015.  Accessed November 30, 2016.  http://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/Pittsburgh-Magazine/November-2015/Curtain-Rises-on-a-Reinvented-We...

"Westmoreland Museum of American Art/Ennead Architecture."  ArchDaily.  February 9, 2016.  Accessed November 30, 2016. http://www.archdaily.com/781667/westmoreland-museum-of-american-art-ennead-architects

Tomas, M.  "Westmoreland Museum of American Art Spreads its Wings."  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  October 18, 2015.  Accessed November 30, 2016.  http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/art-architecture/2015/10/18/Westmoreland-Museum-of-American-Art-sprea...