Estate of Barbara R. Palmer
PALMER MUSEUM OF ART
The Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State is the recipient of the estate of Barbara R. Palmer, longtime benefactor, friend and champion of the museum, who passed away in January 2019. Her world-class collection, which includes 200 major works of art, benefits the museum’s already-strong holdings and elevates its status as a significant national museum. The works of highly esteemed 19th- and 20thcentury American artists are part of the bequest, including Georgia O’keeffe, Frederic Edwin Church, Martin Johnson Heade, Thomas Anshutz, Thomas Hart Benton, Romare Bearden and many others. Also represented are significant works on paper by Mary Cassatt, Jacob Lawrence, John Marin, Charles Demuth and Chuck Close, as well as several major sculptures by Seymour Lipton and an impressive collection of late 20th-century ceramics.
“[The bequest is] truly transformative. It will shape, even define, the museum’s presentation of American art for generations to come,” says Erin M. Coe, Palmer Museum director.
Barbara and her husband, James, began building a private collection in 1978 with the purchase of a selfportrait by contemporary painter Jerome Witkin.the Palmers began donating works of art to the Museum of Art at Penn State well before the official opening of the eponymous Palmer Museum. Barbara continued the practice after Jim’s death in 2001, gifting significant paintings by early 20th-century American artists, as well as an extensive group of drawings, maquettes and major works by Lipton, among other gifts, in 2002 and 2005.
“Both Penn State and central Pennsylvania have been immeasurably enriched through Barbara and Jim Palmer’s commitment to the arts and the community, and their legacy will live on through all who experience the Palmers’ collection on our campus,” says Penn State president Eric J. Barron. “The University is deeply honored that Barbara chose to entrust these works to our institution, and we look forward to preserving and sharing this generous gift.”