Highlights from the New Hope-Solebury School District Art Collection

Students don’t often have the occasion to view real works of art in their own school buildings, but in Bucks County there is a long tradition of assembling collections of original works of art for display and educational use in public schools. The New Hope-Solebury School District (NHSD) is one such district in which school officials began to acquire work for educational purposes as early as 1931. Works were obtained in many different ways: they were donated by artists and artists’ families, provided as gifts by the Student Council, and acquired in memory of former teachers and administrators. 

The collection has been on view in the NHSD administration building until this past spring, when the offices were closed for renovation. To continue to share the artworks with students and the public throughout the two-year renovation project, NHSD and the Michener are collaborating for the first time to display selections from the collection in the Museum’s galleries. Works by Fern Coppedge, Florence Snell, and M. Elizabeth Price will be on view in the Betz Gallery; additional paintings by Coppedge and Kenneth Nunamaker will be included in the Pennsylvania Impressionist exhibition in the Byers Gallery.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website