The Allentown Art Museum of Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley is preparing to reopen its doors to the public on October 16, 2011 after being closed for almost a year to undergo a major renovation and expansion.

“The excitement is building.” said President and CEO, Brooks Joyner. “Our staff is working diligently to re-open all floors of the museum so that the full breadth of our magnificent renovation and expansion can be appreciated.”

The museum’s inaugural exhibition Shared Treasure: The Legacy of Samuel H. Kress celebrates the 50th anniversary of the gifting of the Kress Collection of Early European Art. It features forty (40) key selections from the museum’s permanent collection as well as thirty (30) additional works borrowed from other museums and institutions such as the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the National Gallery of Art.

Along with the Shared Treasure opening exhibition, the museum has an incredible schedule planned for the upcoming year. Filled with special events, lectures and traveling exhibits, this promises to be an unforgettable season.

Shared Treasure: The Legacy of Samuel H. Kress

The Kress Collection owes its origins to a substantial gift of fifty-one works from the collector and philanthropist Samuel H. Kress, which came to the museum in 1960 and 1961. The Kress Collection is the centerpiece of the museum, serving as a unique cultural resource to the region. This group of works features a concise, balanced survey that reflects the spectrum of Renaissance and Baroque art, including a fine selection of Italian, Dutch, Flemish and rare German paintings, as well as works of early European sculpture. Since the initial Kress gift, the museum has supplemented its strength in these areas by acquiring additional works of art, including an impressive selection of seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish paintings. It can be said that the Kress Collection formed the museum’s collecting philosophy, leading it to pursue complementary collections of paintings, decorative arts, works on paper and textiles.

Shared Treasure will run October 16, 2011 – January 15, 2012.

Shared Treasure Preview Party – Saturday, October 15th 6-8pm  (members free, non-members $15)

Museum Re-Opening – Sunday, October 16th 1-4pm (Free Sunday)

Guided Express Tours of Shared Treasure: The Legacy of Samuel H. KressGuided Express Tours of the new construction

Docent or Educator led tours of 20 to 25 minutes, describing the scope and highlights of the Kress Collection and the new construction.