The Demuth Museum is dedicated to developing awareness, understanding and appreciation of the artwork and legacy of Charles Demuth, renowned American modernist painter and his family's contributions to the Lancaster community. The Demuth Museum strives to engage and inspire a diverse range of audiences by pursuing an innovative program of exhibitions, education, scholarship and collections activities. National in scope, while reflecting the distinctive character of the Lancaster region, the Demuth Museum explores the compelling work and legacy of Charles Demuth
The Demuth Museum features a rotation of exhibitions for our visitorship expanding on the artwork and legacy of Charles Demuth and his contemporaries. Please note the days between scheduled exhibitions as days the museum will be closed for the installation of the new exhibit. The Demuth Museum is also closed to the public for the month of January.
Library and Archives: The Demuth Museum holds in its permanent collection of Demuth's art more than thirty-five works, constituting the third-largest Demuth collection in the world. In addition to the collection of artworks, the Museum also houses more than 700 accessioned items and 2,000 non-accessioned items of ephemera related to Charles Demuth and the Demuth family's tobacco industries, as well as 200 volumes in its Library. The Demuth Museum continually seeks to engage art historical discourse on Charles Demuth and welcomes scholars and art enthusiasts doing research to its facilities. The Demuth Museum has worked progressively since its inception in 1981 to make these materials accessible to visiting scholars for the purpose of furthering art historical discourse on Demuth's legacy. For more information about accessing the archive, please call the staff at 717-299-9940.
Online Shopping and Giving: The Demuth Museum now has both online shopping and online giving! View the categories on our website to purchase items from the Demuth Museum Gift Shop or update your membership and donations. Your checkout will be through PayPal for security, however your purchase is processed by the staff of the Demuth Museum. Should you have any questions or concerns about your order, contact us by email or by phone at (717) 299-9940.
The more than two-hundred-year-old properties that make-up the Demuth Museum, Library and Archives are contributing structures to the National Register Historic District and recognized as part of The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Historic Artists Homes and Studios.
The Demuth Museum was established in 1981 to preserve and promote the art of Charles Demuth (1883-1935). As a leader of the American Modernist movement, Demuth is best known as a pioneer of the Precisionist style and a master watercolorist. Demuth's Lancaster, Pennsylvania home, now the museum, provided both inspiration and sustenance, and functioned as Demuth's permanent studio location throughout his lifetime. Heralded as a leading light among early American modernist painters, Demuth distinguished himself from his contemporaries in his profoundly-felt renderings of his native Lancaster's factories, grain elevators and churches.