Fast facts about visiting, giving, and what’s happening at the Palmer.
PalmerMuseum of Art
Visit soon and often
Even in challenging times, we hope you will visit – for now, virtually. No matter whether digital of physical, admission is always free.
Learn more about the Palmer
Visit the main Palmer Museum of Art website
Palmer at a Glance
Hours
Regular Hours
Tuesday–Saturday | 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday | Noon to 4:00 p.m.
Monday | CLOSED
Special Hours
Reduced Hours (Spring Break)
Saturday, March 7 to Sunday, March 15 | Noon to 4:00 p.m.
Easter
Sunday, April 12 | CLOSED
FREE ADMISSION
Visit
Location
The Palmer is located on Curtin Road near the Forum building, Pasquerilla Spiritual Center-Eisenhower Chapel, and Stuckeman Family building.
Parking
Visitor parking for the Palmer Museum of Art is available for $1 per hour at the Nittany and East Parking Decks.
Palmer Museum Parking Google Map
ADA parking is available in lots adjacent to the Palmer with a valid Penn State day permit in addition to the valid state-issued ADA placard or license plate. One-day permits may be obtained from the University Parking Office in Eisenhower Parking Deck on Shortlidge Road, from campus kiosks, or from the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau on Park Avenue next to Beaver Stadium. ADA parking is also available on each level of the Nittany and East Parking Decks. Elevators are located at the southeast and northwest corners of the Nittany Deck and southwest and northwest corners of the East Deck.
For more information about parking or permits, call the parking office at 814-865-1436.
Tours
Guided tours of the Palmer Museum of Art are offered free of charge for university, school, and community groups of ten or more people.
For more information on tours and scheduling, click here.
Museum Store
Tuesday–Thursday | Noon to 4:00 p.m.
Friday-Saturday | 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday | Noon to 4:00 p.m
Monday | CLOSED
For more information on the Palmer Museum Store, click here.
Art
Special Exhibitions
The Palmer rotates nine special exhibitions every year. Currently on view are:
African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting
Grounded: Environments in Flux
Drawing on a Legacy: Highlights from the John Driscoll American Drawings Collection
Permanent Collection
Eight of the eleven galleries at the Palmer Museum display art from the museum’s rapidly growing permanent collection of more than 9,600 objects. The Palmer’s strengths include the museum’s collection of American art from the late eighteenth century to the present, Old Master paintings, prints and photography, ceramics and studio glass, and a growing collection of modern and contemporary art.
Click through for specific information on areas of the Palmer collection:
American Art
European Art
Ceramics
Non-Western Art
Collections Database
An online database of the Palmer Museum’s collection contains descriptions of more than 7,000 works of art, as well as images for many of them. The databased is hosted by the Penn State University Libraries.
To access the Palmer Museum Collections Database, click here.
Learn
Educational Resources
Contact Brandi Breslin, Museum Educator, at bgb56@psu.edu or 814-863-9188 for information relating to schools, tours, and educational programming.
Tours
Guided tours of the Palmer Museum of Art are offered free of charge for university, school, and community groups of ten or more people.
For more information on tours and scheduling, click here.
Internships and Student Opportunities
The Palmer Museum of Art offers paid and unpaid internships during the summer semester for Penn State graduate and upper-level undergraduate students. It also seeks student volunteers, called Palmer Student Ambassadors (PSAs) to work with the museum to present programs that encourage visitors to explore world-class art and exhibitions.
For more information on internships or how to become a PSA, click here.
Docents
Docents are knowledgable and approachable volunteer educators who provide tours of the museum’s permanent collection and special exhibitions to a vast public audience.
For more information on becoming at Docent at the Palmer Museum, click here.
Support
Become a Member
As a Friend of the Palmer Museum of Art, you will enjoy these special benefits for one year:
- A 10 percent discount on items purchased at the Museum Store (excluding consignment items)
- Invitations to “members only” events celebrating art, such as private receptions and previews of special exhibitions
- The most up-to-date information about activities surrounding new exhibitions, collections, and educational programs
- Palmer Museum of Art newsletter, calendar of events, and digital communications
- An invitation to the Friends’ annual meeting with special presentation/guest
For more information on how to become a Friend of the Palmer, click here.
Become a Donor
There are many ways to give if you are interested in supporting the Palmer Museum of Art.
For more information on giving to the Palmer, click here.
Contact
Palmer Museum of Art
1-814-865-7673
The Pennsylvania State University
Curtin Road
University Park, PA 16802
Staff
Director – Erin Coe
814-865-7673 | emc73@psu.edu
Assistant Director – Joyce Robinson
814-863-9185| jhr11@psu.edu
Administrative Support Coordinator to the Director – Sheryl Shaffer
814-863-9180 | sks21@psu.edu
Associate Director of Membership and Donor Relations – Amber Krieg
814-863-9191 | adk5@psu.edu
Charles V. Hallman Senior Curator – Patrick McGrady
814-863-9187 | pjm19@psu.edu
Curator of American Art – Adam Thomas
814-863-9186 | amt29@psu.edu
Museum Educator – Brandi Breslin
814-863-9188 | bgb56@psu.edu
Registrar – Beverly Sutley
814-863-9189 | bxb35@psu.edu
Preparator – Craig Witter
814-863-0097 | caw54@psu.edu
Communications Specialist – Sarah Anne Wharton
814-863-9182 | saw534@psu.edu
Security and Facility Manager – Jeremy Warner
814-863-5232 | jrw255@psu.edu
Assistant to the Security and Facility Manager – Dan Esposito
814-867-3022 | ade5024@psu.edu
Museum Store Supervisor – Michele Randall
814-863-9194 | smm10@psu.edu
About
Need more information about the Palmer Museum of Art?
Visit our full website at palmermuseum.psu.edu.
On View
African Brilliance: A Diplomat's Sixty Years of Collecting
African Brilliance presents eight-three objects from a wide-ranging selection of African art from the notable collection amassed by Ambassador Allen Davis. His long career with the U.S. State Department afforded him the opportunity to build an outstanding collection representing many of the key cultures of East, Central, and West Africa that include carved and decorated wooden sculptures, natural fiber and beaded textiles, metalwork, and ceramic pots that represent household, community, and ritual practices.
Drawing on a Legacy: Highlights from the John Driscoll American Drawings Collection
The gift of 140 works on paper from Penn State alumnus Dr. John P. Driscoll in 2018 dramatically reshaped the Palmer Museum of Art’s holdings of American art. Drawing on a Legacy is the first exhibition to showcase selections from this significant collection of watercolors and drawings and includes some thirty works by a diverse group of nineteenth-century American artists.
Grounded: Environments in Flux
To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day this spring, Grounded invites us to consider the impact of humankind on the planet, both past, present, and future. This select group of works by contemporary artists celebrates the poetry and power of nature as well as the prosaic reality of environmental degradation resulting from modern interventions.
Oct 4
Insight: Museum Conversations - Discover the Palmer Museum of Art
Looking for a Parents and Families weekend activity? - Discover the Palmer Museum of Art! Join museum staff, graduate assistants, and interns for an introduction
Events
Go. Explore.Insight: Museum Conversations - A Day in the Life of a Museum Director
Art After Hours: Halloween at Home: Museum House of Horrors
Objects in the Permanent Collection
9,600
Thanks to our generous donors, alumni, and Friends, visitors have free-admission access to the Palmer’s world-class collection of more than 9,600 objects, as well as to multiple special exhibitions on view.
News from A&A
Locke's essay published in Field Language: The Painting and Poetry of Warren and Jane Rohrer
Nancy Locke’s essay, “Work, Labor, Matter: Warren Rohrer’s Abstraction,” appears in Field Language: The Painting and Poetry of Warren and Jane Rohrer.
Nancy Locke’s essay (coauthored with Christopher Campbell), “Work, Labor, Matter: Warren Rohrer’s Abstraction,” appears in Field Language: The Painting and Poetry of Warren and Jane Rohrer, edited by Julia Spicher
Architecture professor’s Robert Reed Drawing Workshops draw praise from Yale
The Robert Reed Drawing Workshop, organized last spring by Cathy Braasch, assistant professor of architecture earned praise from Yale. Read More
Board of Trustees approves architect for new and expanded University Art Museum
To showcase Penn State's growing collection of art and provide space for a range of cultural activities and events, University leaders have proposed the construction of a new freestanding art
Read More
Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State
814-865-7673
Curtin Road
University Park, PA
16802