By Dorothy Kurtz
Wednesday, September 10, 2008: I spent the day at New Hope, Pennsylvania. After picking up a town map at the Visitors Center, I walked toward the New Hope branch of the James A. Michener Art Museum, 500 Union Sq. Dr. (215-862-7633). (The main museum is in Doylestown, PA.) In the museum's two galleries, I spent a few hours. The first gallery displayed temporary art themes. When I was there, the museum presented "New Hope: Art and the River." Here, I looked at paintings of the nearby Delaware River, Delaware Canal, and the town of New Hope dating from the 19th century to the present. In addition, this gallery exhibited some photographs of the above subjects that photographers took in the 20th and 21st centuries. A more active second gallery showcased the different artists, writers, and actors who lived in Bucks County, PA, from the 18th century to the late 20th century. Thus, via pictures, texts, and videos as well as audio presentations, hands-on exhibits, and a cinema, I learned about how much these actors, writers, and artists made our culture much richer. I especially spent much of my time in the cinema--about an hour--watching film clips from different films that a Bucks County writer wrote either the screenplay or music or a Bucks County performer acted in. Later, I walked along the main streets with its quaint-looking 18th- and 19th-century architecture that contained shops and restaurants. With a few exceptions, most of the stores were boutiques, antiques shops, or arts and crafts galleries. It made for an interesting browsing experience!
