The Reading Public Museum, 500 Museum Road, has announced its newest exhibition, \u201cRockwell\/Wyeth: Icons of Americana,\u201d opening Sept.19 and on view through Jan. 3, 2027.<\/p>\n
Featuring nearly 40 original works by Norman Rockwell and N.C. Wyeth, along with covers of The Saturday Evening Post illustrated by Rockwell, this engaging exhibition examines the work of two of the most celebrated figures in American art.<\/p>\n
Their poignant illustrations captured the imaginations of Americans throughout the first half of the 20th century and are admired for their artistry, storytelling, and nostalgic power.<\/p>\n
The exhibition was developed in partnership with the National Museum of American Illustration and the American Illustrators Gallery, New York. Exhibition coordination provided by PAN Art Connections.<\/p>\n
![\""Daniel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788695652_383_Daniel-Boone-The-Home-Seeker-Cumberland-Valley.jpg\")
“Daniel Boone, The Home Seeker Cumberland Valley,” oil on canvas painted by N.C. Wyeth in 1936. (Copyright 2026 National Museum of American Illustration and the American Illustrators Gallery)
\n![\""Threading](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788695652_109_Rockwell_Threading-the-Needle.jpg\")
\u201cThreading the Needle,\u201d oil on canvas by Norman Rockwell, was the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on April 8, 1922. (Copyright 2026 National Museum of American Illustration and the American Illustrators Gallery)<\/p>\n
The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to examine Rockwell and Wyeth side-by-side as a central scholarly focus. Wyeth (1882\u20131945) and Rockwell (1894\u20131978) rose to prominence in different eras and with distinctive styles, yet both became household names through the familiarity, accessibility, and emotional resonance of their work.<\/p>\n
\u201cRockwell and Wyeth helped define how generations of Americans pictured courage, home, humor, and collective memory,\u201d said Scott Schweigert, curator of art at the Reading Public Museum. \u201cBy bringing their paintings together, this exhibition invites visitors to look beyond nostalgia and see the extraordinary artistic discipline, imagination, and emotional force behind these remarkable images that still feel deeply familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exhibition explores the breadth of the artists\u2019 commercial work, from advertisements to magazine covers. Wyeth is best known as a prolific book illustrator who energized the pages of Scribner Classics such as \u201cTreasure Island\u201d and \u201cRobin Hood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rockwell, likewise, is synonymous with The Saturday Evening Post and the cover illustrations he produced for it \u2014 art that both sold magazines and reflected shifting American interests, ideals, and values across several decades.<\/p>\n
Despite their revered status and their popularity with the public during their lifetimes, Rockwell and Wyeth were not always held in the same critical regard as fine artists of their eras because of the commercial nature of their work.<\/p>\n
Through an in-depth look at their careers, varied output, and extraordinary fame, \u201cRockwell\/Wyeth: Icons of Americana\u201d highlights both artists\u2019 undeniable talent and their enduring place in American art history.<\/p>\n
Taking over the museum\u2019s second-floor temporary galleries, the exhibition sheds light on Rockwell and Wyeth\u2019s illustration process, revealing that many of their images began as full-size paintings and drawings before being scaled and reproduced in print for readers across the country.<\/p>\n
Admission to the museum per day is $14 for adults (18-64), $8 for children\/seniors\/college students (with ID) and free to members and children 3 years old and under. Currently enrolled Reading School District students and up to five accompanying guests receive free regular museum admission and free admission to public Neag Planetarium shows with proof of enrollment. The museum is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit online at www.readingpublicmuseum.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 The Yocum Institute for Arts Education, 3000 Penn Ave., West Lawn, presents \u201cSort of Wind,\u201d a captivating solo exhibition by internationally exhibited Syrian-born artist Nasr Warour, on view in the Holleran Gallery through Oct. 9. Visitors are invited to experience this thought-provoking exhibition and meet the artist during a free public reception on Oct. 2, from 5-8 p.m.<\/p>\n \u201cSort of Wind\u201d marks Warour\u2019s North American debut, showcasing a multidisciplinary body of work that has evolved over several decades between Dubai and the United States. Blending abstraction, figuration, contour, and movement through paintings and sculptural works, the exhibition explores the subtle, often invisible forces that shape human experience. Rather than focusing on wind as a physical element, Warour uses it as a metaphor for the unseen currents that influence our relationships, memories, perceptions, and everyday lives.<\/p>\n Developed over years of artistic exploration, the works in \u201cSort of Wind\u201d invite viewers into an atmospheric world where forms emerge, dissolve, and reassemble, resisting fixed interpretation. Through charcoal, acrylic, and sculpture, Warour creates compositions that encourage reflection on transformation, movement, and the many \u201cwinds\u201d that quietly pass through us each day.<\/p>\n \u201cPresenting \u2018Sort of Wind\u2019 marks an exciting moment for the Yocum Institute,\u201d said Nadia Pochan, visual art director at the Yocum Institute for Arts Education. \u201cAs Nasr Warour\u2019s first North American exhibition, it introduces audiences to an artist whose work has resonated across the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. We are proud to provide a platform for this important body of work and the conversations it inspires.\u201d<\/p>\n Warour studied sculpture at the Institute of Fine Arts in Suwayda, Syria, before continuing his education in painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Damascus University. His artistic practice spans painting, sculpture, photography, and image-making, with works held in private and institutional collections throughout the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and North America. His visual language moves fluidly between figuration and abstraction while remaining rooted in deeply personal narratives of memory, movement and transformation.<\/p>\n The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-noon.<\/p>\n Music<\/p>\n The Gabriel Chamber Ensemble will return to the Hawk Mountain Amphitheater at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Albany Townshiip next Sunday at 2 p.m. p.m. for \u201cStars, Stripes, and Strings!,\u201d an afternoon of chamber music celebrating the American spirit through a lively mix of familiar favorites and distinctive works.<\/p>\n The Gabriel Chamber Ensemble will perform at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary next Sunday. (Courtesy of Gabriel Chamber Ensemble)Set against the natural beauty of Hawk Mountain, the program explores American landscape, heritage, and artistic innovation through music spanning a wide range of styles and generations. Selections will include works by Aaron Copland, George Walker, Philip Glass, Maria Thompson Corley, Scott Joplin, Anton\u00edn Dvorak, Johann Sebastian Bach, and John Philip Sousa, along with \u201cAmerica the Beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the highlights are Copland\u2019s energetic \u201cHoedown\u201d from Rodeo, George Walker\u2019s expressive\u00a0 \u201cLyric,\u201d a selection from Philip Glass\u2019s Mishima, and a work by composer Maria Thompson Corley, \u201cPsalm 121.\u201d The program also includes two Scott Joplin rags and movements from Dvorak\u2019s beloved String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, \u201cAmerican.\u201d The afternoon concludes in suitably festive fashion with Sousa\u2019s \u201cThe Stars and Stripes Forever.\u201d<\/p>\n Performing for the concert are Dana Allaband and Simon Maurer, violins; Agn\u00e8s Maurer, viola; and Ailin Hsieh, cello.<\/p>\n The Gabriel Chamber Ensemble has a tradition of presenting music at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, where the combination of chamber music and the surrounding landscape creates an experience unlike a traditional concert hall performance.<\/p>\n \u201cHawk Mountain\u2019s mission of conservation and education inspires so many people,\u201d said Sara Male, executive director of the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble. \u201cThere is something very special about sharing music in this setting, and the audience that gathers here makes each concert truly unique and rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n Admission is $25, or $20 for Hawk Mountain members. Advance registration is available through the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary website at hawkmountain.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Know Your Symphony will be presented by Dr. Daniel Immel, professor of music at Kutztown University, on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Highlands of Wyomissing, 2000 Cambridge Ave.\u00a0 The lecture takes place ahead of the Reading Symphony Orchestra\u2019s concert on Saturday at the Santander Performing Arts Center in Reading.<\/p>\n Theater<\/p>\n The Reading Theater Project (RTP) kicked off the start of its 2026-27 season with \u201cIn Nature\u2019s Studio\u201d on Aug. 23 at the Reading Public Museum Arboretum. The arts festival came a day after its official season announcement video with BCTV, announcing this season\u2019s theme, \u201cKALEIDOSCOPE.\u201d<\/p>\n The RTP season will feature script-in-hand readings, workshops, donor events and more. On the third Thursday of every month, they will host Playwright Table Reads at Holy Cross United Methodist Church in Reading from 7-9 p.m.<\/p>\n Returning for its 12th year will be the 5-Minute Fringe festival, themed for the season as \u201cMalfunctions.\u201d<\/p>\n