W.H. Stark House and Stark Museum Participate in
September 15, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sarah Boehme, Director
Stark Museum of Art
409.886.ARTS (2787)
Patsy Herrington, Director
The W.H. Stark House
409.883.0871
W.H. Stark House and Stark Museum Participate in
Smithsonian Magazine's 5th Annual Museum Day
Museum Day 2009 Poised to be Largest to Date
Orange Texas, September 14, 2009--On Saturday, September 26, 2009, The W.H. Stark House and the Stark Museum of Art, both in Orange, Texas, will participate in the fifth annual Museum Day, presented by Smithsonian magazine. For all visitors bringing a Smithsonian Museum Day Admission Card, The W.H. Stark House will offer free admission and the Stark Museum of Art will give a Museum publication without charge.
A celebration of culture, learning and the dissemination of knowledge, Smithsonian's Museum Day reflects the spirit of the magazine, and emulates the free-admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution's Washington, DC-based properties. Doors will be open free of charge at participating museums and cultural institutions nationwide for visitors who obtain the Admission Card from Smithsonian magazine or the web site, Smithsonian.com.
Last year, upwards of 200,000 people attended Museum Day, with all 50 states plus Puerto Rico represented by over 900 participating museums, including 84 Smithsonian affiliate museums. This year, the magazine expects to attract over 1,000 museums.
"The W.H. Stark House is pleased to celebrate Smithsonian Museum Day with participating museums across the United States," said Patsy L. Herrington, Director of The W.H. Stark House. "As a historic house museum, the Stark House provides an ideal opportunity for its visitors to return to a different social time and experience a sense of a place in history. In celebrating Smithsonian's Museum Day, W.H. Stark House docents will conduct tours of the Stark House at no charge and will provide a gift packet to each visitor with the Smithsonian Museum Day pass."
"We at the Stark Museum of Art feel it is very important to participate in the Smithsonian Museum Day to celebrate the role that museums play in our nation," said Sarah Boehme, Director of the Stark Museum of Art. "This Museum offers admission free to the public every day that it is open. For Museum Day we will emphasize expanding the experience. Participating visitors will receive a copy of our publication Stark Museum of Art: A Guide to the Galleries with information on collection masterworks. We will also have docents stationed in the galleries to give visitors additional insights," she continued.
Visit www.smithsonian.com/museumday to download a Museum Day Admission Card. Attendees must present the Museum Day Admission Card to gain free entry to participating institutions. Each card provides museum access for two people, and one admission card is permitted per household. Listings and links to participating museums can also be found at www.smithsonian.com/museumday.
The W.H. Stark House is located at 609 Green Avenue, Orange, Texas. Tours are available Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Reservations are recommended. All tours for the Stark House begin in the lobby of the Stark Museum of Art, and tour participants must be 10 years of age or older. Stairs are an essential part of the complete Stark House tour. For more information, visit www.whstarkhouse.org or call 409.883.0871.
The Stark Museum of Art, 712 Green Avenue, Orange, Texas, is open to visitors of all ages Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.starkmuseum.org or call 409.886.ARTS (2787). The special exhibition on view at the Stark Museum through October 24, 2009 is Pistols: Dazzling Firearms, which was organized by the Museum of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, California.
About The W.H. Stark House
Photograph by Will France
The W.H. Stark House is a Victorian landmark that has been restored to its original splendor. The 14,000 square-foot home was completed in 1894 in Orange, Texas, by William Henry Stark and his wife, Miriam M. Lutcher Stark, prominent philanthropists who occupied the home until 1936. Designed in the Queen Anne architectural style, the house features a distinctive turret, stained glass windows, and ornate woodwork in cypress and long leaf yellow pine.
The W.H. Stark House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Record Texas Historic Landmark by the Texas Historical Commission.
About the Stark Museum of Art
Photograph by Will France
The Stark Museum of Art focuses on the stunning land, the dramatic people and the diverse wildlife of the American West. Paintings, sculpture and prints interpret the West from nineteenth century frontier artists to the twentieth century artistic colonies in New Mexico. Artists include John James Audubon, Frederic Remington, Charles Marion Russell and Georgia O'Keeffe. The Museum also features a significant collection of American Indian objects, Dorothy Doughty porcelains and Steuben Glass.
About the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation
Both the Stark Museum of Art and The W.H. Stark House are programs of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, a non-profit organization whose other programs include the Frances Ann Lutcher Theater for the Performing Arts and Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center.
About Smithsonian Media
Founded in 1970 with the launch of Smithsonian magazine, Smithsonian Media--comprising Smithsonian magazine, Air & Space, goSmithsonian, Smithsonian Publishing Digital Network, Smithsonian Books and advertising for Smithsonian Channel--allows the intellectually curious to indulge and engage their passions for history, the arts, science, the natural world, culture and travel. Smithsonian Media's flagship publication, Smithsonian magazine, has a circulation of more than two million. This multimedia network is also affiliated with the world's most visited museum and research complexes at the Smithsonian Institution. For more information, visit www.smithsonian.com, www.airspacemag.com, and www.gosmithsonian.com.
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