Spring Arts - Museums: An abundance of shows at region's museums

Visitors to the region's museums will have a rare opportunity this spring to explore the many-faceted aspects of fraktur, the sharp-angled design employed largely in German letters and printing, and much favored in the past by area communities. Multiple institutions will be participating in the fraktur extravaganza, a reflection of the region's Pennsylvania Dutch backstory.

If letters and related everyday objects are not something you fancy, perhaps a mammoth prehistoric snake will do, or the witticisms of Oscar Wilde, or a full-scale model of an 18th-century schooner.

All that and much more will be given their due at historical, science and other museums this spring.

- Stephan Salisbury, Inquirer culture writer

 Framing Fraktur. The Free Library of Philadelphia mounts two exhibitions. Quill & Brush: Pennsylvania German Fraktur and Material Culture will feature original fraktur works along with Pennsylvania German artifacts, manuscripts, and ephemera; Word & Image: Contemporary Artists Connect to Fraktur will showcase the work of seven artists. Visitors will be able to examine the aesthetics of fraktur and how it has influenced art and the look of everyday objects. (March 2-June 14, 215-686-5322 or www.freelibrary.org.)

A Colorful Folk: Pennsylvania Germans & the Art of Everyday Life. The Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library explores the area's German culture and related folk art in an exhibition of decorated manuscripts (fraktur), textiles, and pottery. (March 1-Jan. 3, 2016, 800-448-3883 or www.winterthur.org.)

Drawn with Spirit: Pennsylvania German Fraktur from the Joan and Victor Johnson Collection. The Philadelphia Museum of Art presents vivid examples of this unique folk art. (Feb. 1-April 26, 215-763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.)

Titanoboa: Monster Snake. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University presents a full-scale model of the largest snake ever, a 48-foot, 2,500-pound Paleocene Gargantua, and tells the story of its discovery. (Feb. 14-April 19, 215-299-1000 or www.ansp.org.)

Everything Is Going On Brilliantly: Oscar Wilde in Philadelphia. The Rosenbach of the Free Library brings together items from a variety of collections to examine Wilde's lasting influence. He lectured in the city in 1882. (Jan. 22-April 26, 215-732-1600 or www.rosenbach.org.)

Books of Secrets: Writing and Reading Alchemy. The Chemical Heritage Foundation Museum exhibits rare alchemical manuscripts next to historical alchemical art. The exhibition marks the debut of works from CHF's newly acquired trove of medieval alchemy manuscripts, as well as paintings from CHF's Fisher and Eddleman Collections. (Through Sept. 4, 215-925-2222 or www.chemheritage.org.)

Patriots & Pirates: The Birth of the American Navy. The Independence Seaport Museum debuts a new permanent exhibit featuring a full-size model of an 18th-century American topsail schooner. The exhibit, and its construction, will roll out in stages. (Opens April 10, 215-413-8655 or www.phillyseaport.org.)

The Art of the Brick. The Franklin Institute brings the wondrous world of Lego art constructions and their science front and center. (Feb. 7-Sept. 6, 215-448-1200 or www.fi.edu.)

Beneath the Surface: Life, Death, and Gold in Ancient Panama. The Penn Museum examines the Coclé people, who lived from about 700 to 900 A.D., through the lens of an archaeological excavation. (Feb. 7-Nov. 1, 215-898-4000 or www.penn.museum.)

Richard Avedon: Family Affairs. The National Museum of American Jewish History presents an exhibition of works by the portrait and fashion photographer who helped define the zeitgeist of the 1960s and '70s. (April 1- Aug. 2, 215-923-3811 or www.nmajh.org.)

Jefferson, Science, and Exploration. The American Philosophical Society Museum mounts the second of its planned three exhibitions on Thomas Jefferson. This one presents Jefferson's passion for science and exploration. (April 10-Dec. 27, 215-440-3440 or www.apsmuseum.org.)

 Hidden Beauty: Exploring the Aesthetics of Medical Science. The Mütter Museum mounts an exhibition of photographs, produced largely by medical imaging devices, that reveal the beauty of disease on the cellular level. (Jan. 16 through June 1, 215-560-8564 or muttermuseum.org.) 

The German Society of Philadelphia: Celebrating 250 Years. The Community History gallery at the Philadelphia History Museum presents an exhibition highlighting the evolution of the German Society since its founding in 1764. (May-September, 215-685-4830 or www.philadelphiahistory.org.)

The Winter of the Soul: Calligraphy and Religious Texts in German Pennsylvania. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania presents a lecture and discussion on the complex relationship between Pennsylvania German spiritualism and the visual presentation of devotional texts. (Feb. 4, 6:30 to 8 p.m., 215-732-6200 or www.hsp.org.)

Fraktur and the Everyday Lives of Germans in Pennsylvania and the Atlantic World, 1683-1850. Scholars are being corralled by Penn's McNeil Center for Early American Studies to talk fraktur, immigration, education, religious practices, music, farming, medicine, the occult. Organized in conjunction with the fraktur frenzy sprouting around town. Conference site to be announced in February. (March 3-7, 215-898-9251 or www.mceas.org.)

Richardson Dilworth: The Last of the Bare Knuckled Aristocrats. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania presents journalist Peter Binzen and his son, Jonathan, discussing their new book about the city's reform mayor, in office from 1956 to 1962. (April 15, 6 p.m., 215-732-6200 or www.hsp.org.)

Movers and Shakers in Philadelphia 1970-1985. The Philadelphia History Museum mounts an exhibit of Neil Benson's photographs of the city's famous and infamous. (June-December, 215-685-4830 or www.philadelphiahistory.org.)

Liat Segal: Scattered Light. The National Museum of American Jewish History presents Israeli artist Liat Segal's innovative and interactive interpretation of George Washington's 1790 letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, R.I., affirming his commitment to religious liberty. (Jan. 28-fall. 215-923-3811 or www.nmajh.org.)

Hucksters: The Tumult of Dock Street. Independence Seaport Museum presents an exhibit on the vibrant culture of Philadelphia's famous Dock Street produce market; guest curated by Erich Weiss, grandson of Old Original Bookbinder's proprietor John M. Taxin. (June 12 through Feb. 28, 2016, 215-413-8655 or www.phillyseaport.org.)

Genghis Khan: Ruthless Warrior and Revered Statesman. The Franklin Institute brings Genghis Khan to your doorstep - tents, battlegrounds, marketplaces, saddles and armor, bows and arrows, jewels, catapults. You'll learn how this illiterate Mongol warrior genius created an empire that changed the world. (May 9-Jan. 3, 215-448-1200 or www.fi.edu.)

Where the Ancestors Slumber: African American Cemeteries and Burial Sites in Philadelphia, 1681-1850. Stenton, the historic house in Germantown, will host a program on early African American burial grounds and cemeteries and will provide information about where these sites were located. Reservations requested. (Feb. 21 at 1 p.m., 215-329-7312 or stenton.org.)

Quest for Freedom. The Philadelphia History Museum hosts a program exploring Philadelphia's antislavery and Underground Railroad movements through the stories behind eight objects and documents in the museum's collection. (Feb. 21, 215-685-4830 or www.philadelphiahistory.org.)

Book Arts. The Chemical Heritage Foundation Museum hosts scholar Stefano Gattei discussing the art of books, with a particular focus on early books on astronomy and cosmology. Visitors may try their hands at copying old script with iron-gall ink, learn the process of paper marbling, and hand-stitch a book. (March 6, 5 to 8 p.m., talks at 5:30 and 6:45 p.m., 215-925-2222 or www.chemheritage.org.)

215-854-5594

@SPSalisbury