Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

Pieces from Deshong collection go on display at Widener

A yearlong exhibition of art from the Alfred O. Deshong collection at the Widener University Art Gallery is now under way at the school's Chester campus.

A yearlong exhibition of art from the Alfred O. Deshong collection at the Widener University Art Gallery is now under way at the school's Chester campus.

Deshong, a wealthy Chester businessman, made his fortune operating the family's stone quarries in Delaware County. He amassed an art collection - more than 300 pieces - that contained carved Japanese ivory figures, Chinese carved hard-stone vessels, and 19th-century American and European paintings.

He died in 1913, and his will gave the 22-acre property, his art, and money to Chester so it could open the museum to share the artwork with the public.

In 1984, the county dissolved the trust and transferred the art collection to Widener.

The gallery, open Monday through Thursday form 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located at the University Center on 14th Street between Walnut Street and Melrose Avenue in Chester. Admission is free. For more information call 610-499-1189.