Deshong Art Museum

Deshong Art Museum
Image from The Architectural Review Magazine in 1918
Map
EstablishedSeptember 30, 1916
Dissolved1984
LocationDeshong Park, Eleventh Street and Edgemont Avenue, Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates39°51′16.8″N 75°21′40.6″W / 39.854667°N 75.361278°W / 39.854667; -75.361278
TypeArt museum

The Deshong Art Museum, also known as the Deshong Memorial Art Gallery, was a public art gallery located in Deshong Park at Eleventh Street and Edgemont Avenue in Chester, Pennsylvania. The building displayed the art collection of wealthy businessman Alfred O. Deshong from 1916 to 1984. He donated his art collection, mansion and 22-acre (8.9 ha) property to the city of Chester after his death. At current valuations, the donation would be worth over US$24 million. Deshong Park was created from his donated property and the museum was built there in 1914. From 1961 to 1978, the building was used as a library but fell into disrepair and suffered theft of the art collection.

In 1979, a teenage boy was convicted of stealing US$300,000 worth of paintings over a three-year period by taking them off the wall and sliding them out of the museum's windows.[1][2][3]

The museum trust was dissolved in 1984. The museum building and park were given to the Delaware County Industrial Development Authority and the art collection was moved to Widener University.

Description

Interior layout of Deshong Art Museum

The building was designed by architects Brazer and Robb.[4] It was designed to be fireproof with bronze doors and Dover marble exterior walls.[5] The German emperor's gallery at Cassel was used as a model for the main gallery.[6] The paintings and rugs that Deshong had collected were displayed in the main gallery[7] which is 25 by 59 feet (7.6 m × 18.0 m) in dimension and 30 feet (9.1 m) high.[5]

It contained over 300 pieces of art including 19th-century American and European paintings, Chinese carved stone jars and Japanese ivory statues.[8] The paintings included those from American Impressionist artists George Loftus Noyes, Edward Redfield and Robert Spencer.[9]

History

Shuttered museum in 2018

Alfred O. Deshong was a wealthy businessman who operated a successful quarry business and was a director of the Delaware County National Bank.[10] He invested his wealth into a large collection of art. He died in 1913 and donated his art collection, mansion and 22-acre (8.9 ha) property to the city of Chester.[11] In his will, Deshong stipulated that an art gallery should be built to display his art collection.[4] At current valuations, the donation would be worth US$24 million.[12]

Deshong Park was created from the property[6] and the Deshong Art Museum was built in the park. It was formally opened on September 30, 1916.[13] The museum was used as a library from 1961 to 1978 but fell into disrepair.[14] The library was moved to the J. Lewis Crozer Library in 1978.[15]

Art theft

Between 1976 and 1979, a teenager named Laurence McCall from Chester, Pennsylvania, stole multiple paintings and a plate from the gallery.[16][17][1] He would skip school and frequent the museum.[3] The museum had limited security and McCall stole more than 22 paintings[2][1] by simply taking them off the wall and sliding them out of the museum's windows.[2] Many of the stolen items were sold through Sotheby's in New York City, where he delivered the items personally.[17][3] McCall was eventually caught in September 1979, when he was 19. He was convicted of stealing US$300,000 worth of art and served three years in federal prison.[3] Most of the art was recovered by authorities.[2][1]

Museum closure

The building was leased and restored by Widener University in 1979. In 1984, the museum trust was dissolved and the property was taken over by the Delaware County Industrial Development Authority. US$500,000 of the trust and the art collection was granted to Widener University.[3] The art collection is currently on display at Widener University.[18][19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "The City - Stolen Art Identified". The New York Times. 18 October 1979. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Spencer, Gill (29 July 2011). "Former art thief could really use a job". www.delcotimes.com. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e Schaefer, Mari A. (10 January 2010). "Languishing Deshong property frustrates Chester". www.inquirer.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b The Architectural Review - A Magazine of Architecture & Decoration. London. January 1918. pp. 63–64. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ a b Architecture and Building, Volume 48. New York: The William T. Comstock Company. 2016. p. 163. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  6. ^ a b Architecture. C. Scribner's Sons. January 1916. p. 223. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  7. ^ Chester. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. 2008. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7385-6348-0. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  8. ^ a b Schaefer, Mari A. (14 July 2010). "Pieces from Deshong collection go on display at Widener". www.philly.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Chester Magazine fall 2014". www.issuu.com. 3 November 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  10. ^ Cope, Gilbert (1904). Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania. New York: The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 65. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  11. ^ Schaefer, Mari A. (10 April 2014). "Chester's crumbling Deshong Mansion demolished". www.inquirer.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Widener University Art Gallery". ww.visitdelcopa.com. Visit Delco. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  13. ^ Castello, Eugene (November 1916). The American Magazine of Art. United States: American Federation of Arts. pp. 37–38. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  14. ^ Rodgers, Loretta (27 September 2014). "Chester community celebrates redevelopment of Deshong Park". Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  15. ^ "J. Lewis Crozer Library History". www.crozerlibrary.org. J. Lewis Crozer Library. 21 March 2019. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  16. ^ Burnham, Sophie (15 February 1987). "As the Stakes in the Art World Rise, So do the Laws and Lawsuits". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  17. ^ a b Woestendiek, John (4 May 1986). "Painted in a corner by his past: Art thief pays for his crime, and pays, and pays". Philadelphia Inquirer. ProQuest 1829490456. Archived from the original on 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2023-09-03 – via ProQuest.
  18. ^ "Widener University Art Collection". museumsusa.org. Stories USA, Inc. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  19. ^ Waltzer, Jim (21 May 2015). "The Fight to Bring Chester Back From the Brink". www.mainlinetoday.com. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  20. ^ "Widener University Art Collection and Gallery" (PDF). www.myfairleydesign.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2018.