IMAGE PROVIDED
John Frederick PETO, [Smoking Pipe, Book & Matches], oil on wood, c. 1880
Echoes of Eden in a Rising Republic: Still Life and the Beauty of Becoming, an exhibit featuring a collection of about 30 still life paintings, will be on display at the Thomas T. Taber Museum of the Lycoming County Historical Society from Dec. 1 through May 31, 2026.
According to a news release, the paintings are being drawn from several private collections and will feature the works of Charles Baum, Gustavus Adolphus Behn, William Mason Brown, Edward L. Custer, Joseph Decker, Adelheid Dietrich, Robert Spear Dunning, George Forster, John Francis, Virginia Granbery, George Henry Hall, George Harvey, Paul Lacroix, George Cochran Lambdin, I.L. Masters, William Rickarby Miller, John Frederick Peto, Johann Wilhelm Preyer, Severin Roesen, Frederick Rondel and Isabella Sullivan.
“Prominent within the exhibit, the still life paintings of Severin Roesen bring his works home to Williamsport,” the news release said. “Roesen was actively painting within the lumber town of Williamsport between 1862 until 1872. In addition to the exhibition pieces, the museum possesses three still life paintings, two from their permanent collection and one on long-term loan. Roesen’s still life paintings often portray settings of luscious fruit or abundant floral bouquets. His work received little attention until First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy chose two of his paintings for inclusion in the White House collection. The art collection of the Historical Society also includes works by contemporary regional artists Ron Beach, Steve Getz, Lynn Kibbe, Mickey Mapstone and Roger Shipley and the works of the late David Armstrong, George Eddinger, J. Wesley Little, and John Sloan and members of the Ashcan School.”
The Taber Museum provides a history of the region with information about Native American culture, frontier exploration, the development of the Pennsylvania canal, immigration during the 19th century and the logging and lumbering era of the 19th century. The Taber Museum also houses the world-class Larue Shempp Model Train Collection.
The museum is open for touring 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and, from May through October, 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays.
For further information, please contact the museum at 570-326-3326 or visit the museum’s website at www.tabermuseum.org.
