Historic Newtown Artifact On Loan To Philadelphia Museum Of Art

NEWTOWN, PA — An historic chair, once belonging to Pennsylvania's founder William Penn and today housed at the Newtown Library Company, is on loan to the Philadelphia Museum of Art where it can be seen in the museum's American Galleries.

The Penn Chair can be found in Gallery 100, which features artwork and artifacts from the early colonial period in the Americas. The Philadelphia Museum of Art periodically rotates objects in these galleries, combining pieces from its permanent collection with special loans from institutions across the region.

William Penn owned a set of six dining room chairs. Three were acquired by the Newtown Library Company in 1813 and have been treasured artifacts ever since.

The chairs, made in Philadelphia between 1685 and 1710, are among the earliest made in the British colonies of North America. Notably, they retain an extraordinary amount of their original leather upholstery and brass tacking.

The Penn Chair on exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (Courtesy of the Newtown Library Company)

For the Newtown Library Company, one of Pennsylvania's oldest libraries, the opportunity to share the artifact with a wider audience is both exciting and meaningful.

"At the Newtown Library Company, we strive to keep one foot firmly planted in our remarkable past while continuing to serve the needs of today's community," Griffin said. "We are proud to be caretakers of Newtown's history while creating new opportunities for learning, connection, and discovery every day."

For more information about the Newtown Library Company, click here or stop by the library at 114 E. Centre Avenue, Newtown.

Founded in 1760, the Newtown Library Company is one of the oldest libraries in Pennsylvania and remains an independent membership library. The library serves the community through books, digital resources, educational programming, cultural events, and the preservation of significant historical artifacts that help tell the story of Newtown and early Pennsylvania.