(American, 1884-1956)
Main Street, Sellersville Pennsylvania
Oil on canvas, 32 x 40
Signed at lower left: “WE. Baum”
This view was taken at the intersection of Green and North Main Streets in Sellersville. The white house with stone fence still exists today and the brown structure across the street might be the Sellersville Motor Company building. The large turreted structure at center is The Washington Hotel. The brick building on the center-left side of the composition is the I.O.O.F. Temple. There is a currently a bank bulding next to the Temple which is not depicted. It was erected in 1928 which, along with the style of the motor vehicle suggests a date for the work in the mid-twenties.
About the Artist
(American, 1884-1956)
A life-long resident of Sellersville, Pennsylvania, Walter Emerson Baum began his art studies under the direction of William T. Trego and later worked under Thomas Anshutz at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He holds the special distinction of being founder of the Allentown Art Museum in 1932. His works form part of important public collections at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Toledo Art Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Reading Art Gallery.
Baum's work is represented in: Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley, James A. Michener Art Museum, Woodmere Art Museum, National Academy of Design, Toledo Museum of Art
