Demuth Museum

The Demuth Museum is dedicated to developing awareness, understanding and appreciation of the artwork and legacy of Charles Demuth, renowned American modernist painter and his family's contributions to the Lancaster community. The Demuth Museum strives to engage and inspire a diverse range of audiences by pursuing an innovative program of exhibitions, education, scholarship and collections activities. National in scope, while reflecting the distinctive character of the Lancaster region, the Demuth Museum explores the compelling work and legacy of Charles Demuth.

Charles Demuth's original home on King Street is now the Demuth Museum, which has restored both the home and its gardens. When purchased by the Demuth's, the front of the home was to accommodate a small business. Having three doors and two windows, the family entrance to 118 consisted of a small vestibule separated from the front hall by a door.

Entering the front hall there was a stair to the second floor and a way through to the large dining room that occupied the majority of the first floor. At the far end of the room was a fireplace and to its left a connection to the kitchen. The windows in the dining room looked out onto the Demuth's private garden.

Climbing the stairs inside the house, the first landing led to an intermediate level that led into a delightful library and intimate living room situated directly above the dining room. This intermediate level was a common feature in homes of this age, as the rear portions were later additions and very often the floor levels did not match. At the far end of this room, as in the room beneath, there was a fireplace and a door to the left that connected through to a white tiled bathroom. Through the opposite door in the bathroom lay a small room in the back of the house, which had windows on two sides, and was Charles' studio.

Contrary to all this domesticity, contemporary descriptions note that Charles' studio was a workroom of sorts. With whitewashed walls and windows on two sides, this thirteen by thirteen foot room overlooked his mother's garden, the Tobacco and Snuff plant and Trinity Lutheran Church steeple. It was in this room where he would spend countless hours while he was in Lancaster creating his sensitive and insightful works of art. The room that was Charles' studio is now one of the main galleries of the Demuth Museum.

Today, the more than two-hundred-year-old properties that make-up the Demuth Museum, Library and Archives are contributing structures to the National Register Historic District and recognized as part of The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Historic Artists Homes and Studios.

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