The University Gallery

The University Gallery presents a schedule of changing exhibitions throughout the academic year. The University Gallery is housed in Old College, a National Historic Register building constructed in 1834, on the north campus of the University of Delaware in Newark.

Exhibitions offered include those highlighting works from the permanent collection as well as traveling and loan exhibitions. The collection encompasses over 10,000 objects, artworks, and artifacts with particular strengths in vintage and contemporary photography, featuring the work of Gertrude Käsebier and Clarence White; Pre-Columbian and Southwest Native American ceramics, encompassing Moché and Acoma Pueblo societies; and American prints and drawings from the 19th century to the present. In July 2007, the University of Delaware collection was integrated within the Museums collection, bringing to it significant works by Brandywine School artists Howard Pyle, Stanley Arthurs, Frank Schoonover, and N.C. Wyeth.

Mechanical Hall

Following an award winning renovation, Mechanical Hall reopened in 2004 as the home of the Paul R. Jones Collection of African American Art. This gift to the University by the Atlanta collector Paul R. Jones has served as a point of departure for a growing collection of African American art, as well as related faculty and student initiatives.

This African American art collection at UD today includes the Paul R. Jones gift, an impressive survey of prints from the Brandywine Workshop in Philadelphia, and important photographs by P.H. Polk. The gallery in Mechanical Hall offers changing exhibitions of African American Art and related topics. In addition to gallery space, the building houses a print room for the use of those studying objects in the collection.

Built in 1898, Mechanical Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places. Its purposed changed throughout the twentieth century, serving as an engineering building, an athletic training center, a residence for GI's returning to school after World War II, and a ROTC building.

The Mineralogical Museum

The Mineralogical Museum in Penny Hall originated with the gift of the Irenée du Pont, Sr. collection in 1964. A significant part of this collection was purchased in 1919 by Mr. du Pont from George Kunz, Vice-President of Tiffany & Co, and had been on display in the Tiffany showroom in New York City.

A grant from the Crystal Trust enabled the University to move the collection from the University Library to a new facility in Penny Hall in the early 1970s. Mrs. David S. Craven, a niece of Irenée du Pont, provides annual funds for acquisitions and for care of the collection, which has grown in size and in quality over the years with the support of David A. Byers, Frederick A. Keidel, Alvin B. Stiles and other generous donors.

The Mineralogical Museum supports the programs of the University, provides educational resources for regional schools and attracts mineral enthusiasts. In 2007, the Mineralogical Museum closed for renovation and reinstallation. It is scheduled to re-open in early 2009. Minerals will be displayed in the newly renovated gallery as natural works of art and as illustrations of mineralogical concepts.