ONLINE EXHIBITIONS

FOLLOW THE STAR: A 2024 ADVENT CALENDAR

For many centuries the story of the birth of Jesus Christ has been depicted through the creative lens of artists from a wide variety of spiritual, intellectual, and cultural backgrounds. Every day, from December 1 through December 25, a new Nativity scene from Glencairn’s 2024 World Nativities exhibition will appear in our online Advent calendar. Original settings for many of the Nativities have been created by Bryn Athyn artist Kathleen Glenn Pitcairn. Follow Glencairn’s social media (Facebook, Instagram) to receive each day’s Nativity in your newsfeed.

FOLLOW THE STAR: A 2023 ADVENT CALENDAR

The Glencairn Museum collection contains many examples of artworks representing the Nativity and infancy of Jesus Christ. Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn often commissioned original Christmas card designs from artists within their circle. Enjoy the ephemeral beauty of vintage Christmas cards from December 1 to December 25 as we unveil a different Nativity-themed card daily on the home page of our online Advent calendar. All the cards in this Advent calendar are from the Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn papers in the Glencairn Museum archives. Follow Glencairn’s social media (Facebook, Instagram) to receive these in your newsfeed.

Plexiglass lampshade painted with the Annunciation scene from the biblical story of Christ’s birth.

FOLLOW THE STAR: A 2022 ADVENT CALENDAR

The Glencairn Museum collection contains many examples of artworks representing the Nativity and infancy of Jesus Christ, including paintings, illuminated manuscripts, sculptures, and stained-glass windows. Collected by Raymond Pitcairn in the 1920s, some of these artworks date to the medieval period, while others were original works commissioned by Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn. Every day, from December 1 through December 25, a new Nativity artwork from the Glencairn collection will appear on the home page of our online Advent calendar. Follow Glencairn’s social media (Facebook, Instagram) to receive these in your newsfeed. Original settings for many of the Nativities in this calendar have been created by Bryn Athyn artist Kathleen Glenn Pitcairn.

Stained-glass fragment showing two angels in a scene from the Nativity, gesturing with open hands with a star between them.

Follow the Star: A 2021 Advent Calendar

The art collections at Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, contain many examples of depictions of the Nativity and infancy of Jesus Christ, including paintings, illuminated manuscripts, sculptures, and stained-glass windows. Collected by Raymond Pitcairn, many of these artworks date to the medieval period. Others were original works commissioned by Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn during the first half of the 20th century. Every day, from December 1 through December 25, a new Nativity artwork from the Glencairn Museum collection will appear on the home page of our online Advent calendar. Follow Glencairn’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr) to receive these in your newsfeed.

Three-dimensional version of an illustration of the shepherds visiting the Holy Family, from the 1931 children’s book "The Christ Child."

World Nativities
A 2020 Advent Calendar

For many centuries the story of the birth of Jesus Christ has been depicted through the creative lens of artists from a wide variety of spiritual, intellectual, and cultural backgrounds. This year, instead of the usual in-person experience, Glencairn Museum’s annual World Nativities exhibition will take place online for all to enjoy. Every day, from December 1 through December 25, a new Nativity scene from Glencairn’s collection will appear in our online Advent calendar. Original settings for many of the Nativities have been created by Bryn Athyn artist Kathleen Glenn Pitcairn. Follow Glencairn’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr) to receive each day’s Nativity in your newsfeed.

Hand tinted Christmas postcard of girl with crèche figures, French, circa 1910.

do you see what i see? imagery in nativity scenes

The art collections at Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, contain many examples of depictions of the Nativity and infancy of Jesus Christ, including paintings, illuminated manuscripts, sculptures, and stained-glass windows. Many of these artworks date to the medieval period, although a few were created as recently as the last century, including a large three-dimensional Nativity scene produced in Bryn Athyn in the 1920s. In addition, since 2009 Glencairn’s World Nativities exhibition has been presenting dozens of three-dimensional Nativity scenes collected from around the world. Each year the exhibition features Nativities borrowed from other museums and from Glencairn’s growing collection. This online resource is intended to provide cultural, historical, and art historical information about the Nativity tradition.