Horizons: American Landscapes from Tradition to Tomorrow

Dr. Lea Stephenson is an art historian, who is currently the Kenneth R. Woodcock Curator of Historical American Art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. 

She oversees PAFA’s collection from the eighteenth to the early twentieth century and serves as the co-curator of A Nation of Artists, a landmark exhibition and reinstallation that explores new ideas and interpretations of American art through the 18th century to the contemporary world.

Stephenson’s work has focused on nineteenth-century American art, particularly American artists traveling and working internationally. Her work has appeared in academic journals, edited volumes, and exhibition catalogs, where she explored topics including PAFA’s first 1807 exhibition, Aesthetic Movement interiors, and Gilded Age portrait miniatures. Prior to joining PAFA, Stephenson held curatorial positions and fellowships at Historic Deerfield, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Preservation Society of Newport County, Dallas Museum of Art, and the Clark Art Institute.

She recently completed her PhD in Art History at the University of Delaware in 2025, where her dissertation explored late nineteenth-century Egyptomania among American artists and collectors. Before her PhD, Stephenson completed her BA in Art History at Temple University and MA at the Williams Graduate Program in the History of Art.