One After Another: Series and Studies

Exhibition Info
–
Fisher Brooks Gallery
Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building
Curated by
Michelle Donnelly, Evelyn and Will Kaplan Curator of Twentieth Century Art and the John Rhoden Collection; Lea Stephenson, Kenneth R. Woodcock Curator of Historical American Art; Leah Triplett, Curator of Contemporary Art

One After Another: Series and Studies investigates the role of seriality in artistic practice across more than two centuries of American art. Drawn entirely from PAFA’s permanent collection, this exhibition brings together sketchbooks, preparatory studies, serial prints, and suites of drawings to reveal how artists develop ideas over time. 

Whether used for training, observation, material experimentation, or formal investigation, repetition emerges as a fundamental creative strategy. By presenting works in series rather than as isolated objects, the exhibition invites visitors into the often hidden processes through which artists revise and transform their ideas. 

Plan Your Visit

Buy Tickets 
 

Featured Artwork: Violet Oakley (1874-1961), Study for the Scenes from the Life of Christ window (never completed), early 20th century, Watercolor on paper. Gift of the Violet Oakley Memorial Foundation, 2013.23.4.3.

Featured Artists

  • Edna Andrade
  • Alexander Calder
  • Mary Cassatt
  • Arthur Dove
  • Winslow Homer
  • Robert Motherwell
  • Violet Oakley
  • Peter Paone
  • Howardena Pindell
  • William Trost Richards
  • Christian Schussele
  • Andy Warhol 

New Artists Featured

Because of the light sensitivity of works on paper, new works will be rotated into the exhibition in January 2027.

Featured artists will include:

  • Laura Coombs Hills
  • Charles Demuth
  • Anna Huntington Stanley
  • Alice Oh
  • George Segal
  • Frank Stella

Works on View | Fall 2026

An early 20th-century watercolor study by Violet Oakley for an uncompleted stained-glass window, showcasing fifteen illustrative panels arranged in three vertical lancets with vibrant shades of blue, red, and yellow against a dark backdrop.
Violet Oakley
Study for the Scenes from the Life of Christ window (never completed)
Early 20th century, Watercolor on paper.
Gift of the Violet Oakley Memorial Foundation, 2013.23.4.3.
A vibrant tapestry featuring a large central spiral pattern in cream, yellow, and red, contrasted by bold blue-and-white radiating stripes on the left and a solid red block on the right.
Alexander Calder
The Bicentennial Tapestries:
Trois spirales (Three Spirals), 1975
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Berman, 1976.12
A delicate watercolor painting captures four figures perched atop a rugged, sunlit cliff as they gaze out at crashing white waves breaking against rocky shores.
William Trost Richards
Morning at Rough Point, Newport, 1877
Watercolor on paper
Gift of Dorrace H. Hamilton in memory of
Samuel M.V. Hamilton, 2008.5.19
An abstract ink drawing on rice paper featuring fluid, organic shapes in dark brown and black with soft orange bleeding around the edges, accented by spontaneous splatters and the handwritten initials "RM" in the bottom right corner.
Robert Motherwell
Lyric Suite, 1965
Black ink with orange halo and blue ink
Gift of the Dedalus Foundation and the John Lambert Fund, 1994.6.5.1.
Art © Dedalus Foundation, Inc. / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.

Works on View | Fall 2026–Spring 2027

A colorful multi-panel grid of screenprints by Andy Warhol depicting an empty electric chair inside a prison execution chamber rendered in various contrasting pop-art color schemes.
Andy Warhol
Electric Chair, 1971
Silkscreen on paper
Henry C. Gibson Fund and Anonymous Gift
2006.16.1-10
A highly detailed graphite pencil drawing captures a rugged, deeply textured expanse of eroded coastal rock formations under a pale sky.
Edna Andrade
Great Head—Low Tide, 1996
Graphite on paper
Art by Women Collection, Gift of Linda Lee Alter, 2011.1.84
© Estate of Edna Andrade, courtesy of Locks Gallery, Philadelphia
A star-shaped color wheel diagram illustrates the relationships between primary, secondary, and tertiary colors, showing gradients that transition toward white at the center and black at the outer points.
Polly Apfelbaum
The Color Star, 2004
Original handmade fabric piece: synthetic velvet, dye, marker, and ink.
2011.1.217.
© 2004 Polly Apfelbaum
An Impressionist pastel painting by Mary Cassatt depicting a mother affectionately kissing the shoulder of her young child, who is standing in a white slip against a muted blue background.
Mary Cassatt
Young Thomas and His Mother, 1893
Pastel on wove paper
Pennsylvania Academy purchase, 1904.10
A charcoal-on-paper academic study by Daniel Garber depicting a classicizing full-length nude male figure in an dynamic, twisting controposto pose against a dark, atmospheric background.
Daniel Garber
Standing Male Figure [Cast Drawing: Michelangelo’s Slave], 1899
Charcoal on ivory laid paper
Gift of the artist, 1945.14.7
An abstract art print consisting of multiple textured, rectangular ink blocks in red, yellow, green, and blue arranged across a white background.
Sam Gilliam
Barnett, 2007
Serigraph, etching, and lithography
Donated by the Experimental Printmaking Institute,
Lafayette College, Founding Director Curlee Raven Holton, 2016.42.43d
© Sam Gilliam / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
An etching of Winslow Homer's "Eight Bells" depicting two sailors in foul-weather gear on a ship deck, with one using a sextant to determine the vessel's position amidst rough seas.
Winslow Homer
Eight Bells, 1887
Etching on tan Japan vellum
1985.19
A standing graphite and charcoal life drawing depicts a nude man in profile looking down, with a small sketch to the left and a handwritten signature in the upper right.
Maxfield Parrish
Men’s Day Life, ca. 1892–1894.
Charcoal and graphite on cream wove paper
Academy Purchase through the gift of Mrs. Morris Fussell, 1977.2
© Maxfield Parrish Family, LLC / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
A wide, surreal collage features blue and green cultural artifacts, small pictures, and isolated eyes floating over a background filled with the dark silhouettes of reaching hands and human profiles.
Howardena Pindell
Autobiography: Past & Present, 1989
Offset lithograph, ed. 32/55
Gift from the collection of Winston and Carolyn Lowe
in honor of Brandywine founder Allan L. Edmunds, 2019.18.25a–b.
© artist or artist’s estate
A black-and-white photograph of a seated woman with long, blonde hair is superimposed onto a textured multi-media collage composed of patterned textiles, animal prints, geometric cutouts, and a wood-grain border background.
Mickalene Thomas
Study for “Din avec la main dans le miroir”, 2008
Mixed-media collage. Museum purchase, 2017.38
© Mickalene Thomas / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Works on View | Spring 2027

An impressionist floral still life painting featuring a lush bouquet of pink, purple, and pale blue irises in a vase, arranged behind two dark, reflective glass orbs on a textured surface against a deep blue background.
Laura Coombs Hills
Purple Irises, 1920s
Pastel 27 1/2 x 23 in.
(69.85 x 58.42 cm.)
Museum Purchase, 2018.12
An abstract geometric print by Frank Stella featuring a vibrant circle packed with intersecting, multicolored bands and arcs set against a solid bright orange background.
Frank Stella
Sinjerli Vairation Squared with Colored Ground III, 1981
Offset lithographic and screenprint
on Arches Cover Paper
Bequest of Bernice McIlhenny Wintersteen, 1986.31.4.6

News and Press

Press Kit

MEDIA / PRESS: Press Kit includes graphics and related materials. For anything additional, contact us at marketing@pafa.org.

 

We're so excited you're planning to visit PAFA! 

Make time for art — visit us Thursday to Sunday.
Before reserving your tickets, please review helpful information about museum hours, accessibility, building access, and special admission programs. 

BUY TICKETS  Membership

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at visitorservices@pafa.org — we’d love to help!

 

Subscribe to PAFA Happenings

 

Are you a PAFA alum or former student?*

  • Yes
  • No

Are you a PAFA member?

  • Yes
  • No

Send me information about

  • Exhibitions, Programs, and Events
  • Art Classes and Workshops
  • Membership
  • Family and Youth Programs
  • Purchasing Art

Marketing Permissions

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts will use your information to provide updates and marketing.

Please confirm that you would like to hear from us:

You can unsubscribe anytime via email footer or marketing@pafa.org.

We use Mailchimp; your data will be transferred for processing.