Making American Artists: Stories from PAFA, 1776–1976
Prior Reinhardt, Curatorial Administration Support
With over one hundred of the most acclaimed and iconic pieces in American art on display, Making American Artists: Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1776–1976 takes you on a journey across time, medium, and identity.
The exhibition offers new narratives in American art history, embracing stories about women artists, LGBTQIA+ artists, and artists of color. It also poses central questions about the artist’s experience: what did it mean to be an American artist when the nation was founded? How had that changed by the late-twentieth century?
Organized by theme—portraiture, history painting, still life, genre scenes, and landscape—and not chronology, the exhibition affords the opportunity to enjoy familiar works in a new light and find new favorites.
Each of the featured artists’ careers were shaped by PAFA, whether through their education or the exhibition and display of their work. Making American Artists critically re-examines PAFA’s legacy while shedding light on its continuing role in shaping American art of the twenty-first century.
Making American Artists is also your final chance to see these beloved works before they temporarily leave PAFA on a national exhibition tour, organized by the American Federation of Arts, from June 2023–May 2025. Discover more >> American Federation of Arts.
Exhibition Highlights
Brother James, 1968
Oil on canvas
60 7/16 x 40 1/4 in. (153.5 x 102.2 cm.)
John Lambert Fund, 1970.1
George Washington at Princeton, 1779
Oil on canvas
93 x 58 1/2 in. (236.2 x 148.6 cm.)
Gift of Maria McKean Allen and Phebe Warren Downes through the bequest of their mother, Elizabeth Wharton McKean, 1943.16.2
John Brown Going to his Hanging, 1942
Oil on canvas
24 1/8 x 30 1/4 in. (61.3 x 76.8 cm.)
John Lambert Fund, 1943.11
Investigation of Poverty at the Russell Sage Foundation, 1933
Oil on canvas
24 1/8 x 30 1/8 in. (61.2775 x 76.5175 cm.)
Art by Women Collection, Gift of Linda Lee Alter, 2010.27.2
© The Estate of Alice Neel, Courtesy David Zwirner, New York.
Strawberries and Cherries, ca. 1813 1830
Oil on canvas
10 1/16 x 12 1/8 in. (25.55875 x 30.7975 cm.)
Source unknown, 1924.11
Red Canna, 1923
Oil on canvas
12 x 9 7/8 in. (30.48 x 25.0825 cm.)
The Vivian O. and Meyer P. Potamkin Collection, Bequest of Vivian O. Potamkin, 2003.1.8
© Georgia O’Keeffe Museum/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Mother and Child by the Hearth, 1867
Oil on canvas
34 1/2 x 27 1/4 in. (87.63 x 69.215 cm.)
Edna Andrade, Wyckoff, and Harriet B. Kravitz Funds, 2010.2
Sunday Afternoon, 1948
Oil on canvas
20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61.0 cm.)
Gift of Dr. George J. Roth, 1970.34
Two Women in the Woods, 1870
Oil on canvas
20 x 30 in. (50.8 x 76.2 cm.)
Orton P. Jackson Fund in memory of Emily Penrose Jackson, 2015.19
Morris Heights, N.Y. City, 1912
Oil on linen canvas, mounted to wood panel
12 1/4 x 16 in. (31.115 x 40.64 cm.)
Museum Purchase, 2018.14
Related Programming
Making American Artists features a robust schedule of public programs, including performances in partnership with World Cafe Live, gallery tours included with price of museum admission, and more:
March Events | ||
|---|---|---|
| Messages and Desires: Evocative Still Live | Art on Broad | Saturday, March 4, 2023; 11 AM |
| MULTITUDES: Music and Poetry Inspired by Making American Artists (off-site) | At World Cafe Live | Wednesday, March 8; doors 6 PM, show 8 PM |
| Art on Broad | Saturday, March 11, 2023; 11 AM | |
| MULTITUDES: Music and poetry inspired by Making American Artists, in partnership with World Cafe Live | Museum After Hours | Saturday, March 18, 2023; doors 7 PM, show 8 PM |
Programming Highlights | ||
|---|---|---|
| Whose Stories Are Told in American Art? | Art History Series, online | |
| The Portrait of Hanadagá•yas; or, George Washington Reconsidered | Art at Noon, free and online | |
| Still and Solemn Power: Contemplating Landscapes | Museum After Hours | January 27, 2023; 6 PM |
| MULTITUDES: Music and poetry inspired by Making American Artists, in partnership with World Cafe Live | Museum After Hours | February 4 and 16; March 8 and 18, 2023 |
| Art on Broad: Saturdays are for Art Lovers! | Gallery Events | Every Saturday, February 11-March 11, 2023; 11 AM |
| Art of Edward L. Loper Sr: On the Path of the Masters | Art at Noon, free and online | February 22, 2023; 12 PM |
Discover a full list of confirmed events here>>
Exhibition Support
Making American Artists: Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1776–1976 is made possible thanks to the following generous supporters and donors to PAFA’s Special Exhibitions Fund.
Lead support is provided by the William Penn Foundation.
Major support is provided by the Richard C. von Hess Foundation. Generous support is provided by Julie Jensen Bryan and Robert Bryan. Additional support is provided by Linda Seyda and Robert Boris.
In-Kind support is provided by Christie’s and Gill & Lagodich Fine Period Frames, New York.
Donor lists as of September 15, 2022.
