News

Curator Ali Printz behind a conservator working on Henry Carter's Coal Mine.

Behind the Canvas: The Art Conservator's Magic Touch

Behind the Canvas: The Art Conservator's Magic Touch showcases the restoration of key artworks for PAFA’s Layers of Liberty exhibition and the 2026 re-installation. Collaborating with Flux Art Conservation, pieces like Henry McCarter’s Coal Mine and John Carroll’s Agatha were carefully cleaned and…
Perspectives
Sound and Vision by Laura Storck

So Much Art, So Little Time: An Interview with Laura Storck

Laura Storck, a photographer, expanded her art practice during the 2020 pandemic by taking online classes at PAFA. Embracing new mediums like painting, she created award-winning work and found a supportive, non-judgmental community that boosted her confidence. Laura encourages others to explore…
Perspectives
LesMis_monoprint-cosette

Show Sketches: In the Audience with Chuck Schultz

Edgar Degas's quote, "Art is not what you see, but what you make others see," implies that the true essence of art lies in the artist's ability to convey their unique vision and evoke emotions or thoughts in the viewer. Artist and #PafaAlum Chuck Schultz (Cert ‘13) understands the sentiment as a…

Perspectives
A person standing in a gallery looking at an item in a display case.

Broad Street Review | Discover Philly’s new, old, and untold stories with these fascinating objects—PAFA presents Philadelphia Revealed: Unpacking the Attic

Philadelphia Revealed: Unpacking the Attic evokes memories with every step—if not your own, then ones you’ve heard from older friends and relatives.

"The show, a nod to the old museum’s informal title, Philadelphia’s Attic, features 600 objects from the Atwater Kent Collection (AKC), which was…

In the News
a woman looks down at a display case

The Philadelphia Citizen | The Citizen Recommends: Philadelphia Revealed

"Representing 350 years of Philadelphia history, Philadelphia Revealed: Unpacking the Attic is an interactive exhibition of over 600 artifacts from the Atwater Kent Collection (AKC) at Drexel University on display at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). Hundreds of historical images…

In the News
sign for Making American Artists that feature Winslow Homer's Fox Hunt.

Adventures in American Art: A Curator's Trip to Albuquerque

A Travel Log with Dr. Anna O. Marley

As a museum curator, when the opportunity arises to embark on new adventures, you not only seize it but relish every moment. In late May, PAFA Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Kenneth R. Woodcock Curator of Historical American Art, Dr. Anna O. Marley got to travel…

Perspectives
People standing in a gallery featuring historic objects on display.

The Philadelphia Inquirer | Lincoln’s hat and Franklin’s music stand on display in a new show highlighting Philadelphia history

"For as much history as Philadelphia represents, the city no longer has a physical location for its history museum. After the Philadelphia History Museum shuttered in 2018, its collection was transferred to Drexel University. Renamed the Atwater Kent Collection, it contains more than 130,000 objects…

In the News
open attic space

Philadelphia Inquirer | Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts’ new HVAC project is just the start of work — if millions more can be raised

"Key to the institutional retooling are repairs to one of the crown jewels in the relatively small inventory of surviving Frank Furness-designed structures — PAFA’s historic landmark building just north of City Hall. The Academy has about $5.5 million in hand for a $10 million project to replace the…

In the News
People standing in a gallery featuring historic objects on display.

WHYY | ‘Philadelphia Revealed’ exhibit uncovers the city’s history in things that survived

"A stadium turnstile and crushed copper kettles.

Quaker-made lacework and murals from Gimbel’s.

A Miss Flora McFlimsey with hair done in rings …

These are a few of Philly’s favorite things — at least that’s what Drexel University hopes.

About 650 objects selected from the Philadelphia historical archive…

In the News
Oil on canvas painting featuring buildings in industrial Philadelphia.

PhillyVoice | A 650-piece exhibit on Philly history features items from a sunken British ship and a World Series ring

"At an exhibit opening Thursday, visitors can get a snapshot of Philadelphia history from its 17th century beginnings to its more recent baseball victories.

" Philadelphia Revealed: Unpacking the Attic" will tell the story of the city through 650 items. Some, like the teapot fragments recovered from…

In the News
Hubert Davis, Spring in the Coal Regions, 1944, oil on canvas, 26” x 36”, 1945.2.

Broad Street Review | The World’s Oldest Mountains Get a Gallery at Last, PAFA presents Layers of Liberty: Philadelphia and the Appalachian Environment

Lately, museums have been exploring our complicated, often rapacious relationship with the natural world. DC’s National Portrait Gallery is currently showing Forces of Nature: Voices that Shaped Environmentalism, and last year the Brandywine Museum of Art mounted an exhibition titled Fragile Earth…

In the News
headshot of Anna Marley

Toledo Museum of Art and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Announce New Role for Anna Marley, Ph.D.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Anna Marley, Ph.D., currently the Chief of Curatorial Affairs and the Kenneth R. Woodcock Curator of Historical American Art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA), has been named the Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA). In her new role, Marley…

Press Release

About PAFA

Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is the United States’ first school and museum of fine arts. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, PAFA offers a world-class collection of American art, innovative exhibitions of historic and contemporary American art, and educational opportunities in the fine arts. The PAFA Museum aims to tell America's diverse story through art, expanding who has been included in the canon of art history through its collections, exhibitions, and public programs, while classes educate artists and appreciators with a deep understanding of traditions and the ability to challenge conventions. PAFA’s esteemed alumni include Mary Cassatt, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, William Glackens, Barkley L. Hendricks, Violet Oakley, Louis Kahn, David Lynch, and Henry Ossawa Tanner.