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The Philadelphia Inquirer | PAFA’s new curator, Lea C. Stephenson, comes with Philadelphia roots

Stephenson will organize shows, work on acquisitions, and will help develop PAFA's first new permanent exhibition in two decades.

"The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts has named a new curator of historical American art. Lea C. Stephenson, a specialist in 18th and 19th century American art who was partially trained in Philadelphia, comes to PAFA’s museum...

Stephenson, who is finishing up her doctorate in art history at the University of Delaware, was most recently a Luce Foundation curatorial fellow in American paintings and works at Historic Deerfield in Massachusetts. She begins the new post Monday.

Stephenson, 32, was already familiar with PAFA and its collection when she applied for the job, having spent time there when she was an undergraduate at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in 2015.

She was attracted in part by PAFA’s overlap with her own specialty, she said.

"'What I love about the collection, though, too, is that it’s one that’s worked very closely with living artists over the years, where you have Charles Willson Peale, Thomas Eakins teaching, Cecilia Beaux, Henry Tanner studying at PAFA at points. And that many of these acquisitions or collection objects were tied to artists working at PAFA or studying at PAFA.'"

 

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Read the full article "PAFA’s new curator, Lea C. Stephenson, comes with Philadelphia roots" online at inquirer.com by By Peter Dobrin (Philadelphia Inquirer, February 4, 2025). 


Featured Image from the article: Lea C. Stephenson, outside the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts on Tuesday, is finishing up her doctorate in art history at the University of Delaware. She was most recently a Luce Foundation curatorial fellow in American paintings and works at Historic Deerfield in Massachusetts. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

Last Updated
February 4, 2025 - 3:24 PM

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.