Founded in 1805 as the first school and museum of fine arts in the United States, PAFA is a National Medal of Arts recipient that celebrates the transformative power of American art and art-making through its collections, exhibitions, and education programs.
Karen Rogers reports on two major exhibitions at PAFA celebrating women artists for this week's "6abc Loves the Arts." Women in Motion: 150 Years of Women's Artist Networks at PAFA charts the untold stories of women artists' networking, innovating and collaborating. Joan Semmel: Skin in the Game is…
WURD Radio has reshared the interviews from their Black History Month live broadcast at PAFA! Follow the link below to watch the full program and find more photos.
"Evening WURDs host Nick Taliaferro kicked off the event by interviewing Eric Pryor, PAFA’s first Black president in its 217-year…
The work of painting faculty, Peter Van Dyck, is explored in Trebuchet Magazine's latest issue, Process.
Van Dyck’s process brings whoever is watching into soft afternoons and empty streets touched with the light melancholy of contemplative solitude. Our eyes, following the graceful curves of…
The AXA Art Prize shines a spotlight on the re-emergence of figurative art and the undiscovered stars of its future.
"We're pleased to introduce Regional Juror, Clint Jukkala. Jukkala is the Dean of the School of Fine Arts at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and previously served as the…
As part of their Black History Month series on "Visions" 6ABC reports on Eric Pryor's appointment as President & CEO, with video and article introducing his background and vision for PAFA.
"These amusing letters implied and enhanced so many intricacies in the maternal relationship depicted in Beaux’s Les dernier jours d’enfance, and they continue to make my understanding of the portrait that much richer. Beaux’s subjects were not merely symbols of a mother and child—they were a real…
"SEMMEL’S RETROSPECTIVE AT the PAFA is a thoughtfully curated (by Jodi Throckmorton), beautifully hung presentation of an entirely ravishing collection of her work."
Edward Tabor shares the discovery of hidden illustrated books in Harvard's Botanical Museum and how it connects to Shakespeare and a PAFA student, Rosa M. Towne (1827-1909), who painted illustrations of plants mentioned by Shakespeare.
Megan Voeller reviews Taking Space: Contemporary Women Artists and the Politics of Scale for The Inquirer, in a piece that artist Clarity Haynes made her "feel seen and understood." Read about the generation-spanning artists and works, including Haynes, Deborah Willis, Faith Ringgold, Ana Mendieta…
NPR's Susan Stamberg recently sat down with PAFA Museum Director Brooke Davis Anderson and "Taking Space" exhibition curators Jodi Throckmorton and Dr. Brittany Webb to discuss the ways women are taking up space in our galleries and more. Our curators discuss the work of Elizabeth Colomba, Judy…
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at visitorservices@pafa.org — we’d love to help!
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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.
