Philadelphia-based Jonathan Lyndon Chase is giving black men back to themselves with his sought-after, still-evolving work.

Building on its efforts in recent years to expand its acquisition of works by women and artists of color, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts has announced that it has recently acquired 13 artworks, more than half by women.

From the Schuylkill to the Hudson: Landscapes of the Early American Republic comes with a provocative and fascinating thesis: that there was indeed a Schuylkill River School, centered in Philadelphia, exploring themes and ideas that would be taken up by far more famous figures, including Thomas Cole…