River Towns Magazine | Spring 2024
"Birthplace of the American Art Museum" By Patti Zielinski

"The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, in Philadelphia, holds a dual distinction as America’s first art school and first museum of fine arts. Inside the museum, visitors will find a world-class collection of works by many of America’s greatest artists, some who called the River Towns home.

"[Artists as Cultivators] explores how artists have fostered critical social dialogues over three centuries through their use of nature as subject, theme, and material. 'The title of the show comes from our mission—‘to promote the cultivation of the fine arts in the United States of America’'—says Anna Marley, PAFA’s chief of curatorial affairs, who assembled the exhibition with Leah Triplett Harrington, the director of exhibitions and contemporary curatorial initiatives. 'The exhibition allows visitors to walk into the beautiful gallery of works from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in conversation with each other, addressing the idea that we’re all somehow connected through the environment we live in.'”

Read the full article on the River Towns Magazine website in the Spring 2024 digital edition.

Featured image: Installation view of Artists as Cultivators at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, February 8, 2024–July 7, 2024 in the Historic Landmark Building. Courtesy of PAFA. Photography by Adrian Cubillas.