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River Towns Magazine | Birthplace of the American Art Museum

PAFA's "Artists As Cultivators" exhibition celebrates past and future generations of women and underscores PAFA's role in fostering critical social dialogues through art across three centuries.

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.

Last Updated
April 3, 2024 - 11:18 AM

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.