News

Artwork documentation of Man in Blue Looking Eileen Neff

If you visit this weekend, you can find a man in a blue hazmat suit within the walls of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He isn’t concerned with an airborne virus; rather his suit protects him from toxic fumes of arsenic that float around his meticulously designed surroundings. This man inhabits a…

Perspectives
Gallery view of Jerusalem in museum
Watch a timelapse video of the process. Weighing nearly 3,600 pounds and with a pedestal that is roughly between 2,300-2,600 pounds, and made of breakable marble, the statue risks damage if not handled with the required care and expertise.
Perspectives
Painting by Nasir Young Day to Day

Nasir Young had a busy start to the summer. He opened his first full collection at PAFA’s Annual Student Exhibition, sold all 13 pieces, and graduated as the Undergraduate Commencement speaker.

Nasir’s collection for ASE featured numerous Philadelphia cityscapes, many in oil. “I’m still stumped why…

Alumni News
jill adler mfa ase install
The graduation class speaker reflects on what it means for an artist to have access to a skilled community, from The Brodsky Center papermaking studio at PAFA to greater Philadelphia.
Alumni News
tarot card by amelia jeoung
This past fall, PAFA’s Pre-College program introduced liberal arts classes, offering high school students the opportunity to explore, analyze and interpret big questions in college-style seminars.
Perspectives
David Clyde Driskell, "Flowing Like a River" (1996-97)
Dr. David C. Driskell (1931–2020) passed away on April 1. Dr. Driskell was an artist, art historian, and curator who was deeply influential in bringing wider recognition to African American art in the United States. Members of the Museum's curatorial staff have chosen to share their remembrances.
Perspectives
ashley garner poses with one of her soft sculptures
PAFA MFA candidate Ashley Garner '20 will expand her artistic practice at MassMOCA's highly competitive emerging artist residency program. Garner was drawn to the residency because of the similarities to PAFA's interdisciplinary and communal MFA program.
Perspectives
John Grieg in shop
As the shop manager for PAFA’s sculpture department, John Grieg '02 sees opportunities to create in materials students leave behind. He teaches a “Found Materials” class at PAFA with fellow graduates Steven Dufala ‘00 and Billy Blaise Dufala ‘03, teaching students the value of raw materials. Making…
Alumni News
wharton esherick desk and chair
Step into the exhibition "Wharton Esherick: An Artistic Legacy Through Necessity," in PAFA's Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, and you'll be greeted by an object that you might not expect to see in a fine art gallery. Esherick studied painting at PAFA in the early 20th century, but he is best known for…
Perspectives
"Street View (Hoagiefest)" 2019 by Alex Da Corte Courtesy the Artist, Karma, NY and Sadie Coles HQ, London
At first look, an over-sized Wawa Hoagiefest donut might appear out-of-place in PAFA’s Historic Landmark Building. In the Rotunda "Street View (Hoagiefest)" by Alex Da Corte, a phototex of the artist’s hand clutching a Wawa donut is layered on the wall behind a painting by Thomas Birch. PAFA’s…
Perspectives
"Falls of Niagara" by William Russell Birch
The waterways depicted in "From the Schuylkill to the Hudson: Landscapes of the Early American Republic" are most well-known by their current Euro-American names, but are situated in the homelands of the Lenape people. “Some visitors to PAFA may have heard of the contemporary 'museums are not…
Perspectives
Madison Greiner (PAFA-Penn BFA '19) working in her studio
After receiving the Raymond D. & Estelle Rubens Travel Scholarship, Madison Greiner (PAFA-Penn BFA '19) is able to spend an extra year studying at PAFA. “Now that I have this almost surprise year I want to take advantage of things that I was more hesitant to get involved in before,” she said.
Alumni News

About PAFA

Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is America's first school and museum of fine arts. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, PAFA offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the fine arts, innovative exhibitions of historic and contemporary American art, and a world-class collection of American art. 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.