News

AHDF installation view
KYW 1060 AM interviews curator Jodi Throckmorton about her latest exhibit, Ancient History of the Distant Future, now on view through February 2.
In the 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
joan semmel
PAFA is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of a $100,000 grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. This grant will support PAFA's upcoming retrospective exhibition of work by the pioneering American painter Joan Semmel. This is PAFA's second $100,000 grant from the…
Press Release
Deborah Will, "I Made Space for a Good Man" (2009)
PAFA is the recipient of a $35,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. This grant will support PAFA's major upcoming exhibition, "Taking Space: Contemporary Women Artists and the Politics of Scale" (July 16—Dec. 6, 2020), which invites viewers to consider how size and…
Press Release
Image: M. Edlow for Visit Philadelphia
PAFA is a pick in Visit Philadelphia's January 2020 guide to North Broad Street, an area of the city that is full of significant transformation.
In the News
Jonathan Lyndon Chase, "For you For us Come back soon" (2019). Seven-color plate lithograph on Somerset Satin white paper, 38 x 30 ⅜ inches. Edition of 10.  Collaborating Master Printer: Peter Haarz. Published by the Brodsky Center at PAFA, Philadelphia.
The Brodsky Center at PAFA is pleased to publish a new lithograph by the Philadelphia-based artist Jonathan Lyndon Chase (MFA '16). For you For us Come back soon (2019) is the second print that Chase has created as the inaugural artist-in-residence at the Brodsky Center at PAFA.
Press Release
Henry O. Tanner, "Pomp at Philadelphia Zoo" (ca. 1880-86)
PAFA is pleased to announce the addition of 39 historic, modern, and contemporary works to its permanent collection of American art. Works by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Minerva Cuevas, and Doron Langberg are among the new additions to the permanent collection.
Press Release
David Lynch, Unified Field (Photograph by Matt Rourke / AP / Shutterstock)

The New Yorker's Troy Patterson selects PAFA's 2014 exhibition of David Lynch's work, The Unified Field, as one of his top cultural moments of the decade:

I see that a certain sort of film critic, possibly possessive, possibly possessed by a bias against the tube, insists upon claiming the third…

In the News
PAFA Image Placeholder
PAFA is pleased to announce that Jill Holler Durovsik has been appointed to the Board of Trustees. Durovsik has had a long and distinguished career in business, and was founder of the consumer services company Corporate Concierge, Inc.
Press Release
Minerva Cuevas The End
Ancient History of the Distant Future was featured as one of Philly Style magazine's art picks for December 2019.
In the News
PAFA Image Placeholder

As a museum and school committed to artistic exploration and development, PAFA's first priority is always the safety and well-being of our students and community members. PAFA has strict and publicly accessible policies in place to enforce compliance with Title IX and the Violence Against Women Act…

Arcmanoro Niles for Cultured Magazine | Photo: Aubrey Mayer
Arcmanoro Niles '13 has been selected as one of Cultured Magazine's fourth annual "30 Under 35" list.
In the 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.