News

2019 travel prize winners
An artist’s education doesn’t end at graduation. PAFA has a long-standing tradition of encouraging artists to explore the world and travel. Awarded each spring, PAFA's travel prizes—the Cresson, von Hess, and the newly-established Rubens—are among the most coveted at the Academy.
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The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is pleased to announce the 2019 recipients of its most prestigious awards, scholarships, and prizes. This year, PAFA awarded over $550K to its students. The award winners were announced during PAFA’s Commencement ceremony on May 10, 2019.
Press Release
Rhona Hofmeyer '20, "The Show Must Go On" (2019). Installation.
Rhona Hofmeyr '20 is a trained opera singer and studies sculpture at PAFA. After a summer study abroad trip to Greece, she was inspired to create more installations, which allows her to merge her creative interests.
Perspectives
Gianna Del Rossi (PAFA-Penn '21) in the studio.
To get prepared for a digital career in video games, PAFA-Penn student Gianna Del Rossi '21 chose to PAFA to study traditional fine art and focus on her technical skills. After finishing up at PAFA this spring, Del Rossi is going on to study at the University of Pennsylvania with a focus on…
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Mark Stockton, "The Poet in His Bedroom or Walt Whitman in repose amongst a chaos of papers in Camden in 1891" (2018). Graphite on Arches paper, 52 x 42 inches (framed), 50 x 40 inches (unframed). Museum Purchase (2018.43)  2018
There are several Walt Whitman-related artworks in PAFA’s collection, but in celebration of Whitman’s 200th birthday, contemporary curator Jodi Throckmorton thought there was room for one more Whitman work in the permanent collection. She commissioned artist Mark Stockton to create a drawing of the…
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Cardin Moffett (Cert. '19) at graduation
Cardin Moffett '19 came to PAFA to study painting but he couldn’t shake the nearly 20 years experience he has working in technology, as a graphic designer and programmer. As a recipient of a grant from PAFA’s Fine Arts Venture Fund, Moffett was able to marry his technology skills with art and create…
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Artist Chitra Ganesh addresses the 214th graduating class of PAFA.
Graduation is a time when many students are getting ready to join “the real world” and are often uncertain of the road ahead for them. But PAFA’s 2019 graduation speaker, artist Chitra Ganesh, urges students to recognize that while they are on the cusp of something new they shouldn’t discount the…
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A new $1 million gift from The Maguire Foundation, longtime supporters of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), will allow 12 students to attend PAFA free of tuition. The Foundation initially established the James J. & Frances M. Maguire Scholarship for Artistic Excellence scholarship in…
Press Release
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The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts has several new acquisitions and contemporary works from the permanent collection on view this summer in the Historic Landmark Building. Artists featured in PAFA's summer curatorial programming include Barkley L. Hendricks, Wangechi Mutu, Jeffrey Stockbridge…
Press Release
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PAFA has appointed Amy Lee Ketchum faculty and Chair of Digital and Time-based Media. Following a national search, Ketchum will lead the development of this new area of study at the school, as well as develop PAFA's current digital media offerings. Ketchum begins her new role on August 1, 2019.
Press Release
In the studio with Daniel Flinchbaugh (BFA '19).
As he prepares for the Annual Student Exhibition, the impact Philadelphia's landscape on Daniel Flinchbaugh's (BFA '19) artistic work is apparent—the city is deeply reflected in the subject matter and presentation of his work. After graduating from PAFA this May, Daniel plans to attend UPenn for…
Perspectives
John C. and Richanda Rhoden in their home.
On view in the Maguire Gallery are a series of prints by John and Richanda Rhoden. The Rhodens may have shown their individual work together during their lives, but not much is known about the collaborative prints they produced during their marriage. As stewards of John Rhoden's legacy, PAFA's…
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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.