Founded in 1805 as the first school and museum of fine arts in the United States, PAFA is a National Medal of Arts recipient that celebrates the transformative power of American art and art-making through its collections, exhibitions, and education programs.
“I liked the location [of PAFA], and I liked the museum history paired with contemporary context. People encourage you to push the boundaries of your ideas."
When Abigail Gray Swartz’s illustration of a reimagined Rosie the Riveter graced the cover of The New Yorker in 2017, friends and family kept saying she had won the artist lottery.
Kate Kaman came to PAFA with a passion for figurative painting. Early on, she started making stretcher bars out of found railroad ties, and a sculptor was born.
Shortly after completing completing his MFA, Stanulonis' drawing That Little Plane -- first exhibited at the 113th Annual Student Exhibition -- was featured on the cover of New American Paintings.
Steven Dufala and Billy Blaise Dufala are prolific multidisciplinary artists whose work defies categorization and extends from sculpture and drawing to theater, music and performance art.
Ana María Gómez López left a career in forensic anthropology to become a visual artist, a journey that began at PAFA and continues in her current home of Berlin.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at visitorservices@pafa.org — we’d love to help!
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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.
