News

graphic with arcs of red-orange, light orange, light pink, light green
Open to the public on March 23, the new exhibition hosted by the African American Museum in Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts will explore a reoccurring question in American history.
Press Release
Ellie's Art from Summer Academy

Callie Coccia, Pre-College Coordinator and PAFA Alum (PAFA-Penn BFA ’21), sat down with Ellie Zahorik, a first year BFA student at PAFA, to talk about Ellie’s high school experience at Summer Academy in 2021 and how it impacted her path to art school. 

This interview has been lightly edited for…

Perspectives
Woman in helmet welds metal on table
Kelly Lawler leads with her heart. Returning to art studies after 25 years in technology and project management, much of Kelly’s practice and output now focuses on the connections that draw us together as humans. "I stepped away from one really intense industry into something completely different…
Perspectives
Woman wearing sweatshirt and glasses kneels over large paper inside art studio

Makenna Glessner (MFA ’23) is currently at work on her master’s thesis, but has been a constant presence at PAFA since 2016 as a high school summer attendee and an undergraduate student, earning her BFA in 2021. Makenna’s self-awareness immediately emerges in her thesis work, which focuses on the…

Perspectives
marble statues on wood pallets
On the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer today, Peter Dobrin writes 'Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts closes historic building to reimagine permanent collection.'
In the News
Graphic of gold dots and thumbnails of art
Pafa Alumni Dara Haskins (BFA '19), Athena Scott (MFA '22), and Meg Wolensky (BFA '14) have been awarded 2023 Wind Fellowships. Join their virtual artists’ talk on February 2nd.
Alumni News
students standing and eating in open gallery area with elevators and large window behind
Rachel Saunders’s favorite space on the campus lies nestled away from the public eye on the 8th floor of the Hamilton Building, surrounding the elevators that transport her and her fellow MFA students from the streets of Philadelphia up to a haven of artist studios.
Perspectives
painting of people on a beach

CBS News interviews the artist for the exhibition Philip Cohn: My Life's Work on view in the Alumni Gallery, in "99-year-old Philly artist shows how fine arts keeps him young."

"The important big deal is me getting in front of the canvas and working today, that's the big deal, not the show," Cohn…

Alumni News
Two men in yellow shirts assist artist in assembling white sculpture molds
For her culminating work at PAFA, Zofia Chamera (MFA ’22) created Shedding Fear, a 7-foot paper figure which debuted at the Annual Student Exhibition in the spring of 2022 and then showed in Italy two months later for the Lucca Biennale, an art, architecture, and design exhibition dedicated to paper…
Alumni News
Gallery view of portrait paintings
A review of the major exhibition, including each of the five subject areas: portraits, history, still life, genre and landscape
In the News
abstract sculpture mounted on wall
As part of The Philadelphia Inquirer’s series “A More Perfect Union,” which explores the roots of systemic racism in America through institutions founded in Philadelphia, Dr. Synatra Smith and Zoe Greenberg examined the legacy of Black artists at PAFA.
In the News
installation view of galleries with blue and red walls and landscape paintings
Five art experts on their favorite pieces in Making American Artists: Stories from PAFA, 1776-1976.
In the News

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.