News

holiday display in the museum store

The Fine Art of Giving: PAFA’s Holiday Guide

It’s hard to believe the 2025 Holiday Season has arrived, and gift lists are growing fast! This season, skip the big-box stores and choose something truly unique and meaningful. By giving through the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA)—the very first art school and museum in the United…

Perspectives
Acrylic on canvas painting in various bright colors depicting a boy holding grapes, a goat, flowers, and the fruit that the boy is weighing.

PAFA Showcases Groundbreaking Exhibition on Japanese American Women in Art

Philadelphia, PA — The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) presents Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo, a groundbreaking exhibition that, for the first time, brings together the work of three pioneering Japanese American artists whose lives and careers…

Press Release
Cindy Shaw Headshot

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Appoints Cindy Shaw as Chief Development Officer

Philadelphia, PA — September 15, 2025 — The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Cindy Shaw as Chief Development Officer. Shaw brings more than 25 years of experience in business, education, and the nonprofit sector, with expertise in advancement…

Press Release
Hamilton exterior

PAFA and Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture Announce New Partnership

Philadelphia, PA — September 12, 2025 — The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is pleased to announce a new partnership with Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture. Beginning October 15, Tyler will lease space in PAFA’s Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, expanding academic…

Press Release
Oil painting titled Garden Before Nancy’s House by Rose Naftulin

PAFA Celebrates 75 Years of Leadership and Legacy: Honoring the Women’s Committee at the 2025 Diamond Jubilee

PHILADELPHIA, PA — September 2, 2025 — The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) proudly announces the Diamond Jubilee Celebration honoring the 75th Anniversary of the Women’s Committee, held on September 28, 2025. Since its founding in 1950 the Women’s Committee has played a transformative…

Press Release
Harry Philbrick standing between two people at the Willaim Villalongo Opening Reception

PAFA’s Interim Director Harry Philbrick Accepts New Role at Newport Art Museum

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA)’s Interim Museum Director, Harry Philbrick, has accepted the position of Director at the Newport Art Museum, effective September 2025. This new opportunity will allow Mr. Philbrick to return full-time to Rhode Island, where he grew up and currently…

Press Release
Thomas Crawford’s sculpture “Peri at the Gates of Paradise” covered in protective plastic sheeting during construction at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

The Philadelphia Inquirer | A last look at PAFA before all is zipped and spiffed up

"Some say that the greatest piece of art in the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is the building itself — PAFA’s lavish Victorian structure at Broad and Cherry Streets.

These days, much of its interior is unrecognizable.

PAFA’s grand staircase inside the 1876 building remains…

In the News
YellowPlums

Brushstrokes of Belonging: How PAFA Nurtured Nancy Bea Miller’s Creative Path

Nancy Bea Miller (Cert '91, MFA '14)

Art has always been a part of Nancy Bea Miller’s life. Growing up in a home filled with creativity, she was surrounded by inspiration. Her father, an advertising art director, and her mother, a nurse who studied art at the Art Students League, bonded over their…

Perspectives
John Middleton standing inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art beside Thomas Cole's 1840 painting Schroon Lake, a work on loan from the Middleton Family Collection.

The Philadelphia Inquirer | John Middleton’s secret art collection is coming out of the shadows in a blockbuster two-museum show

“In Philadelphia, John Middleton is known as the baseball guy with some very baseball ambitions. The managing partner of the Phillies has boldly declared his intention to make the team one of the winningest ever.

In another realm, though, Middleton has already achieved a distinction — as one of the…

In the News
A solitary house stands against a dramatic seascape with crashing waves under a gray sky, painted in oil on canvas.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and The Middleton Family Present a Landmark Exhibition of American Art Celebrating the Nation’s 250th Anniversary | Opens April 12, 2026

Philadelphia, June 17, 2025 – Two of America’s most esteemed cultural institutions—the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA)—today announced A Nation of Artists, a historic collaboration with the private Middleton Family Collection that will unite…

Press Release
A textured mixed media artwork by William Villalongo depicting a silhouetted Black figure surrounded by intricate cutouts and symbolic elements in acrylic, velvet flocking, and paper on wood panel.

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) Presents William Villalongo: Myths and Migrations

William Villalongo: Myths and Migrations is on view at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) from May 15 to August 31, 2025. This mid-career survey highlights over 20 years of Villalongo’s work exploring themes of Black presence, identity, and cultural memory through richly layered…
Press Release
Abstract landscape by Arthur Dove, ca. 1941–1946, featuring organic shapes and muted tones suggestive of nature.

“I look at nature, I see myself”: The Abstract Vision of Arthur Dove

Of all the American artists inspired by nature, perhaps Arthur Dove provides us with the most intimate, visceral and modern translation of the elements of the environment around him. While the world Dove inhabited early in his career was increasingly industrialized, Dove consistently turned toward…

Perspectives

 

We're so excited you're planning to visit PAFA! 

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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.