News

Artist Eustace Mamba stands on top of marble balcony

Originally from Manhattan, N.Y., Eustace Mamba entered PAFA in 2016. He received a BFA in illustration and is currently pursuing his MFA. Among other prizes, Mamba has received the 2019–2020 Raymond D. & Estelle Rubens Travel Scholarship. His “Weighing Escape Options” was acquired through the Judith…

Alumni News
Camp Still Life

PAFA has partnered with the Satell Institute – a Philadelphia-based Think and Do Tank dedicated to Corporate Social Responsibility - in their YES (Youth Enrichment Series) Initiative in 2021, to provide free scholarships to any student who wanted to learn safely and socially online over the summer…

Custom sheets of paper in yellow, orange, and red dry on a large table

“I’m primarily a painter”—an understatement from PAFA alumna Sarah McEneaney, whose autobiographical paintings can be seen in permanent collections from coast to coast—"but I have made some sculpture in the past throughout the years and they've mostly been animals. I think that’s because I live with…

Alumni News
Al Gury stands in front of group of students, leading in-studio lecture

Al Gury wears many hats, to say the least. At PAFA alone he chairs the painting department, teaching at the undergraduate, high school, and continuing education levels, and directs the After-School Studio Art Program for young people in the city. He also works with Mural Arts Philadelphia, people…

Perspectives
River wearing dragon head

River Hennick first came to PAFA for a visit in February 2020. She had recently submitted her application and was enthralled by the school’s Cast Hall and museum. “I feel so inspired by the city. I knew it was the right choice.” After she returned home to Overland Park, Kansas, the country shut down…

Perspectives
casthall

The 2020-21 school year was an extraordinary time, and PAFA students, faculty & staff faced it with creativity and resilience. Thanks to the diligent efforts of everyone on campus, the PAFA community remained safe and strong, and because of those efforts, the campus will be open this fall.  As…

Global Optimization Diagram installed in Taking Space
Artist Ana Vizcarra Rankin graduated from the Master of Fine Art program in 2012. She received the Judith McGregor Caldwell Purchase Prize at the Annual Student Exhibition in May 2012 for her work Global Optimization Diagram. The painting is on view at the museum in “Taking Space: Contemporary Women…
Alumni News
Artwork documentation of Man in Blue Looking Eileen Neff

If you visit this weekend, you can find a man in a blue hazmat suit within the walls of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He isn’t concerned with an airborne virus; rather his suit protects him from toxic fumes of arsenic that float around his meticulously designed surroundings. This man inhabits a…

Perspectives
Florine Stettheimer, (1871-1944) "Picnic at Bedford Hills" (1918)

Thomas Hine's review of the recently opened exhibition Women in Motion: 150 Years of Womens Artistic Networks at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts will delight the art history lovers.

"The premise of the show, as suggested in its subtitle, is that women needed to develop networks — which…

In the News
Gallery view of Jerusalem in museum
Watch a timelapse video of the process. Weighing nearly 3,600 pounds and with a pedestal that is roughly between 2,300-2,600 pounds, and made of breakable marble, the statue risks damage if not handled with the required care and expertise.
Perspectives
Painting by Nasir Young Day to Day

Nasir Young had a busy start to the summer. He opened his first full collection at PAFA’s Annual Student Exhibition, sold all 13 pieces, and graduated as the Undergraduate Commencement speaker.

Nasir’s collection for ASE featured numerous Philadelphia cityscapes, many in oil. “I’m still stumped why…

Alumni News
Anne E. McCollum profile
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is pleased to announce the election of Anne E. McCollum as the organization's new chairperson of the Board of Trustees. McCollum will succeed Kevin Donohoe as the first female leader of America's first art museum and school. Donohoe will remain on the board…
Press Release

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.