In 2018, PAFA took over responsibility for more than 275 works by the late African American sculptor John Rhoden. As the curator of the John Rhoden collection, Brittany Webb is being tasked with stewarding Rhoden’s legacy through a major exhibition at PAFA and distributing the artist’s work among…
Kathy Putnam’s art was always on the backburner as she focused on raising her family and a career in finance, but she kept returning to PAFA. An interest in painting led her to take PAFA's Continuing Education classes 25 years ago, which lead to participating in the school's Post-Baccalaureate…
Blinded in a car accident at the age of 21, sculptor Kathy Faul hasn’t let the disability slow her down. Faul built up her art skills alongside sighted students through Community Education classes. Her sculptural work focuses on carving animals out of stone.
As he graduates from PAFA, Aubrey Brown (Cert. '18) receives the Anne Bryan Memorial Award, named for the first friend he made at the Academy. Bryan’s young life was tragically cut short when she was killed in the Salvation Army Thrift Store building fire and collapse on June 5, 2013, at 22nd and…
Tossing aside his prepared remarks, artist Nick Cave spontaneously took questions from PAFA’s newest alumni at this year's Commencement ceremony. He urged students to take charge of their careers, continue making work, listen to their creative instincts regardless, and challenge themselves as they…
Sculpture professor Jody Pinto has taught at PAFA since 1978 and for 40 years she has pushed her students to seek out new experiences. The chance to explore is what drew Pinto to PAFA as an art student during the early 1960s. Pinto is now stepping away from teaching to focus on her work.
Connections are key to artist Doron Langberg’s (Cert. ‘10) work. His work often features Langberg’s friends, family, and lovers in everyday settings. He hopes by sharing his connections and relationships that people will see him as accessible and relatable.
For PAFA, the summer exhibition "Infinite Spaces: Rediscovering PAFA's Permanent Collection" is the next step in the museum's commitment to highlighting the work of women artists. "Infinite Spaces" showcases objects from PAFA’s historic collection that have rarely been exhibited, as well as newly…
The Student Docent Program trains high school students from nearly a dozen area high schools and community groups to leading their peers through PAFA's galleries. The program is free to participating students thanks to a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
For Stuart Shils (Cert '82), artistry and vision are synonymous. He teaches students to see as a professor in the Painting department and encourages PAFA students to extend the skill of seeing as they develop themselves as young artists.
While finishing up community college in Florida, Ellana Cohen (Cert '18, BFA '19) knew she wanted to leave her hometown of Miami and continue studying art. The breadth of PAFA's work, along with its faculty, brought Cohen to the school as a transfer student.
PAFA's exhibition, “First Academies: Benjamin West and the Founding of the Royal Academy of Arts and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Art” looks at the history of the institution, of eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century American artists, and the development of monumental history paintings…
Perspectives
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.
