News

Professor Renee Foulks talks with students
“All of art history is here for us. It’s this huge banquet of guilty pleasures, and you can take from Tarbell, you can take from Eakins, you can take from everybody,” said PAFA drawing chair Renee Foulks.
Perspectives
Jesse Castor (BFA '22) in the stone library
Printmaking major Jesse Castor uses her art practice to center herself. The manual work required for printmaking allows Castor to be grounded in her work.
Perspectives
installation view of AHDF
Artists look to the past, think about historical points of reference and reframe them for the contemporary moment.
In the News
Jonathan Lyndon Chase / Image: Angal Field (GQ)

Philadelphia-based Jonathan Lyndon Chase is giving black men back to themselves with his sought-after, still-evolving work.

In the News
Landscape Evening, by Paul Weber Pennsylvania Academy purchase, by subscription
With works dating back to the 1790’s, time was not on the side of conservator Mary McGinn when she began preparing for PAFA’s current exhibition, From the Schuylkill to the Hudson: Landscapes of the Early American Republic.
Perspectives
Marie Watts "Skywalker/Skyscraper (Allegory)," (2012)

Building on its efforts in recent years to expand its acquisition of works by women and artists of color, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts has announced that it has recently acquired 13 artworks, more than half by women.

In the News
Maria Berrio, "The Oracles' Silence" (2019). Collage with handmade Japanese papers, magazine papers, Jade glue and charcoal on canvas, with matt medium, 60 x 48 inches.
PAFA is pleased to announce the addition of 13 historic, modern, and contemporary works to its permanent collection of American art. These new acquisitions include works of painting, collage, reclaimed material, and works on paper, created between 1905 and 2019. In keeping with PAFA's longtime…
Press Release
Credit: Fairmount Park Conservancy; Sarah McEneaney stands in tall grasses at Reading Viaduct Project
Sarah McEneaney counts Martie Zelt, Jimmy Lueders, Elizabeth Osborne and Sidney Goodman as some of the PAFA faculty who had a great impact on her artistic development.
Alumni News
PAFA Image Placeholder
PAFA is pleased to announce the election of Susan Kline Klehr to its Board of Trustees. A valued supporter of PAFA's community and initiatives, Klehr also serves on the Board of Trustees of Franklin & Marshall College and the Einstein Healthcare Network, among others.
Press Release
Daddy Likee?, Kukuli Velarde, 2018
Eye Contact, on view through September 15th in the Salon Gallery, is an exportation of contemporary figure paintings and takes on the concept of the gaze.
Perspectives
Claudia Valenti (MFA '20) in her studio
For the two years Claudia Valenti (MFA ’20) is studying at PAFA for her MFA, she is making the most of her time. As a VAP coordinator, Valenti meets with all of the Visiting Artists, and goes out of her way to make sure her fellow students are taking advantage of the program. “Visiting artists like…
Perspectives
Conservation Lecture with Mary McGinn
From free museum days to lectures with artists and family art-making classes, PAFA has a full calendar of free events for everyone this month.

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.