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.
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) announced today that it purchased American artist Frederic Edwin Church's masterful oil painting, "Valley of Santa Isabel, New Granada" (1875). Church is arguably an integral part of American art history and this will be the first work by the artist…
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.
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) invites you to explore the idea of space and unique spaces in "Infinite Spaces: Rediscovering PAFA's Permanent Collection," opening June 30th. "Infinite Spaces" brings together more than 100 new acquisitions and rarely seen gems from PAFA's historic…
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is pleased to announce the 2018 recipients of its most prestigious travel awards and museum purchase prizes. Over $170,000 in scholarships and awards are given out to students each year, including travel scholarships, exhibition nominations, and…
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 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is pleased to showcase the work of artists Didier William and Nestor Armando Gil/Taller Workshop in the exhibition "SWARM.," which opens June 30th. Viewers will encounter more than 30 works in a variety of media in which William and Gil reveal their…
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.
