News

installation view of galleries with blue and red walls and landscape paintings
Five art experts on their favorite pieces in Making American Artists: Stories from PAFA, 1776-1976.
In the News
print with drawings of figures
WHYY Host Priyanka Tewari sat down with Philadelphia-based artist, activist, and collector, Ofelia Garcia and Dr. Brittany Webb, curator of Gift/Deeds: Collectors at PAFA, to speak on how and why people collect art.
In the News
Brittany Webb headshot

Peter Dobrin reports in The Philadelphia Inquirer that the artist Tanda Francis has been chosen to create a statue of the renowned vocalist Marian Anderson from South Philadelphia, to stand outside of the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.

PAFA curator, Brittany Webb was on the jury panel that…

In the News
Anna Marley standing in front of landscape painting with fox in snow and crows above
Julia Shipley reports on several national art scholars' favorite selections from the exhibition, including The Fox Hunt by Winslow Homer, as well as works by Harriet Hosmer, May Howard Jackson, and Georgia O'Keefe.
In the News
gallery with Making American Artists text and two large portrait paintings
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts rewrites the story of American Art with Making American Artists: Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1776–1976. (October 6, 2022—April 2, 2023)
Press Release
Power Players in Education Eric Pryor

PAFA President Eric Pryor is in Metro Philadelphia's list of Education Philly Power Players today. Eric spoke about the personal growth inherent in an art education, and the necessity to champion equity in arts education.

"When I meet with PAFA students, I am consistently impressed with how the…

In the News
gallery with small works on paper

Dr. Brittany Webb, Evelyn and Will Kaplan Curator of Twentieth Century Art and the John Rhoden Collection, spoke to Art Watch about her current exhibition Gift/Deeds: Collectors at PAFA. Art Watch is a radio show with Constance McBride in conversation with culture producers—artists and creative…

In the News
Woman sits on stoop in front of white wooden door

When she began her position as PAFA’s chair of animation in 2019, Amy Lee Ketchum found herself with the unique opportunity to build a program in which students follow their interests and emerge able to make a career of those interests, no matter the field.

“I got to envision ‘What is my dream…

Perspectives
hanging mobile sculpture

The Calder Foundation has unveiled its vision for "Calder Gardens" in Philadelphia, a new home to showcase three generations of Philadelphia artists. In anticipation, Stephen Salisbury includes PAFA's ties to the Calder family in the Philadelphia Inquirer, highlighting where to view their work even…

In the News
painting with bright blue and smaller shapes of bright yellows and greens

Berry Campbell Gallery is presenting its first exhibition of paintings and works on paper by Elizabeth Osborne (b. 1936). Elizabeth Osborne | A Retrospective will feature over thirty paintings and works on paper spanning the artist’s career from 1966 to 2021. 

Osborne is a graduate of the…

Alumni News
painting of rocks with sea behind them and pink sky

Philadelphia based artist Elizabeth Wilson’s first solo museum exhibition, Elizabeth Wilson: Spirit of Place comprises 30 landscape paintings that trace her life over the past two decades through travel and the pandemic isolation. Wilson's museum exhibition at SAMA marks her 15th solo show.

The…

Alumni News
Sculpture of plane in outdoor plaza

Several news organizations have helped us bid farewell to Grumman Greenhouse (2011).  PAFA has been proud to host the popular, monumental piece created by alum Jordan Griska (PAFA-Penn Coordinated BFA '08) for an extended run. Although originally intended to be up for one year, it has remained for…

In the News

About PAFA

Founded in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is the United State'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.