News

Students painting on river doc

Spotlight on Plein Air Painting at Continuing Education

Each semester Continuing Education offers online, evening, and weekend options for each discipline - Painting, Drawing, Printmaking, Sculpture, and more. One particular favorite of many participants in the warmer months are outdoor painting classes, continuing a tradition referred to as "Plein Air…
Digital collage of Anna Hoppel with paintings

PAFA-Penn BFA Dual Degree Student Anna Hoppel in 34th Street Magazine

Undergraduate Anna Hoppel was recently featured by Natalia Castillo for 34th Street Magazine, part of The Daily Pennsylvanian, an independent student news organization of the University of Pennsylvania. View her work in person at the 121st Annual Student Exhibition, May 13–June 5.
In the News
Peter Van Dyck painting

Faculty Peter Van Dyck at Sugarlift Gallery in Chelsea, NYC

Painting faculty, Peter Van Dyck, exhibits with a solo show at Sugarlift Gallery, "Peter Van Dyck: A Flight to the World" open May 5–30, 2022.
Ilene Spiewak's artwork Deeper into the Isolation of Self Information and Gender

Ilene Spiewak (Low-Res MFA '17) at the National Portrait Gallery

Ilene Spiewak's self portrait is one of 42 selected out of 2,700 submissions for the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, a juried national competition at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery.
Alumni News
Installation view of ASE 2021

PhillyMag | ASE in May's Best Events in Philadelphia

PhillyMag has featured the 121st Annual Student Exhibition (ASE) in their "highly curated, strongly opinionated guide to things to do this month." ASE is one of only two art events to be selected.
In the News
Robert Roesch's painting

Robert Roesch on 40 Years of Teaching and Future Plans

Professor Robert Roesch has served PAFA for nearly 40 years of teaching. Robert is retiring at the end of the spring term to devote full attention to his very active studio practice.
Perspectives
two students looking at computer

Photos from Motion for Industry Class

The course Motion for Industry connects students work with a real client to pitch ideas, receive feedback, meet deadlines, and complete work for market.
Perspectives
Joan Semmel Skin in the Game painting

ArtForum | Alpesh Kantilal Patel on Joan Semmel

Alpesh Kantilal Patel reviewed the recent retrospective, "Joan Semmel: Skin in the Game," for ArtForum's artguide data base of special events and exhibitions.
In the News
Stool and easel in Raoul Middleman studio

Baltimore Magazine | Mt. Vernon Studio of Late, Legendary Painter Raoul Middleman to Become a Museum

Painter Raoul Middleman's studio is becoming a museum, reports Lydia Wood for Baltimore Magazine. Middleman attended PAFA before moving to the Baltimore home in 1961.
Alumni News
Taylor Larson painting Window at the Window

Thrillist | 14 Museum Exhibits in Philly to Check Out Before They Disappear

Thrillist names 14 of the best museum exhibits in Philadelphia that should be viewed before they're gone, naming PAFA's 121st Annual Student Exhibit as number three on the list.
In the News
Michael Gallagher painting, Blue Nocturne

Faculty and Alum in Pair of Solo Exhibits at Gross McCleaf Gallery

Two solo exhibits at the Gross McCleaf Gallery this month feature PAFA artists. Check out faculty Michael Gallagher's exhibition "Infinition," and graduate of the PAFA/UPenn coordinated BFA, Mickayel Thurin's "Awakening."
Alumni News
wall of the museum exhibition Women in Motion

WHYY | From the vaults to the walls at PAFA, women artists are front and center

WHYY’s Priyanka Tewari reports on the legacy of women artists at PAFA, following a visit to the museum and curator interview.
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.