A Nation of Artists @ Philadelphia Museum of Art & Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - A Landmark Exhibition of American Art Celebrating the United States’ 250th Anniversary

A Nation of Artists

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

April 12, 2026 - September 2027

The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and The Middleton Family Present a Landmark Exhibition of American Art Celebrating the United States’s 250th Anniversary.

Jasper Johns 

Flag, 1960-66 

Encaustic and printed collage on paper laid down on canvas, 

17 1/2 x 26 3/4 (framed 34 3/4 x 44 inches) 

The Middleton Family Collection

Gilbert Stuart  

George Washington (The Lansdowne Portrait), 1796 

Oil on canvas, 96 x 60 inches (243.84 x 152.4 cm)  

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 

Bequest of William Bingham 

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith   

What is an American?, 2001-2003   

Lithograph, chine collé, monotype, 

68 x 40 inches (172.72 x 101.6 cm)   

Gift of Ofelia Garcia

Barkley L. Hendricks 

J. S. B. III, 1968  

Oil on canvas, 48 x 34 3/8 inches (121.92 x 87.3125 cm)  

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richardson Dilworth

Two of America’s most esteemed cultural institutions—the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA)—announced A Nation of Artists, a historic collaboration with the private Middleton Family Collection that unites three extraordinary collections of American art. This unprecedented, once-in-a-lifetime exhibition will be presented exclusively at both PMA and PAFA to honor America’s 250th anniversary. It will open for public enjoyment from April 2026 to September 2027.

Featuring more than 1,000 works across the two museums, A Nation of Artists will be the most expansive presentation of American art ever mounted in Philadelphia. Though shaped by distinct curatorial visions at the PMA and PAFA, the exhibition is unified by shared themes exploring the richness of American art. Selections from The Middleton Family Collection—one of the country’s most significant private holdings—will be interwoven at both venues to offer fresh insight into the story of American art and experience.

“Our aspiration is that this exhibition is for everyone—no prior knowledge of art or history required,” noted John S. Middleton. “We believe in the power of storytelling to connect people and are thrilled to partner with these two storied institutions to share the works that have brought our family so much joy and inspiration. Like baseball, art has the power to bring people together and surprise us when we least expect it. With every viewing, there’s something new to discover. It’s an honor to help bring American art to life in a new way during this very special 250th commemoration of our country’s founding.

John Wallace

Untitled, 1939 

Oil on panel  36 x 19 ¾ inches (91.4 x 50.2 cm)  

A.E. Gllatin Collection, 1952 

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Horace Pippin 

John Brown Going to His Hanging, 1942 

Oil on canvas, 24 1/8 x 30 1/4 inches (61.2775 x 76.835 cm)   

John Lambert Fund 

Spanning three centuries of diverse mediums—from portraiture and sculpture to furniture, textiles, decorative arts, and photography—A Nation of Artists will trace the ever-evolving story of American creativity. Visitors will experience everything from the early realism of Charles Willson Peale to the shimmering brushwork of John Singer Sargent, the expressive intensity of Horace Pippin, and the impressionist elegance of Mary Cassatt—all shaped by the crosscurrents of cultural exchange, historic events, and imagination. The exhibition will further spotlight modern and contemporary artists whose work provides differing perspectives and interpretations of life in America today, including sculptural installations and multimedia works by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Rina Banerjee, and Mickalene Thomas.

Frederic Edwin Church 

Pichincha, 1867 

Oil on canvas  31 × 48 3/16 inches (78.7 × 122.4 cm); 

Framed: 63 × 46 × 6 inches (160 × 116.8 × 15.2 cm)   

125th Anniversary Acquisition 

Gift of the McNeil Americana Collection, 2004 

Philadelphia Museum of Art.

“What makes American art so powerful is not only where it was created but also who made it—and why,” said Sasha Suda, the George D. Widener Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “A Nation of Artists will present a broad and vibrant picture of artistic expression that was happening across the country through both familiar icons and voices that have historically been overlooked. We couldn’t be more excited and inspired to partner with PAFA and The Middleton Family on this extraordinary cultural milestone, and we look forward to welcoming everyone—from neighbors down the street to visitors from across the region, the country, and around the world—to be part of this celebration.”

As the birthplace of American democracy, Philadelphia will serve as a cultural and historic hub for the America 250 semiquincentennial celebrations, hosting global events including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the PGA Championship, and the MLB All-Star Game, among many other exhibitions, sports events, and major conventions. A Nation of Artists will place the city at the heart of the nation’s creative legacy, reflecting both the historic depth and the city’s continued influence on American culture.

“This historic collaboration places Philadelphia’s artistic legacy on full display—offering the world a celebration of creativity, identity, and nationhood that can’t be experienced anywhere else,” said Angela Val, President and CEO of Visit Philadelphia. “Only in Philadelphia—where our independence was declared, our constitution debated and established, and our first states united—could an exhibition of this scale and significance come to life.”

Thomas Eakins 

Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), 1875 

Oil on canvas, 8 feet × 6 feet 6 inches (243.8 × 198.1 cm) 

Gift of the Alumni Association 

to Jefferson Medical College in 1878 

and purchased by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts 

and the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2007 with the generous 

support of more than 3,600 donors, 2007

Charles Willson Peale  

Staircase Group (Portrait of Raphaelle Peale 

and Titian Ramsay Peale I), 1795  

Oil on canvas,  7 feet 5 1/2 inches × 39 3/8 inches   

The George W. Elkins Collection, 1945   

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Wharton E. Esherick  

Library Ladder Steps with Elephant 

and Donkey Shaped Finals, 1935  

Hickory, Oak  34 ¾ x 18 x 23 ¼ inches   

125th Anniversary Acquisition

Gift of Rachel Bok Goldman and Allen S. Goldman, M.D., 2001   

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Woman's Dress: Bodice, Skirt, and Belt, 1866-1868 

Artist/maker unknown 

Magenta silk satin with black silk satin and black cotton lace   

Center Front Length (Skirt): 41 inches (104.1 cm), Waist (Bodice): 

23 inches (58.4 cm), Waist (Skirt): 22 inches (55.9 cm)   

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Keen Butcher, 1997. 

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Bringing together two world-class institutions, A Nation of Artists will be a collaborative, two-venue exhibition with distinct perspectives, curated by the teams at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, in partnership with The Middleton Family. Highlighting the richness and diversity of American art, the exhibition spans generations and artistic traditions, featuring contributions from Indigenous, African American, immigrant, and historically underrepresented artists who have helped to shape the nation’s cultural story.

Celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2026, PMA’s installation will offer a sweeping panorama of American art from about 1700 to 1960. Through iconic masterworks and bold juxtapositions, visitors will trace the evolution of American identity and visual culture—exploring tensions between high and low, elite and common, abstraction and realism. Set within PMA’s Beaux-Arts building, the installation will affirm the museum’s civic role in shaping the future of art and culture.

This exhibition will also mark the reopening of PAFA’s fabled Historic Landmark Building, designed by Frank Furness and opened in 1876, unveiling a bold new installation of the museum’s permanent collection, enhanced by numerous works from The Middleton Family Collection. The reimagined installation will offer a contemporary lens on American art, grounded in PAFA’s legacy of inclusion and innovation. As the nation’s first art museum and school, founded by Charles Willson Peale in 1805, PAFA continues to shape how American artists evolve—through formal study, experimentation, community, and creative risk—supported by its exhibitions, certificate programs, and public initiatives.

“This is a transformative moment for PAFA and for Philadelphia,” said Harry Philbrick, Interim Director of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. “As we reopen our Historic Landmark Building, we invite audiences into a renewed experience—one that reflects both our storied legacy and our forward-looking vision. This exhibition, enriched by rarely seen works from The Middleton Family Collection, will offer a compelling and inclusive narrative of American art. It’s a powerful expression of PAFA’s ongoing commitment to education, artistic excellence, and public engagement—especially meaningful in a landmark year for our nation.”

Edward Hopper 

The Lee Shore, c. 1941 

Oil on canvas; 28 1/4 x 43 in. (71.8 x 109.2 cm) 

The Middleton Family Collection

Childe Hassam 

Up the Avenue from Thirty-Fourth Street, 1917  

Oil on canvas, 36 in × 29.93 in (~91.4 × 76.0 cm)   

The Middleton Family Collection

John Singer Sargent 

Group with Parasols (A Siesta), c. 1904 

Oil on canvas; 26 1/8 × 34 1/4 in. (66.4 × 87 cm) 

The Middleton Family Collection

The Middleton Family Collection

Presented publicly for the first time, more than 120 works from The Middleton Family Collection, assembled over five decades, will bring added depth and dimension to A Nation of Artists. John S. Middleton, widely admired as the managing partner of the Philadelphia Phillies, and his wife Leigh Middleton, a champion in the fight to end homelessness, have been passionate art collectors throughout their nearly 50-year marriage. Masterworks not previously available for public exhibition will offer fresh perspectives on the story of American creativity and history.

A Nation of Artists is organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART

2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130

philamuseum.org

Making Strange: Sacred Imagery and the Self @ PAFA, Philadelphia - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Making Strange: Sacred Imagery and the Self

PAFA, Philadelphia

November 14, 2024 - April 6, 2025

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) presents Making Strange: Sacred Imagery and the Self, an exhibition featuring paintings, sculpture, and works on paper from the collections of PAFA and the Brodsky Center that highlight the art historical concept of "making strange.”

The works included in Making Strange: Sacred Imagery and the Self explore the historic, modern, and contemporary application of “making strange,” a term coined by art historian Dr. Marcia Hall in her book Sacred Image in the Age of Art: Titian, Tintoretto, Barocci, El Greco, Caravaggio (2011). It refers to a style that emerged during the Counter Reformation (1545-1648) where artists intentionally distorted forms and used symbolism as a technique to create a more engaging and interactive experience for the viewer. Inspired by this technique, Baroque artists (1600s - early 1700s) reinterpreted traditional iconographic images, taking creative liberties until the final composition significantly diverged from the original. The implementation of "making strange" as an artistic practice encourages longer, closer viewing, with the goal of inspiring emotion and deep self-reflection. Making Strange as an exhibition is an exercise in close viewing, recognizing intentional distortion and reinterpretation of traditional sacred imagery across cultures as a means of fostering introspection and meaningful dialogue based on one’s own lived experience.

The exhibition is on view in the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Gallery in the Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building. 

Making Strange: Sacred Imagery and the Self is curated by Han McCoy, PAFA’s Rhoden Curatorial Assistant. 

PAFA - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

118-128 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

www.pafa.org

After Tanner: African American Artists Since 1940, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - PAFA, Philadelphia

After Tanner: 

African American Artists Since 1940 

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - PAFA, Philadelphia

January 28 – April 15, 2012 

Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) was a mentor and role model for younger artists during his lifetime and has been a source of pride for many generations of artists since his death. An exhibition drawn largely from PAFA’s collection and supplemented by several major loans, After Tanner: African-American Artists Since 1940  broadly celebrates what Tanner’s career inspired and made possible in its wake.

Tanner was a trailblazer, bravely choosing his own path and attaining international stature in the arts despite innumerable societal challenges. He was also an innovator of African-American genre painting and in religious subjects, where he made his most lasting and powerful contribution to art history. It is not unreasonable to assert that Tanner’s professional example together with the quality of his work made it possible for subsequent generations of African-American artists to pursue their aspirations in the art world and transform American art in the twentieth century.

“It is important to remember that Henry Ossawa Tanner’s career bridged the 19th and 20th centuries,” says Robert Cozzolino, Senior Curator and Curator of Modern Art. “He navigated a period of rapid change in the art world. While he has been firmly associated with 19th-century styles, PAFA’s Tanner retrospective [...] shows how modern he was and what an extraordinary experimenter he was with regard to imagery and technique.  Younger artists took note and admired the integrity with which he managed his career.  After Tanner is an opportunity to consider the innumerable channels for expression Tanner’s example opened up for African-American artists working in the wake of his career.”

Some of the artists included in the exhibition sought out and met Tanner, including William H. Johnson (in 1926) and Hale Woodruff (in 1928). Other artists, such as Reginald Gammon made paintings in homage to Tanner. Gammon's 1967 portrait of Tanner, based on a 1930s photograph, was a highly personal image for the artist, made on a panel given to him by his friend Romare Bearden. A double homage to two important figures in American art history, it is an icon of creative power and lineage. Faith Ringgold celebrates a key moment in Tanner’s biography -- the moment when he decided to become an artist – by imagining it in a recent print commissioned by PAFA.

Others, such as Romare Bearden and Alma Thomas, took up religious themes that meant a great deal to Tanner, and reworked them by using new materials and a modernist visual language unique to their time. Contemporary artists such as Laylah Ali, Willie Cole, Glenn Ligon, Quentin Morris, and Kara Walker explore identity and a complex cultural past in ways that Tanner could not have imagined.

The installation runs parallel with Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit, upstairs from the exhibition in the Annenberg Gallery of the Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building.

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - PAFA

Broad and Cherry Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19102

www.pafa.org

Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - PAFA, Philadelphia

Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit 

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - PAFA, Philadelphia 

January 28 – April 15, 2012 

Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit is organized by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), where the artist studied from 1879 to 1885. The exhibition contains over 100 works, including 12 paintings that have never been shown in a Henry Ossawa Tanner retrospective and the only two known sculptures that Tanner completed. The exhibition also includes Tanner's famed Resurrection of Lazarus, from the collection of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, a career-making canvas that earned Tanner his first international praise when it was exhibited in 1897 and which has never crossed the Atlantic.

“Henry O. Tanner is a transcendent figure both in art and in the history of America," remarks Harry Philbrick, Edna S. Tuttleman Director of the Museum. "His compelling story and rich body of work will make for a superb national traveling exhibition."

Henry Ossawa Tanner: Modern Spirit delves into the life and career of Henry O. Tanner (1859–1937) from his upbringing in Philadelphia in the years after the Civil War; through the artist’s training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; his success as an American artist at the highest levels of the international art world at the turn of the 20th century; his role as an elected leader of an artist’s colony in rural France; his unique contributions in aid of servicemen during World War I through the Red Cross in France; his modernist invigoration of religious painting deeply rooted in his own faith; and Tanner’s depiction of the Holy Land and North Africa.

Curator: Anna Marley, Curator of Historical American Art

Henry Ossawa Tanner

Modern Spirit

Exhibition Catalogue

University of California Press

This beautiful book presents a complex overview of the life and career of the pioneering African American artist Henry O. Tanner (1859–1937). Recognized as the patriarch of African American artists, Tanner forged a path to international success, powerfully influencing younger black artists who came after him. This book explores many facets of Tanner’s life, including his upbringing in post–Civil War Philadelphia, his background as the son of a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal church, and his role as the first major academically trained African American artist. Edited and introduced by Anna O. Marley, this volume expands our understanding of Tanner’s place in art history, showing that his status as a painter was deeply influenced by his race but not decided by it.

The most substantial scholarly catalogue to date on Tanner’s life and work accompanies the exhibition. This book includes 14 essays written by established and emerging scholars from the United States and France, and is being published by University of California Press. The catalogue includes essays by American scholars Richard Powell, Marc Simpson, Tyler Stovall, Marcus Bruce, Robert Cozzolino, Adrienne L. Childs, Alan Braddock, Michael Leja, and Anna O. Marley, and French scholars Olivier Meslay, Jean-Claude Lesage, and Hélène Valance.

Additionally, the first-ever children’s book about Henry O. Tanner was published by PAFA and Bunker Hill Press. Written and illustrated by the renowned artist-author Faith Ringgold, this publication will inspire generations of young people through the extraordinary accomplishments of Tanner.

After premiering at PAFA, the show will travel to the Cincinnati Art Museum, from May 26 - September 9, 2012, and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, from October 21, 2012 - January 13, 2013.

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - PAFA

Broad and Cherry Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19102

www.pafa.org

Updated 30.04.2023

USArtists American Fine Art Show & Sale at PAFA, Philadelphia

18th USArtists American Fine Art Show & Sale
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
October 1 - 3, 2010

Presented by the Women’s Board of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), the 18th USArtists American Fine Art Show & Sale, the largest exposition and sale of 18th- through 21st-Century American art in the nation, will be presented October 1-3, 2010 at PAFA. For the first time in its 18-year history, USArtists will be moving from its longtime venue at the 33rd Street Armory to its home at PAFA’s Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building at 128 North Broad Street in Philadelphia. "The addition of the Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building to PAFA's campus gives us the opportunity for the first time to host USArtists within the museum,” said David R. Brigham, PAFA’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Doing so creates stronger linkages to our educational mission and opportunities to develop new programs related to the challenges and thrills of collecting art." This nationally recognized show of over 5,000 works of art will include an opening Preview Gala, followed by a New Collectors Night, and group tours with proceeds to directly support PAFA student scholarships and museum exhibitions and programs.

“This is a very exciting year for USArtists, as we launch this show and sale in our new home at PAFA, especially since USArtists is a benefit event for the Academy,” stated Alicia Sterling, USArtists Co-chair and President-elect of the Women’s Board. She explained, “Two of the most unique aspects of this event are that it is entirely devoted to American art, and that it is being held in a museum, making it the only show and sale of its kind. We have 35 leading art dealers and galleries, some of whom have been with USArtists before, as well as many new faces. They will be exhibiting work that spans the history of American art – all of very high quality and all for sale.”

In celebration of American artistic talent, USArtists reflects the vitality, history and uniqueness of American art. This annual three-day event showcases 300 years of the nation’s finest original works —from colonial to contemporary — in an event that includes 35 of the country’s leading art galleries and dealers, and draws thousands of visitors each year.

USArtists provides regional and national art collectors and audiences the opportunity to view and purchase thousands of pieces of artwork presented by some of the country’s most prestigious galleries from Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Maine, among others (see exhibitors list)

Artists whose paintings and sculptures have been featured in previous USArtists shows include: Edward Redfield, Daniel Garber, Georgia O’Keeffe, John Marin, Stuart Davis, Chaim Gross, Andrew and Jamie Wyeth, Bo Bartlett, Sarah McEneaney, Robert Rauschenberg, Louise Nevelson, and the American sculptor and artist who is best known for the statue of William Penn atop Philadelphia’s City Hall Tower, Alexander Calder, among others.

Founded in 1992 by the Women’s Board to benefit the museum and school as its major annual fundraising event,USArtists speaks to the purpose and mission of the Academy — to nurture American art and artists. The success of the USArtists show and sale hosted by the Women’s Board, allows them to continue their legacy of providing support for student scholarships. In the 60-year history of the Women’s Board its members and events have contributed more than 10 million dollars to PAFA.

Exhibitors 

Adelson Galleries, New York, NY
Alexandre Gallery, New York, NY
Arcadia Gallery, New York, NY
Avery Galleries, Bryn Mawr, PA
Babcock Galleries, New York, NY
Blue Heron Fine Art, Cohasset, MA
Jonathan Boos, Bloomfield Village, MI
HL Chalfant: American Fine Art & Antiques, West Chester, PA
Clarke Gallery, Newburyport, MA
Thomas Colville Fine Art, LLC, Guilford, CT
The Cooley Gallery, Old Lyme, CT
David David Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
DC Moore Gallery, New York, NY
Dixon-Hall Fine Art, Phoenixville, PA
F.A.N. Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Debra Force Fine Art, New York, NY
Forum Gallery, New York, NY
Jeffrey Fuller Fine Art, Ltd, Philadelphia, PA
Godel & Co. Fine Art, New York, NY
Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio, Doylestown, PA
steven harvey fine art projects, New York, NY
Hawthorne Fine Art, LLC, New York, NY
Hirschl & Adler Galleries / Hirschl & Adler Modern, New York, NY
Menconi & Schoelkopf Fine Art, LLC, New York, NY
Pennsylvania Art Conservatory, Berwyn, PA
P·P·O·W Gallery, New York, NY
Quester Gallery, Rowayton, CT
Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, New York, NY
Schwarz Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Elle Shushan, Philadelphia, PA
Somerville Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE
Gavin Spanierman, Ltd, New York, NY
Tillou Gallery, Litchfield, CT
William Vareika Fine Arts, Ltd, Newport, RI
Tom Veilleux Gallery, Portland, ME
Gerold Wunderlich & Co, Ossining, NY

Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
128 North Broad Street - Philadelphia, PA 19102

Website: www.usartists.org

Robert Gwathmey: Master Painter, PAFA, Philadelphia - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Robert Gwathmey: Master Painter 

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - PAFA, Philadelphia 

June 17 - August 13, 2000 

This compelling traveling exhibition, for which the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts will serve as the only East Coast venue and its final stop, surveys the career of Robert Gwathmey (1903-1988).

One of the most committed social realists of his generation, Robert Gwathmey received a degree from the Pennsylvania Academy in 1930. A native Virginian, he was highly regarded during the postwar period for his sensitive observations of rural life in the American South, painted in a modernist idiom of geometric forms and bold colors largely inspired by Pablo Picasso. This retrospective of more than 60 paintings and graphics explores the life and work of a complex man, deemed one of the first white artists to produce unsentimental depictions of African-American life.

Organized chronologically and thematically, the exhibition focuses on five decades of Robert Gwathmey's production, from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. This survey highlights the artist's changing perspective from a moralist-particularly in his incisive look at the stark structure of Southern society, defined by race and caste-to that of a social satirist, in his pointed takes on social relations, excessive materialism, and the pop and op art movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Dubbed by the New York Times, at the time of his death from Parkinson's disease, an "artist of social passions and style," Robert Gwathmey always viewed himself as an observer, dually committed to art and civil action.

After a year of artistic study at Baltimore's Maryland Institute of Design, a sojourn that marked Robert Gwathmey's first trip North (although he had visited Europe the previous year), he trained at the Pennsylvania Academy from 1926 to 1930. Working primarily with Franklin Watkins and Daniel Garber, Robert Gwathmey had yet to settle on his distinctive cubist-derived style and social subject matter. Nevertheless, his formative years in Philadelphia would shape his future practice on a variety of levels.

Robert Gwathmey received his greatest acclaim in the 1940s. By this time, he was largely based in New York, where he maintained an active presence in the gallery scene and his work was collected by major museums. In 1942, he joined the faculty of the Cooper Union as a drawing instructor, a position he held until 1968. An inspiring teacher who encouraged his students to concern themselves with ethics and morality in both aesthetic and social terms, Robert Gwathmey influenced many younger artists. (The contemporary African-American artist Faith Ringgold credits Robert Gwathmey for her interest in fusing aesthetic and life experiences in her multimedia production.)

During the 1950s, Robert Gwathmey's figurative work, along with that of his colleagues Philip Evergood, Ben Shahn, and Jacob Lawrence, was overshadowed by the critical dominance of abstract painting. By the 1960s, a decade of civil unrest, his art of social protest was again back in fashion. In 1973, Robert Gwathmey was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and, in 1976, he became an associate member of the National Academy of Design. The so-called Robert Gwathmey house-a collage of cubistic forms-quickly became a landmark in American residential architecture.

Robert Gwathmey: Master Painter is organized by the Butler Institute of American Art.

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts - PAFA

Broad and Cherry Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19102

www.pafa.org

Andy Warhol: Social Observer at PAFA, Philadelphia

Andy Warhol: Social Observer 
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
June 17 - September 21, 2000

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts presents Andy Warhol: Social Observer. This major exhibition examines an aspect of Warhol's work and career that has never been fully explored in a museum setting: the depth and variety of the artist's critical observations of American society, and the ways in which his strategies of observation changed over the course of his career.

Andy Warhol: Social Observer focuses on what the artist looked at, how he looked at those subjects and, in certain situations, how he himself was perceived by the society so inclined to keep its media trained on him. The exhibition is divided into seven sections: disguise, death and humanity, politics, advertising, cover stories, celebrity, and symbolism. Organized thematically, the sections highlight Warhol's engagement with what he perceived as the socially relevant in art and life. An artist famous for having promoted himself as apathetic, vacuous, and superficial, Warhol will be seen as having been socially active and politically concerned.

In addition to 86 paintings, prints, photographs, and one film, the exhibition features archival material borrowed from The Andy Warhol Museum. This includes selections from the artist's collection of photographs, newspaper articles, and promotional materials that figured prominently in the production of his art. One of Warhol's "Time Capsules," compiled for posterity, will also be on view to provide a glimpse into a rarely examined aspect of his infatuation with the stuff of popular culture.

Andy Warhol: Social Observer gathers together extraordinary examples of the artist's journalistic reportage, including selections from his series devoted to "Electric Chairs," "Car Crashes," "Most Wanted Men," and "Race Riots." The exhibition also goes beyond the early years associated with this Disaster imagery to delve deeper into the complexity and range of Warhol's production by featuring works that suggest new ways to understand this artist who is best known as an originator of Pop art. Whereas many Warhol exhibitions have focused primarily on the artist's early output, Social Observer takes stock of the full expanse of his life's work. By examining both the medium and the message, it offers fresh insights and makes significant advances in the scholarship of this preeminent post-war American artist.

Andy Warhol: Social Observer runs concurrently with Robert Gwathmey: Master Painter, a retrospective of the work of the PAFA graduate and mid-century social realist renowned for his role as an observer of Southern rural life. As a complementary pair, the exhibitions will examine the documentary currents of social realism, which had its origins in the 1930s, and explore their connections to the photographic and mass-media based art-making techniques employed by Andy Warhol.

Andy Warhol: Social Observer is organized by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The exhibition is funded in part by a grant from the Mellon Financial Corporation Foundation, with additional funding from the Women's Committee of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

A variety of adult and family educational programming-an artists' panel, film series, lectures, and gallery talks-will accompany the exhibition's presentation, as well as a fully illustrated catalogue authored by Assistant Curator Jonathan P. Binstock, the exhibition's organizer, with essay contributions by both Maurice Berger, distinguished art historian and Senior Fellow at the Vera List Center for Art and Politics of the New School for Social Research in New York City, and Trevor Fairbrother, Deputy Director and John and Mary Shirley Curator of Modern Art at the Seattle Art Museum.

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Broad and Cherry Streets | Philadelphia, PA 19102
pafa.org

Paris 1900: The "American School" at the Universal Exposition at PAFA, Philadelphia - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Paris 1900: The "American School" at the Universal Exposition

PAFA, Philadelphia

February 12 - April 16, 2000 

The Universal Exposition, held in Paris in 1900, was one of the grandest world's fairs in history, celebrating the onset of the twentieth century with unbridled optimism. The American art installation featured works by leading figures of the period, including Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, John Singer Sargent, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and James McNeill Whistler. Paris 1900, a major traveling exhibition, recreates the aura of this groundbreaking display, bringing together more than 80 paintings, sculptures, and decorative objects from private and public collections across the United States and Europe. A major lender to the exhibition both then and now, the Pennsylvania Academy will showcase Paris 1900 as part of its millennial celebration.

Sponsored by the State Department, the American art display at the 1900 Exposition was carefully designed to promote the image of the United States as a powerful and civilized nation. Up until this time, American art in general was not yet considered equal in quality and stature to European art. The strong representation of American work at the fair marked the initial recognition of a distinctly "American School" of art in an international arena. Paris 1900 offers the first critical examination of this pivotal moment in America's cultural history.

Works for the American installation were selected to convey specific national characteristics in a variety of artistic forms. The country's future was expressed through the portrayal of the traditional American family in such works as George de Forest Brush's Mother and Child; its virtue was revealed in the guise of American womanhood, represented by William Merritt Chase's Portrait of Mrs. C.; its character and strength of purpose were suggested by Thomas Eakins's The Cello Player; its natural beauty and resources were revealed by George Inness's Sunny Autumn Day; and its innovation was highlighted by the urban and rural technology depicted in Henry Ward Ranger's Brooklyn Bridge and Theodore Robinson's Port Ben, Delaware, and Hudson Canal.

Organized by The Montclair Art Museum, Paris 1900: The "American School" at the Universal Exposition will be on view at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from February 12 to April 16, 2000. It will travel to the Columbus Museum of Art (May 18-August 13, 2000); the Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison (September 16-December 3, 2000); and end its tour, appropriately, at the Musée Carnavalet, in Paris (February 2-May 15, 2001). 

PAFA - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Broad and Cherry Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19102

www.pafa.org