The Experience
A jewel nestled in the heart of Center City, the Pennsylvania Academy’s vast collection of American art boasts treasures by local and national luminaries such as Charles Willson Peale (founder of the Academy), Thomas Eakins (who taught here), and the Wyeths.
One of Gilbert Stuart’s portraits of George Washington is a special source of pride for locals, as are other well-known paintings by artists such as Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper and Cecilia Beaux – to name just a few.
Wildly colorful and extravagantly detailed, this 1876 National Historic Landmark building designed by Frank Furness and George W. Hewitt provides an extraordinary setting for the collection. The grand stair hall – decorated with gold leaf, silver stars, intricate carvings and bronze ornaments – beckons visitors to discover the riches within.
History
Founded in 1805, the Academy is the nation’s first art museum and school of fine arts. The museum is an exceptional example of the High Victorian Gothic style, housing works by leading American artists, as well as works by distinguished Academy alumni and faculty. Important early acquisitions including paintings by Benjamin West, a native Pennsylvanian and president of the Royal Academy in London.
Today, it also features a large collection of work by contemporary American artists like Lichtenstein, Bartlett, Stella, Diebenkorn and Katz. The academy recently received a gift of 10 important works by Harnett, Twachtman, Hassam, Prendergast, Cassatt, Nadelman, Hartley, O'Keefe, Dove and Marsh. Nine of the works are now on permanent display in the newly named "Vivian O. and Meyer P. Potamkin Gallery."