The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. Although primarily con ...

originally chartered in 1876 for the

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the

Benjamin Franklin Parkway Benjamin Franklin Parkway, commonly abbreviated to Ben Franklin Parkway and colloquially called the Parkway, is a boulevard that runs through the cultural heart of Philadelphia. Named for founding father Benjamin Franklin, the mile-long Parkway c ...

at Eakins Oval. The museum administers collections containing over 240,000 objects including major holdings of European, American and Asian origin. The various classes of artwork include sculpture, paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, armor, and decorative arts. The Philadelphia Museum of Art administers several annexes including the

Rodin Museum The Rodin Museum is an art museum located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that contains one of the largest collections of sculptor Auguste Rodin's works outside Paris. Opened in 1929, the museum is administered by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. T ...

, also located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, which is located across the street just north of the main building. The Perelman Building, which opened in 2007, houses more than 150,000 prints, drawings and photographs, along with 30,000 costume and textile pieces, and over 1,000 modern and contemporary design objects including furniture, ceramics and glasswork. The museum also administers the historic colonial-era houses of Mount Pleasant and Cedar Grove, both located in Fairmount Park. The main museum building and its annexes are owned by the City of Philadelphia and administered by a registered nonprofit corporation. Several special exhibitions are held in the museum every year, including touring exhibitions arranged with other museums in the United States and abroad. The museum had 437,348 visitors in 2021, making it the 65th most-visited art museum worldwide.

History

Early years (1877–1900)

Philadelphia celebrated the 100th anniversary of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

with the

in 1876.

Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...

, which contained the art gallery, was intended to outlast the Exposition and house a permanent museum. Following the example of London's South Kensington Museum, the new museum was to focus on applied art and science, and provide a school to train craftsmen in drawing, painting, modeling, and designing. The

Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art The Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (PMSIA), also referred to as the School of Applied Art, was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on February 26, 1876, as both a museum and teaching institution. This was in response to t ...

opened on May 10, 1877. (The school became independent of the museum in 1964 and is now part of the University of the Arts). The museum's collection began with objects from the Exposition and gifts from the public impressed with the Exposition's ideals of good design and craftsmanship. European and Japanese fine and decorative art objects and books for the museum's library were among the first donations. The location outside of

Center City, Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wi ...

, however, was fairly distant from many of the city's inhabitants. Admission was charged until 1881, then was dropped until 1962. Starting in 1882,

Clara Jessup Moore Clara Sophia Jessup Bloomfield-Moore (February 16, 1824 – January 5, 1899) was an American philanthropist and philosopher. Biography She was born in Westfield, Massachusetts. She married businessman Bloomfield Haines Moore (1819-1878) and res ...

donated a remarkable collection of antique furniture, enamels, carved ivory, jewelry, metalwork, glass, ceramics, books, textiles and paintings. The Countess de Brazza's lace collection was acquired in 1894 forming the nucleus of the lace collection. In 1892 Anna H. Wilstach bequeathed a large painting collection, including many American paintings, and an endowment of half a million dollars for additional purchases. Works by

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

and

George Inness George Inness (May 1, 1825 – August 3, 1894) was a prominent American landscape painter. Now recognized as one of the most influential American artists of the nineteenth century, Inness was influenced by the Hudson River School at the s ...

were purchased within a few years and

Henry Ossawa Tanner Henry Ossawa Tanner (June 21, 1859 – May 25, 1937) was an American artist and the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim. Tanner moved to Paris, France, in 1891 to study at the Académie Julian and gained acclaim in Fren ...

's ''

The Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

'' was bought in 1899.

Construction of the main building (1895–1933)

The City Council of Philadelphia funded a competition in 1895 to design a new museum building, but it was not until 1907 that plans were first made to construct it on Fairmount, a rocky hill topped by the city's main reservoir. The Fairmount Parkway (renamed

), a grand boulevard that cut diagonally across the grid of city streets, was designed to terminate at the foot of the hill. But there were conflicting views about whether to erect a single museum building, or a number of buildings to house individual collections. The architectural firms of

Horace Trumbauer Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of ...

and

Zantzinger, Borie and Medary Zantzinger, Borie and Medary was an American architecture firm that operated from 1905 to 1950 in Philadelphia. It specialized in institutional and civic projects. For most of its existence, the partners were Clarence C. Zantzinger, Charles Loui ...

collaborated for more than a decade to resolve these issues. The final design is mostly credited to two architects in Trumbauer's firm: Howell Lewis Shay for the building's plan and

massing Massing is a term in architecture which refers to the perception of the general shape and form as well as size of a building. Massing in architectural theory Massing refers to the structure in three dimensions (form), not just its outline from ...

, and

Julian Abele Julian Francis Abele (April 30, 1881April 23, 1950) was a prominent Black American architect, and chief designer in the offices of Horace Trumbauer. He contributed to the design of more than 400 buildings, including the Widener Memorial Library at ...

for the detail work and perspective drawings. In 1902, Abele had become the first African-American student to be graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

's Department of Architecture, which is presently known as Penn's School of Design. Abele adapted classical Greek temple columns for the design of the museum entrances, and was responsible for the colors of both the building stone and the figures added to one of the

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

s. Construction of the main building began in 1919, when Mayor Thomas B. Smith laid the cornerstone in a Masonic ceremony. Because of shortages caused by World War I and other delays, the new building was not completed until 1928. The building was constructed with

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

quarried in Minnesota. The wings were intentionally built first, to help assure the continued funding for the completion of the design. Once the building's exterior was completed, twenty second-floor galleries containing English and American art opened to the public on March 26, 1928, though a large amount of interior work was incomplete. The building's eight pediments were intended to be adorned with sculpture groups. The only pediment that has been completed, ''Western Civilization'' (1933) by C. Paul Jennewein, colored by Leon V. Solon, features

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

sculptures of painted terra-cotta figures depicting Greek deities and mythological figures. The sculpture group was awarded the Medal of Honor of the Architectural League of New York. The building is also adorned by a collection of bronze

griffins The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

, which were later adopted as the symbol of the museum in the 1970s.

Membership program and growth (1928–1976)

Plan for the Fairmount Parkway by Jacques Greber 1917

In the early 1900s, the museum started an education program for the general public, as well as a membership program."About Us: Our Story: 1900-1910"
. ''philamuseum.org''. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved March 27, 2018.

Fiske Kimball Sidney Fiske Kimball (1888 – 1955) was an American architect, architectural historian and museum director. A pioneer in the field of architectural preservation in the United States, he played a leading part in the restoration of Monticel ...

was the museum director during the rapid growth of the mid- to late-1920s, which included one million visitors in 1928—the new building's first year. The museum enlarged its print collection in 1928 with about 5,000

Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

prints and drawings from the gift of Charles M. Lea, including French, German, Italian, and Netherlandish engravings. Major exhibitions of the 1930s included works by

Eakins Eakins is an English surname. People with this name include: *Dallas Eakins (born 1967), Canadian ice hockey defenseman and head coach * Jim Eakins (born 1946), American basketball player * John Eakins (1923/4–1998), Canadian politician * Peter ...

Manet A wireless ad hoc network (WANET) or mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a decentralized type of wireless network. The network is ad hoc because it does not rely on a pre-existing infrastructure, such as routers in wired networks or access points ...

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

, Cézanne,

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

, and

Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is espec ...

."About Us: Our Story: 1930-1940"
. ''philamuseum.org''. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved March 27, 2018. In the 1940s, the museum's major gifts and acquisitions included the collections of John D. McIlhenny ( Oriental carpets),

George Grey Barnard George Grey Barnard (May 24, 1863 – April 24, 1938), often written George Gray Barnard, was an American sculptor who trained in Paris. He is especially noted for his heroic sized '' Struggle of the Two Natures in Man'' at the Metropolitan Museu ...

(sculpture), and Alfred Stieglitz (photography)."About Us: Our Story: 1940-1950"
. ''philamuseum.org''. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved March 27, 2018. Early modern art dominated the growth of the collections in the 1950s, with acquisitions of the Louise and

Walter Arensberg Walter Conrad Arensberg (April 4, 1878 – January 29, 1954) was an American art collector, critic and poet. His father was part owner and president of a crucible steel company. He majored in English and philosophy at Harvard University. With his ...

and the A.E. Gallatin collections. The gift of Philadelphian

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

's wedding dress is perhaps the best known gift of the 1950s. Extensive renovation of the building lasted from the 1960s through 1976. Major acquisitions included the Carroll S. Tyson, Jr. and Samuel S. White III and Vera White collections, 71 objects from designer Elsa Schiaparelli, and

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

's ''

Étant donnés ''Étant donnés'' (''Given: 1. The Waterfall, 2. The Illuminating Gas'', French: ''Étant donnés: 1° la chute d'eau / 2° le gaz d'éclairage'') is Marcel Duchamp's last major artwork, which surprised the art world because it believed he had g ...

''. In 1976 there were celebrations and special exhibitions for the centennial of the museum and the bicentennial of the nation. During the last three decades major acquisitions have included ''After the Bath'' by Edgar Degas and ''Fifty Days at Iliam'' by

Cy Twombly Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly Jr. (; April 25, 1928July 5, 2011) was an American painter, sculptor and photographer. He belonged to the generation of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Twombly is said to have influenced younger artists such as ...

Building expansion (2004–present)

Philadelphia Museum of Art Construction rear

Due to high attendance and overflowing collections, the museum announced in October 2006 that Frank Gehry would design a building expansion. The gallery will be built entirely underground behind the east entrance stairs and will not alter any of the museum's existing Greek revival facade. The construction was initially projected to last a decade and cost $500 million. It will increase the museum's available display space by sixty percent and house mostly contemporary sculpture, Asian art, and special exhibitions.PMA web site
"Master Plan", accessed, May 10, 2012 Uncertainty was cast on the plans by the 2008 death of

Anne d'Harnoncourt Anne Julie d'Harnoncourt (September 7, 1943 – June 1, 2008) was an American curator, museum director, and art historian specializing in modern art. She was the director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), a post she held fro ...

, but new director

Timothy Rub Timothy F. Rub (born 1952) is an American museum director and art historian. He currently holds the position of the George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, one of the largest museums in the Unite ...

, who had initiated a $350 million expansion at the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

, will be carrying out the plans as scheduled. In 2010, Gehry attended the groundbreaking for the second phase of the expansion, due to be completed in 2012. In that phase, a new art handling facility was created on the south side of the building, enabling the museum to reclaim a street level entrance, closed since the mid-1970s, which leads to a -long vaulted walkway that extends across the museum and is original to the 1928 building. The north entrance will be reopened to the public as a part of the "core project", which is scheduled for completion in 2020. The core project also focuses on the interior of the current building and will add of public space, including of new gallery space for American art and contemporary art.Cascone, Sarah
"Philadelphia Museum of Art Aims to Raise $525 Million for Frank Gehry Designed Expansion"
, ''Artnet'', Accessed May 14, 2017. In addition, a new space called the forum will be created, along with dining and retail spaces. Said Gehry: "When it's done, people coming to this museum will have an experience that's as big as

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

. It won't be apparent from the outside, but it will knock their socks off inside." In March 2017 the museum announced a $525 million campaign. The core project is budgeted at $196 million and will be funded through the campaign. The museum also announced that more than 62 percent of the campaign goal has been met, as of March 30, 2017. The most controversial part of the Gehry design remains a proposed window and amphitheater to be cut into the east entrance stairs. Others have criticized the design as too tame. The Gehry expansion is projected to be completed by 2028.

Collections

The Philadelphia Museum of Art houses more than 240,000 objects, highlighting the creative achievements of the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

and those of Asia, in more than 200 galleries spanning 2,000 years. The museum's collections of

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

and

Roman art The art of Ancient Rome, and the territories of its Republic and later Empire, includes architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work. Luxury objects in metal-work, gem engraving, ivory carvings, and glass are sometimes considered to be min ...

, as well as many of its

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

works, were relocated to the

Penn Museum The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neighb ...

after an exchange agreement was made whereby the museum houses the university's collection of

Chinese porcelain Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from constru ...

. Highlights of the Asian collections include paintings and sculpture from China, Japan, and India; furniture and decorative arts, including major collections of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean ceramics; a large and distinguished group of Persian and Turkish carpets; and rare and authentic architectural assemblages such as a Chinese palace hall, a Japanese teahouse, and a 16th-century Indian temple hall. The European collections, dating from the medieval era to the present, encompass Italian and Flemish early-Renaissance masterworks; strong representations of later European paintings, including

French Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...

; sculpture, with a special concentration in the works of Auguste Rodin; decorative arts; tapestries; furniture; the second-largest collection of arms and armor in the United States; and period rooms and architectural settings ranging from the facade of a medieval church in Burgundy to a superbly decorated English drawing room by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

. The museum's American collections, surveying more than three centuries of painting, sculpture, and decorative arts, are among the finest in the United States, with outstanding strengths in 18th- and 19th-century Philadelphia furniture and silver, Pennsylvania German art, rural Pennsylvania furniture and ceramics, and the paintings of

Thomas Eakins Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artists. For the length ...

. The museum houses the most important Eakins collection in the world. Modern artwork includes works by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Jean Metzinger Jean Dominique Antony Metzinger (; 24 June 1883 – 3 November 1956) was a major 20th-century French painter, theorist, writer, critic and poet, who along with Albert Gleizes wrote the first theoretical work on Cubism. His earliest works, from 1 ...

, Antonio Rotta,

Albert Gleizes Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...

and Constantin Brâncuși, as well as American modernists. The expanding collection of

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...

includes major works by

Agnes Martin Agnes Bernice Martin (March 22, 1912 – December 16, 2004), was an American abstract painter. Her work has been defined as an "essay in discretion on inward-ness and silence". Although she is often considered or referred to as a minimalist, Mart ...

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...

, and

Sol LeWitt Solomon "Sol" LeWitt (September 9, 1928 – April 8, 2007) was an American artist linked to various movements, including conceptual art and minimalism. LeWitt came to fame in the late 1960s with his wall drawings and "structures" (a term he pref ...

, among many others. The museum houses encyclopedic holdings of costume and textiles, as well as prints, drawings, and photographs that are displayed in rotation for reasons of preservation.

The Carl Otto Kretzschmar von Kienbusch Collection

The museum also houses the

armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

collection of Carl Otto Kretzschmar von Kienbusch. The Von Kienbusch collection was bequeathed by the celebrated collector to the museum in 1976, the

Bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe *French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

Anniversary of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. The Von Kienbusch holdings are comprehensive and include European and Southwest Asian arms and armor spanning several centuries. On May 30, 2000, the museum and the State Art Collections in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, Germany (''Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden''), announced an agreement for the return of five pieces of armor stolen from Dresden during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1953, Von Kienbusch had unsuspectingly purchased the armor, which was part of his 1976 bequest. Von Kienbusch published catalogs of his collection, which eventually led Dresden authorities to bring the matter up with the museum.

Special exhibitions

The Philadelphia Museum of Art organizes several special exhibitions each year. Special exhibitions have featured

in 2005,

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically d ...

in 2009, Auguste Renoir in 2010,

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

in 2012,

in 2014, John James Audubon and

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

(et al.) in 2016,

Winslow Homer Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...

and John Singer Sargent in 2017, and the Duchamp siblings— Marcel, Gaston,

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

and Suzanne—in 2019. A

exhibition is planned for 2021. In 2009, the museum organized ''Bruce Nauman: Topological Gardens'', the official United States entry at the 53rd International Art Exhibition, more commonly known as the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

, for which the artist

Bruce Nauman Bruce Nauman (born December 6, 1941) is an American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives near Galisteo, New Mexico. Life and work ...

was awarded the Golden Lion.

Administration

Directors

Below is the list of directors of the Philadelphia Museum of Art since its inception. *

Sasha Suda Alexandra Suda (born 1981) is a Canadian art historian who was formerly the director of the National Gallery of Canada.

, 2022–Present *

, 2009–2022 *

, 1982–2008 *

Jean Sutherland Boggs Jean Sutherland Boggs (June 11, 1922 – August 22, 2014) was a Canadian academic, art historian and civil servant. She was the first female Director of both the National Gallery of Canada and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.Salisbury, Stephan"J ...

, 1978–1982 * Evan Hopkins Turner, 1964–1977 *Arnold H. Jolles, 1977–1979 (acting) * Henri Gabriel Marceau, 1955–1964 *

, 1925–1955 *Sr. Samuel W. Woodhouse, 1923–1925 (acting) *

Langdon Warner Langdon Warner (1881–1955) was an American archaeologist and art historian specializing in East Asian art. He was a professor at Harvard and the Curator of Oriental Art at Harvard’s Fogg Museum. He is reputed to be one of the models for Ste ...

, 1917–1923 *

Edwin Atlee Barber Edwin Atlee Barber (August 13, 1851 – December 12, 1916) was an American archaeologist and author. Biography Edwin Atlee Barber was born in Baltimore, Maryland to William Edwin Barber and Anne Eliza Townsend. He entered Lafayette College in ...

, 1907–1916 * William Platt Pepper, 1899–1907 * Dalton Dorr, 1892–1899 *William W. Justice, 1879–1880 *William Platt Pepper, 1877–1879

Board of trustees

Below is the list of chairs of the board of trustees of the museum since 1991. *

Leslie A. Miller Leslie Andrew Miller (January 29, 1886September 29, 1970) was an American politician who served as the 17th governor of Wyoming from January 2, 1933, until January 2, 1939. He was a Democrat. Biography Miller was born in Junction City, Kansas on ...

2016–present * Constance H. Williams 2010–2016 * Gerry Lenfest 2001–2009 * Raymond Perlman 1991–2001

Gallery

File:Rogier van der Weyden, Netherlandish (active Tournai and Brussels) - The Crucifixion, with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist Mourning - Google Art Project.jpg,

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...

, ''Crucifixion Diptych'', c.1460 File:Hieronymus Bosch or follower - Adoration of the Magi.jpg,

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/ Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on o ...

, ''Epiphany'', c. 1475–1480 File:Cloth of St. Veronica, Bernardino Zaganelli, c. 1500, oil on panel, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg, Bernardino Zaganelli, ''Cloth of

Saint Veronica Saint Veronica, also known as Berenike, was a woman from Jerusalem who lived in the 1st century AD, according to extra-biblical Christian sacred tradition. A celebrated saint in many pious Christian countries, the 17th-century ''Acta Sanctorum' ...

'', c. 1500 File:El Greco Pietà.jpg, El Greco, ''

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning " pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form ...

,'' 1571–1576 File:0 Prométhée supplicié - Rubens - Snyders - Philadelphia Museum of Art (W1950-3-1) - (1).JPG,

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...

, ''

Prometheus Bound ''Prometheus Bound'' ( grc, Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης, ''Promētheús Desmṓtēs'') is an Ancient Greek tragedy traditionally attributed to Aeschylus and thought to have been composed sometime between 479 BC and the terminus ant ...

'', 1611–12 File:Benjamin West, English (born America) - Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky - Google Art Project.jpg, ''

Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky ''Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky'' is a c. 1805 painting by Benjamin West in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It depicts American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin conducting his kite experiment in 1752 to ascertain the electr ...

'', by

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

, c. 1816 File:Joseph Mallord William Turner, English - The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, 1834 - Google Art Project.jpg, J. M. W. Turner, '' The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, 1834'', 1834–35 File:Alfred-stevens-will-you-go-out-with-me-fido-1859.jpg, Alfred Stevens, ''Will you go out with me, Fido?'', 1859 File:Édouard Manet-Kearsarge-Alabama2.jpg,

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bo ...

, ''The Battle of The Alabama and Kearsarge'', 1864 File:Thomas Eakins, American - Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic) - Google Art Project.jpg,

, ''

The Gross Clinic ''The Gross Clinic'' or ''The Clinic of Dr. Gross'' is an 1875 painting by American artist Thomas Eakins. It is oil on canvas and measures by . The painting depicts Dr. Samuel D. Gross, a seventy-year-old professor dressed in a black frock coat, ...

'', 1875 File:Thomas Eakins, American - William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River - Google Art Project.jpg,

, ''William Rush Carving his Allegorical Figure of Schuylkill River'', 1876–1877 File:Édouard Manet, 1880, Portrait of Émilie Ambre as Carmen, oil on canvas, 92.4 x 73.5 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg,

, ''Portrait of Émilie Ambre as Carmen'', 1880 File:Winslow Homer - The Life Line.jpg,

, ''The Life Line'', 1884 File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French - The Large Bathers - Google Art Project.jpg, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, '' The Large Bathers'', 1887 File:Van Gogh Twelve Sunflowers.jpg,

, ''

Sunflowers ''Helianthus'' () is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of ''Helianthus'' are native to N ...

'',

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

, 1889 File:Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French - At the Moulin Rouge- The Dance - Google Art Project.jpg,

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in th ...

, '' At the Moulin Rouge, The Dance'', 1890 File:Claude Monet, French - Poplars - Google Art Project.jpg,

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...

, '' Poplars (Autumn)'', 1891 File:Thomas Eakins, American - The Concert Singer - Google Art Project.jpg,

, '' The Concert Singer'', 1890–1892 File:Claude Monet - Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge.jpg,

, ''Japanese Bridge and Water Lilies'', c. 1899 File:Paul Cézanne, French - The Large Bathers - Google Art Project.jpg,

, '' The Bathers'', 1898-1905 File:Pablo Picasso, 1901, Old Woman (Woman with Gloves), oil on cardboard, 67 x 52.1 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg,

, ''Old Woman (Woman with Gloves)'', 1901 File:Gino Severini, 1910-11, La Modiste (The Milliner), oil on canvas, 64.8 x 48.3 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg,

Gino Severini Gino Severini (7 April 1883 – 26 February 1966) was an Italian painter and a leading member of the Futurist movement. For much of his life he divided his time between Paris and Rome. He was associated with neo-classicism and the "return to orde ...

, ''La Modiste (The Milliner)'', 1910–11 File:Marc Chagall, 1911, Trois heures et demie (Le poète), Half-Past Three (The Poet), oil on canvas, 195.9 x 144.8 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg, Marc Chagall, ''Trois heures et demie (Le poète), Half-Past Three (The Poet)'', 1911 File:Marcel Duchamp, 1911, La sonate (Sonata), oil on canvas, 145.1 x 113.3 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg,

, ''La sonate (Sonata)'', 1911 File:Jean Metzinger, Le goûter, Tea Time, 1911, 75.9 x 70.2 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg,

, ''

Le goûter (Tea Time) ''Le Goûter'', also known as ''Tea Time'' (''Tea-Time''), and ''Femme à la Cuillère'' (''Woman with a teaspoon'') is an oil painting created in 1911 by the French artist and theorist Jean Metzinger (1883–1956). It was exhibited in Paris at ...

'', 1911 – André Salmon dubbed this painting "The Mona Lisa of Cubism" File:Duchamp - Nude Descending a Staircase.jpg,

, ''

Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2 ''Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2'' (French: ''Nu descendant un escalier n° 2'') is a 1912 painting by Marcel Duchamp. The work is widely regarded as a Modernist classic and has become one of the most famous of its time. Before its first pres ...

'', 1912 File:Albert Gleizes, l'Homme au Balcon, 1912, oil on canvas, 195.6 x 114.9 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg,

, '' l'Homme au Balcon, Man on a Balcony (Portrait of Dr. Théo Morinaud)'', 1912 File:Francis Picabia, The Dance at the Spring, 1912, oil on canvas, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg,

Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...

, ''The Dance at the Spring'', 1912 File:Juan Gris - Chessboard, Glass, and Dish.jpg,

Juan Gris José Victoriano González-Pérez (23 March 1887 – 11 May 1927), better known as Juan Gris (; ), was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period. Closely connected to the innovative artistic ge ...

, ''Chessboard, Glass, and Dish'', 1917 File:Joan Miró, 1920, Horse, Pipe and Red Flower, oil on canvas, 82.6 x 74.9 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg, Joan Miró, 1920, ''Horse, Pipe and Red Flower''

In popular culture

Besides being known for its architecture and collections, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has in recent decades become known due to the role it played in the ''Rocky'' films''

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burge ...

'' (1976) and six of its seven sequels, '' II'', '' III'', '' V'', '' Rocky Balboa'', '' Creed'', and ''

Creed II ''Creed II'' is a 2018 American sports drama film directed by Steven Caple Jr. from a screenplay by Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone. The sequel to '' Creed'' (2015) and the eighth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise, the film stars Mich ...

''. Visitors to the museum are often seen mimicking Rocky Balboa's (portrayed by Sylvester Stallone) famous run up the east entrance stairs, informally nicknamed the

Rocky Steps The 72 stone steps leading up to the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have become known as the "Rocky Steps" as a result of a scene from the 1976 film ''Rocky''. Tourists often mimic Rocky's famous climb ...

Screen Junkies Screen Junkies is an online movie magazine and YouTube channel, owned and operated by Fandom, that focuses primarily on movies and television. Screen Junkies produce numerous shows now spread across two YouTube channels, including ''The Screen J ...

named the museum's stairs the second most famous movie location behind only

Grand Central Station Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

in New York. An tall bronze statue of the Rocky Balboa character was commissioned in 1980 and placed at the top of the stairs in 1982 for the filming of ''

Rocky III ''Rocky III'' is a 1982 American sports drama film written, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to '' Rocky II'' (1979) and is the third installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. Along with Stallone reprising the title r ...

''. After filming was complete, Stallone donated the statue to the city of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Art Commission eventually decided to relocate the statue to the now-defunct

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...

sports arena due to controversy over its prominent placement at the top of the museum's front stairs and questions about its artistic merit. The statue was placed briefly on top of the stairs again for the 1990 film ''

Rocky V ''Rocky V'' is a 1990 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen (the first time since the first film of the franchise), written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Rocky IV'' (1985) and is the fifth install ...

'' and then returned to the Spectrum. In 2006, the statue was relocated to a new display area on the north side of the base of the stairs. Philaartmusliv8

The museum provides the backdrop for concerts and parades because of its location at the end of the Ben Franklin Parkway. The museum's east entrance area played host to the American venue of the international

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...

concert held on July 2, 2005, with musical artists including

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. The band's founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and bac ...

, Linkin Park and Maroon 5. The Philadelphia Freedom Concert, orchestrated and headlined by Elton John, was held two days later on the same outdoor stage from the Live 8 concert while a preceding ball was held inside the museum. On September 26, 2015, the ''Festival of Families'' event, attended by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

, was held along the Ben Franklin Parkway with musical performances by various acts within Eakins Oval in front of the museum, as well as in

Logan Square Logan Square may refer to: * Logan Square, Chicago, a neighborhood on the north side of the city * Logan Circle (Philadelphia) or Logan Square, a park in Philadelphia **Logan Square, Philadelphia Logan Square is a neighborhood in Philadelphia. Bou ...

. On April 27, 2017, the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

was held at the museum through April 29 of that year. On February 8, 2018, the victory parade for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

' win in

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conferen ...

finished upon the museum steps, where players and team personnel gave speeches from a lectern to the large crowd gathered along Ben Franklin Parkway.Eric Levenson and David Williams (February 8, 2018)
"Eagles fans flock to Philadelphia streets for Super Bowl parade"
. ''cnn.com''. Retrieved March 27, 2018.

References

External links

*
Listing at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
including more than 800 images, mostly of the main building's construction
Philadelphia Museum of Art
within Google Arts & Culture * {{Authority control 1876 establishments in Pennsylvania Art museums established in 1876 Museums of American art Philadelphia Register of Historic Places Terminating vistas in the United States Asian art museums in the United States Art museums and galleries in Philadelphia East Fairmount Park Fairmount, Philadelphia Horace Trumbauer buildings

History

Early years (1877–1900)

Construction of the main building (1895–1933)

Membership program and growth (1928–1976)

Building expansion (2004–present)

Collections

The Carl Otto Kretzschmar von Kienbusch Collection

Special exhibitions

Administration

Directors

Board of trustees

Gallery

In popular culture

See also

References

External links