Making American Artists: Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1776-1976
The Inaugural Ilene C. Siegler & Charles D. Edleman Exhibition
Making American Artists: Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1776-1976 presents more than 70 of the most acclaimed and recognizable works of American art, which have played a demonstrable role in shaping conversations about the nation’s history and identity. The exhibition explores new narratives of the history of American art, embracing stories about women artists, LGBTQ+ artists, and artists of color within a visual and thematic structure that also features iconic works traditionally associated with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Making American Artists presents PAFA’s formidable collection of well-known historic works alongside pieces by traditionally underrepresented artists to pose questions about what it meant to be an American artist from when the institution was founded to the late 20th century.
Painter and scientist Charles Willson Peale and sculptor William Rush founded PAFA in 1805 to champion American art and artists. Making American Artists features works from PAFA’s esteemed collection that helped define new chapters in the history of American art, including works by Mary Cassatt, Barkley L. Hendricks, Edward Hopper, Alice Neel, Georgia O’Keeffe, Gilbert Stuart, Henry O. Tanner, and Andrew Wyeth. The exhibition also features icons of PAFA’s history and collection, such as Stuart’s George Washington (Lansdowne Portrait) (1796) and Peale’s The Artist in His Museum (1822).
Mary Cassatt, Baby on Mother’s Arm, ca. 1891, Oil on canvas, 25 x 19 ¾ in., Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Bequest of Peter Borie, 2003.15. Photograph by Barbara Katus.
Charles Willson Peale, The Artist in His Museum, 1822, Oil on canvas, 103 3/4 x 79 7/8 in., Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Gift of Mrs. Sarah Harrison (The Joseph Harrison, Jr. Collection). 1878.1.2. Photograph by Adrian Cubillas.
May Howard Jackson, Morris Heights, N.Y. City, 1912, Oil on linen canvas, mounted to wood panel, 12 . x 16 in., Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Museum Purchase, 2018.14. Photograph by Barbara Katus.
Making American Artists: Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1776-1976 is co-organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Lead support was provided to PAFA by the William Penn Foundation, with additional support from the Richard C. von Hess Foundation and donors to PAFA’s Special Exhibitions Fund. In-Kind support is provided by Christie’s and Gill & Lagodich Fine Period Frames, New York.
Making American Artists: Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1776-1976 is the inaugural Ilene C. Siegler & Charles D. Edleman Exhibition. Additional support provided by William Hutchens. The Everson is supported by the Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation; the General Operating Support program, a regrant program of the County of Onondaga with the support of County Executive, J. Ryan McMahon II, and the Onondaga County Legislature, administered by CNY Arts; and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
