American Artists, American Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1776–1976

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September 20 Member Opening
September 21-22 Member weekend

Two hundred years, over one hundred works of art, and countless stories of artists and the people, places, and events they chose to represent. American Artists, American Stories brings some of the most acclaimed and recognizable works of American art to Philbrook—artwork that has shaped conversations about the nation’s history and identity.

Alongside these influential works, this exhibition highlights paintings and sculpture that may be less familiar—but no less central to the story of America. Through artwork from the exemplary Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) collection, this exhibition includes groundbreaking work by artists formerly excluded from the historical narrative, especially women artists, LGBTQ+ artists, and artists of color, whose work provides a deeper understanding of the story of American art.

This fall at Philbrook, experience the artwork of Mary Cassatt, Barkley L. Hendricks, Edward Hopper, Anna Klumpke, Alice Neel, Isamu Noguchi, Georgia O’Keeffe, Horace Pippin, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Laura Wheeler Waring, Andrew Wyeth, and many more.

By examining PAFA’s impressive collection with a critical eye, the exhibition explores what it meant to be an American artist from the founding of the country into the late twentieth century and uncovers broader histories of our nation.

Teacher Resource Guide (English)
Teacher Resource Guide (Spanish)

This exhibition at Philbrook is presented by the Grace and Franklin Bernsen Foundation and is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The George & Wanda Brown Foundation, and Millie Millspaugh.

American Artists, American 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. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Image Credits:

(Left) Barkley L. Hendricks (American, 1945-2017). J. S. B. III, 1968. Oil on canvas, 48 x 34 3/8″. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richardson Dilworth, 1969.17. © Barkley L. Hendricks. Courtesy of the Estate of Barkley L. Hendricks and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photograph by Adrian Cubillas.

(Right) Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755-1828). George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796. Oil on canvas, 96 x 60″. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Bequest of William Bingham, 1811.2. Photograph by Barbara Katus.

Horace Pippin (American, 1888-1946). John Brown Going to His Hanging, 1942. Oil on canvas, 24 1/8 x 30 1/4″. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. John Lambert Fund, 1943.11. Photograph by Adrian Cubillas.

Thomas Moran (American, 1837-1926). Two Women in the Woods, 1870. Oil on canvas, 20 x 30″. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Orton P. Jackson Fund in memory of Emily Penrose Jackson, 2015.19. Photograph by Barbara Katus.

Winslow Homer (American, 1836-1910). Fox Hunt, 1893. Oil on canvas, 38 x 68 1/2″. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Joseph E. Temple Fund, 1894.4. Photograph by Barbara Katus.

Edward L. Loper, Sr. (American, 1916-2011). Sunday Afternoon, 1948. Oil on canvas, 20 x 24″. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia and Edward Loper, Sr. Gift of Dr. George J. Roth, 1970.34. Photograph by Barbara Katus.

Mary Cassatt (American, 1844-1926). Baby on Mother’s Arm, c. 1891. Oil on canvas, 25 x 19 ¾”. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Bequest of Peter Borie, 2003.15. Photograph by Barbara Katus.