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The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
At once a celebrated museum and a prolific learning institution, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) has served as one of Philadelphia’s most important artistic hubs since 1805.
The permanent collection spans a range of media, including paintings, sculpture and works on paper, which together tell the story of American art in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The school counts visionaries like Maxfield Parrish, Mary Cassatt and David Lynch among its most distinguished alumni.
PAFA boasts an impressive collection by local and national luminaries.
A rare jewel nestled in the heart of Center City, PAFA boasts an impressive collection by local and national luminaries such as Charles Willson Peale (founder of the Academy), Thomas Eakins (who taught here), and Violet Oakley.
Its Frank Furness-designed Historic Landmark Building, heralded by the 51-foot Paint Torch sculpture by Claus Oldenburg, remains one of the finest surviving examples of Victorian Gothic architecture in the Americas.
One of Gilbert Stuart’s portraits of George Washington serves as a special source of pride for locals, as do other well-known paintings by artists such as Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper and Cecilia Beaux — to name just a few.
The grand staircase at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. — Photo by B. Krist for Visit Philadelphia
For more than 110 years, the Annual Student Exhibition (ASE) has been one of the city’s most anticipated annual events.
Each spring, PAFA students showcase their work in the museum’s galleries, and members of the public can buy pieces created by the art scene’s next crop of rising stars.
The Annual Student Exhibition (ASE) at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. — Photo by J. Fusco for Visit Philadelphia
The Visit Philly Overnight Package — booked more than 190,000 times since 2001 — comes with free hotel parking (worth up to $100 in Center City Philadelphia), overnight hotel accommodations and choose-your-own-adventure perks.