Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is a big place where people can see beautiful and interesting pieces of art. It was first started in 1876 for a big celebration called the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main building where people go to see the art was finished in 1928 on a hill called Fairmount.

The museum has more than 240,000 objects in its collections. These include paintings, sculptures, photographs, and many other kinds of art from Europe, America, and Asia. Besides the main building, the museum also takes care of other places nearby, like the Rodin Museum and the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building. The Perelman Building, which opened in 2007, has many drawings, photographs, and special designs like furniture and glass.

Every year, the museum shows special collections that travel from other museums around the world. In 2021, almost 440,000 people visited to enjoy the art and learn more about it. Today, the museum is led by its director, Daniel H. Weiss.

History

Philadelphia celebrated its 100th anniversary with the Centennial Exposition in 1876. A special building called Memorial Hall was built to hold an art gallery and became home to a permanent museum. The Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art opened its doors on May 10, 1877. It started with items from the Exposition and gifts from people who loved good design. The museum was first located outside of Center City, Philadelphia, so it charged admission until 1881.

In the early 1900s, the museum began programs to teach the public and started a membership program. By 1928, when a new building opened, one million people visited that year. The museum grew its collections through gifts and new purchases, including famous artworks from many countries.

Construction began on a grand new building in 1919, designed to sit on a hill called Fairmount. The building was finished in 1928, though some inside work was still not done. It was made from special stone from Minnesota. Over the years, the museum added more space to hold its growing collections. Plans for a big expansion began in 2006, designed by architect Frank Gehry. This new part will be built underground and will add lots of new space for art and special shows. The museum closed for a time in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic but reopened later that year. In 2025, the museum changed its name briefly but returned to its original name, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in 2026.

Collections

See also: List of artists in the Philadelphia Museum of Art handbook of the collections

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has more than 240,000 objects showing creative work from the Western world and Asia, in over 200 galleries covering 2,000 years. The museum's collections include art from Egypt, Rome, and Pre-Columbian times. Some of these collections were moved to the Penn Museum as part of an agreement.

The museum's Asian collections have paintings and sculptures from China, Japan, and India. They also have furniture, decorations, ceramics, carpets, and special buildings like a Chinese palace hall and a Japanese teahouse.

The European collections include art from the middle ages to today. There are paintings from France and other European countries, sculptures by Auguste Rodin, and many pieces of furniture and decorations. The museum also has a large collection of old weapons and armor.

The American collections show more than three centuries of paintings, sculptures, and decorations. They include special pieces of furniture and silver from Pennsylvania, as well as paintings by Thomas Eakins. The museum has the most important collection of Eakins' work in the world.

Modern and contemporary art includes works by famous artists like Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Agnes Martin. The museum also has many costumes, textiles, prints, drawings, and photographs.

The Carl Otto Kretzschmar von Kienbusch Collection

The museum also has a large collection of armor from Carl Otto Kretzschmar von Kienbusch. He gave this collection to the museum in 1976 to celebrate the Bicentennial of the American Revolution. The collection includes armor from Europe and Southwest Asia over many centuries.

In 2000, the museum agreed to return five pieces of armor to the State Art Collections in Dresden, Germany. These pieces were taken from Dresden during World War II. Von Kienbusch had bought them without knowing their history when he gave his collection to the museum in 1976.

Special exhibitions

The Philadelphia Museum of Art hosts several special exhibitions each year. Past exhibitions have showcased famous artists such as Salvador Dalí, Paul Cézanne, Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, John James Audubon, Andy Warhol, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent. In 2009, the museum presented Bruce Nauman: Topological Gardens, which was the United States' official entry at the Venice Biennale.

Administration

Directors

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has had many directors since it began. Some recent directors include:

• Daniel H. Weiss, 2025–Present
• Sasha Suda, 2022–2025
• Timothy Rub, 2009–2022

Board of trustees

Here are some chairs of the museum's board of trustees since 1991:

• Ellen T. Caplan 2023 – present
• Leslie A. Miller 2016 – 2023
• Constance H. Williams 2010–2016
• Gerry Lenfest 2001–2009
• Raymond Perlman 1991–2001

Looted art controversies

In December 2021, the family of artist Piet Mondrian asked the museum to return a painting called Composition with Blue. The painting had been taken by the Nazis during World War II. Later that same year, the museum decided to give back an old 'Pageant Shield' to the Czech Republic because it had also been taken by the Nazis.

In popular culture

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is famous not just for its art, but also for its role in movies, especially the Rocky films. Many visitors run up the museum's front stairs, just like the character Rocky Balboa did in the movies. A large statue of Rocky was made for one of the films and is now displayed near the stairs.

The museum is also a popular spot for concerts, parades, and special events. It has hosted big concerts like Live 8 and the Philadelphia Freedom Concert. It was also the place where celebrations happened after the Philadelphia Eagles won important football games. The museum even appeared on a TV show called The Amazing Race.