View source for Philadelphia Museum of Art

{{Short description|Art museum in Pennsylvania, United States}}
{{about|the modern museum|the earlier museum|Peale's Philadelphia Museum}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox museum
| name            = Philadelphia Museum of Art
| image           = PhiladelphiaMuseumOfArt2017.jpg
| caption= Philadelphia Museum of Art's main building at [[Eakins Oval]]
|mapframe=yes
|mapframe-caption=Interactive fullscreen map
|mapframe-zoom=11
|mapframe-marker=museum
|mapframe-wikidata=yes
|mapframe-height=120
|coordinates={{WikidataCoord|display=it}}
| established     = {{Start date and age|1876|02}}<ref name="history 1">{{cite web  | title =Centennial Origins: 1874–1876  | work =History | publisher =Philadelphia Museum of Art  | url =http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-154-18.html  | access-date =May 21, 2012  }}</ref>
| dissolved       = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->
| location        = 2600 [[Benjamin Franklin Parkway]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.<ref name=WebsiteHome>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/ |title=Philadelphia Museum of Art: Homepage |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref>
| type            = [[Art museum]]
| collection_size = 240,000<ref name="collections">{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/search.html |title=Search Collections |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=February 25, 2016}}</ref>
| visitors        = 793,000 (2017)<ref name=AnnualReport>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/doc_downloads/annualReports/PhiladelphiaMuseumofArtAnnualReport2017.pdf |title=2017 Annual Report |author=Robert T. Rambo |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |date=n.d. |page=19 (of PDF file) |access-date=March 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328222935/http://www.philamuseum.org/doc_downloads/annualReports/PhiladelphiaMuseumofArtAnnualReport2017.pdf |archive-date=March 28, 2018 |url-status=live |quote=Admission income of $5.4 million and attendance of 793,000 were essentially at the same levels as 2016.}}</ref>
| director        = [[Alexandra Suda|Sasha Suda]]<ref name=WebsiteTrustees>{{Cite web |title=Philadelphia Museum of Art – About Us : Administration |url=https://www.philamuseum.org/information/43-323.html |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=www.philamuseum.org}}</ref><ref name=SashaSuda1>{{Cite web |last=Kinsella |first=Eileen |date=2022-06-07 |title=National Gallery of Ontario Director Sasha Suda Will Leave to Helm the Philadelphia Museum of Art |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/national-gallery-of-ontario-director-sasha-suda-will-leave-to-helm-the-philadelphia-museum-of-art-2126520 |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=SashaSuda2>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-08 |title=Meet Sasha Suda, Philadelphia Museum of Art's new CEO and director |url=https://www.audacy.com/kywnewsradio/news/local/sasha-suda-philadelphia-museum-art-ceo-director |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=www.audacy.com |language=en}}</ref>
| chairperson     = Ellen T. Caplan
| architect       = {{ubl|[[Horace Trumbauer]]|[[Zantzinger, Borie and Medary]]|Howell Lewis Shay|[[Julian Abele]]}}
| publictransit   = {{bus icon|12px}} {{rint|septa|60px}} [[SEPTA]] bus: {{SEPTA bus link|38|43}}<br />{{bus icon|12px}} [[Philly PHLASH]], [[Suburban Station]]
| website         = {{official URL}}
|embedded=
 {{Designation list
 |embed=yes
 |designation1=Philadelphia Register of Historic Places
 }}
}}
[[File:Philadelphia Museum of Art - Flickr - aparlette.jpg|thumb|Main building seen at night]]
The '''Philadelphia Museum of Art''' ('''PMA''') is an [[List of art museums#North America|art museum]] originally chartered in 1876 for the [[Centennial Exposition]] in [[Philadelphia]].<ref name="history 1"/> The main museum building was completed in 1928<ref name=history1920s>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-227-23.html |title=Philadelphia Museum of Art: About Us: Our Story: 1920–1930 |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=March 14, 2016}}</ref> on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the [[Benjamin Franklin Parkway]] at [[Eakins Oval]].<ref name=WebsiteHome/> The museum administers collections containing over 240,000 objects including major holdings of European, American and Asian origin.<ref name="collections"/> The various classes of artwork include sculpture, paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, armor, and decorative arts.<ref name="collections"/>

The Philadelphia Museum of Art administers several annexes including the [[Rodin Museum]], also located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and the [[Perelman Building|Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building]], which is located across the street just north of the main building.<ref name=WebsiteAboutUs>{{cite web| url=http://www.philamuseum.org/information/43-323.html |title=About Us: Administration |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=February 25, 2016}}</ref> The Perelman Building, which opened in 2007,<ref name=WebsitePerelmanPage4>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-289-100.html?page=4 |title=About Us : Our Story : Perelman Building – Renovations and Expansion |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref> houses more than 150,000 prints, drawings and photographs, 30,000 costume and textile pieces, and over 1,000 modern and contemporary design objects including furniture, ceramics, and glasswork.<ref name=WebsitePerelmanPage3>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-289-100.html?page=3 |title=About Us : Our Story : Perelman Building – Galleries & Spaces |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref>

The museum also administers the historic colonial-era houses of [[Mount Pleasant (mansion)|Mount Pleasant]] and [[Cedar Grove Mansion|Cedar Grove]], both located in [[Fairmount Park]].<ref>[http://www.philamuseum.org/historichouses/ "Visiting : Plan Your Visit : Historic Houses"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216232845/http://philamuseum.org/historichouses/ |date=December 16, 2017 }}. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved December 18, 2017.</ref> The main museum building and its annexes are owned by the City of Philadelphia and administered by a registered nonprofit corporation.<ref name=WebsiteAboutUs/>

Several special exhibitions are held in the museum every year, including touring exhibitions arranged with other museums in the United States and abroad.<ref name=WebsitePastExpos>{{cite web| url=http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/past.html |title=On View: Past Exhibitions |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=February 25, 2016}}</ref><ref name=WebsiteCurrExpos>{{cite web| url=http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/current.html |title=On View: Current Exhibitions |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=February 25, 2016}}</ref> The museum had 437,348 visitors in 2021.

==History==
===Early years (1877–1900)===
Philadelphia celebrated the 100th anniversary of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] with the [[Centennial Exposition]] in 1876. [[Memorial Hall (Philadelphia)|Memorial Hall]], which contained the art gallery, was intended to outlast the Exposition and house a permanent museum. Following the example of London's [[Victoria and Albert Museum|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.<ref name="history 1"/>

The [[Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art]] opened on May 10, 1877. The school became independent of the museum in 1964 and is now part of the [[University of the Arts (Philadelphia)|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]], however, was fairly distant from many of the city's inhabitants.<ref name="glasssteelandstone.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail/472.php |title=Philadelphia Museum of Art :: Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |publisher=Glass Steel and Stone |access-date=January 28, 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511205337/http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail/472.php |archive-date=May 11, 2013 }}</ref> Admission was charged until 1881, then was dropped until 1962.<ref name="history 2"/>

Starting in 1882, [[Clara Jessup Moore]] 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]] and [[George Inness]] were purchased within a few years and [[Henry Ossawa Tanner]]'s ''[[The Annunciation (Tanner)|The Annunciation]]'' was bought in 1899.<ref name="history 2"/>

===Construction of the main building (1895–1933)===
[[File:Philadelphia Art museum and Water works aerial.webm|thumb|upright=1.8|Video of the main building and the [[Fairmount Water Works]]]]
The City Council of Philadelphia funded a competition in 1895 to design a new museum building,<ref name="history 2">{{cite web|url=http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-224-20.html |title=The Early Decades: 1877–1900 |website=philamuseum.org |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=October 22, 2018}}</ref> but it was not until 1907 that plans were first made to construct it on Fairmount, a rocky hill topped by the [[Fairmount Reservoir|city's main reservoir]]. The Fairmount Parkway (renamed [[Benjamin Franklin Parkway]]), 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.

[[Horace Trumbauer]] and [[Zantzinger, Borie and Medary]], both architectural firms, 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]], and [[Julian Abele]] for the detail work and perspective drawings.<ref>David B. Brownlee, ''Making a Modern Classic: The Architecture of the Philadelphia Museum of Art'' (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1997), pp. 60–61, 72–73.</ref> In 1902, Abele had become the first African-American student to be graduated from the [[University of Pennsylvania]]'s Department of Architecture, which is presently known as Penn's [[University of Pennsylvania School of Design|School of Design]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/ar_display.cfm/21458 |title=Abele, Julian Francis (1881–1950) Architect |last=Tatman |first=Sandra L. |website=philadelphiabuildings.org |publisher=The [[Athenaeum of Philadelphia]] |access-date=March 24, 2017}}</ref> 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]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.design.upenn.edu/people/julian-francis-abele-1881-1950 |title=Julian Francis Abele (1881–1950): First African American graduate of the School of Fine Arts |website=design.upenn.edu |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania School of Design]] |access-date=March 24, 2017}}</ref>

Construction of the main building began in 1919, when Mayor [[Thomas B. Smith (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.<ref name="history 0"/> The building was constructed with [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]] quarried in Minnesota.<ref name="withartphila">{{cite web |url=http://withart.visitphilly.com/tours/galleries-and-gardens/ |title=Galleries and Gardens: Discover blossoming works of art in Philadelphia's green spaces |publisher=With Art Philadelphia |access-date=March 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410172351/http://withart.visitphilly.com/tours/galleries-and-gardens/ |archive-date=April 10, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name=history1920s/>

[[File:A594, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, Museum of Art, Western Civilization pediment at night, 2017.jpg|thumb|upright=3|Pediment with polychrome sculpture by [[C. Paul Jennewein|Jennewein]] and [[Léon-Victor Solon|Solon]] on the north wing, at the east entrance]]
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 [[Léon-Victor Solon|Leon V. Solon]], features [[polychrome]] sculptures of painted terra-cotta figures depicting Greek deities and mythological figures.<ref name="nydn">{{cite news |last=Samuels |first=Tanyanika |title=Bronx street rename for borough's own sculptor Carl Paul Jennewein |newspaper=The New York Daily News |date=June 2, 2011 |page=31 |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/bronx-street-rename-borough-sculptor-carl-paul-jennewein-article-1.127198 |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> The sculpture group was awarded the Medal of Honor of the [[Architectural League of New York]].<ref name="loc">{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/NY/200003401.html |title=New York: C. Paul Jennewein, Sculptor (Local Legacies: Celebrating Community Roots – Library of Congress) |author=Lowey, Nita M. |access-date=March 28, 2016 |author-link=Nita Lowey}}</ref>

The building is also adorned by a collection of bronze [[griffins]], which were later adopted as the symbol of the museum in the 1970s.<ref name="glasssteelandstone.com" />

===Membership program and growth (1928–1976)===
[[File:Plan for the Fairmount Parkway by Jacques Greber 1917.jpg|thumb|Fairmount Parkway plan, developed in 1917]]
In the early 1900s, the museum started an education program for the general public, as well as a membership program.<ref name=history1900s>[http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-225-21.html "About Us: Our Story: 1900–1910"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328103331/http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-225-21.html |date=March 28, 2018 }}. ''philamuseum.org''. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved March 27, 2018.</ref> [[Fiske Kimball]] 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]] prints and drawings from the gift of Charles M. Lea, including French, German, Italian, and Netherlandish engravings.<ref name=history1920s/> Major exhibitions of the 1930s included works by [[Thomas Eakins|Eakins]], [[Édouard Manet|Manet]], [[Pierre-Auguste Renoir|Renoir]], [[Paul Cézanne|Cézanne]], [[Vincent van Gogh|van Gogh]], and [[Edgar Degas|Degas]].<ref name=history1930s>[http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-228-24.html "About Us: Our Story: 1930–1940"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328103338/http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-228-24.html |date=March 28, 2018 }}. ''philamuseum.org''. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved March 27, 2018.</ref>

In the 1940s, the museum's major gifts and acquisitions included the collections of John D. McIlhenny ([[Oriental rug|Oriental carpets]]), [[George Grey Barnard]] (sculpture), and [[Alfred Stieglitz]] (photography).<ref name=history1940s>[http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-230-26.html "About Us: Our Story: 1940–1950"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711201501/http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-230-26.html |date=July 11, 2018 }}. ''philamuseum.org''. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved March 27, 2018.</ref>

Early modern art dominated the growth of the collections in the 1950s, with acquisitions of the Louise and [[Walter Conrad Arensberg|Walter Arensberg]] and the [[Albert Eugene Gallatin|A.E. Gallatin]] collections. The gift of Philadelphian [[Grace Kelly]]'s wedding dress is perhaps the best known gift of the 1950s.<ref name="history 0"/>

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]]'s ''[[Étant donnés]]''. 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]].<ref name="history 0">{{cite web|title=An Overview of the Museum's History |website=philamuseum.org |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-19.html |access-date=March 27, 2018}}</ref>

=== Building expansion (2004–present) ===
[[File:Philadelphia Museum of Art Construction rear.JPG|thumb|The west entrance during construction in 2008]]
Due to high attendance and overflowing collections, the museum announced in October 2006 that [[Frank Gehry]] would design a building expansion. The {{convert|80000|ft2|adj=on}} 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.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news | first=Robin | last=Pogrebin | author-link=Robin Pogrebin | url=http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/10/19/arts/design/19gehr.html | title=Philadelphia Museum Job Sends Gehry Underground| newspaper=New York Times | date=October 19, 2006 }}</ref><ref name = "Master Plan">[http://www.philamuseum.org/information/294-508-397.html PMA web site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512121913/http://www.philamuseum.org/information/294-508-397.html |date=May 12, 2012 }} "Master Plan", accessed, May 10, 2012</ref>

Uncertainty was cast on the plans by the 2008 death of [[Anne d'Harnoncourt]], but new director [[Timothy Rub]], who had initiated a $350 million expansion at the [[Cleveland Museum of Art]], 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 {{convert|640|ft|adj=on}}-long vaulted walkway that extends across the museum and is original to the 1928 building.<ref>[http://planphilly.com/eyesonthestreet/2014/07/02/frank-gehry-s-quiet-intervention-at-the-philadelphia-museum-of-art "Frank Gehry's Quiet Intervention at the Philadelphia Museum of Art"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714115741/http://planphilly.com/eyesonthestreet/2014/07/02/frank-gehry-s-quiet-intervention-at-the-philadelphia-museum-of-art |date=July 14, 2017 }}, Plan Philly, Accessed May 14, 2017.</ref> The north entrance will be reopened to the public as a part of the "core project", which is scheduled for completion in 2020.<ref>Romero, Melissa. [https://philly.curbed.com/2017/3/31/15128206/frank-gehry-core-project-groundbreaking-philadelphia-art-museum "5 Ways the Philadelphia Museum of Art will look different in 2020"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403002528/http://philly.curbed.com/2017/3/31/15128206/frank-gehry-core-project-groundbreaking-philadelphia-art-museum |date=April 3, 2017 }}, ''Curbed Philadelphia'', Accessed May 14, 2017.</ref> The core project also focuses on the interior of the current building and will add {{convert|90000|sqft}} of public space, including {{convert|11500|sqft}} of new gallery space for American art and contemporary art.<ref name="Cascone">Cascone, Sarah. [https://news.artnet.com/art-world/philadelphia-museum-art-frank-gehry-expansion-907067 "Philadelphia Museum of Art Aims to Raise $525 Million for Frank Gehry Designed Expansion"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608220856/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/philadelphia-museum-art-frank-gehry-expansion-907067 |date=June 8, 2017 }}, ''Artnet'', Accessed May 14, 2017.</ref>  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 [[Guggenheim Museum Bilbao|Bilbao]]. It won't be apparent from the outside, but it will knock their socks off inside."<ref name = "Master Plan"/><ref name="USA T">{{cite news
  | last =Associated Press  | title =Philly museum starts Gehry expansion| work =[[USA TODAY]] | date =November 22, 2011
  | url =http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/2010-11-09-gehry-museum_N.htm | access-date =May 11, 2012 }}</ref>

In March 2017, the museum announced a $525 million campaign.<ref name=Cascone/> The core project is budgeted at $196 million and will be funded through the campaign.<ref name=Cascone/> The museum also announced that more than 62 percent of the campaign goal has been met, as of March 30, 2017.<ref name=Cascone/>

In March 2020, the museum was officially temporarily closed due to [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]]. All public events and programs were canceled until August 31, 2020. The museum reopened by late September 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crimmins |first=Peter |date=2020-08-10 |title=Philadelphia Museum of Art announces September reopening |url=https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-museum-of-art-announces-september-reopening/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206115228/https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-museum-of-art-announces-september-reopening/ |archive-date=2022-12-06 |access-date=2023-01-12 |website=[[WHYY-FM|WHYY]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

The most controversial part of the Gehry design remains a proposed window and amphitheater to be cut into the east entrance stairs.<ref>[http://cdn.phillymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/art-museum-steps.jpg Gehry architectural model] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627182855/http://cdn.phillymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/art-museum-steps.jpg |date=June 27, 2014 }}, from ''Philadelphia Magazine'', June 26, 2014.</ref> Others have criticized the design as too tame.<ref>[http://www.phillymag.com/tag/gregory-l-heller/ Heller: "If you're going to hire Gehry, Let's do Gehry,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018220758/http://www.phillymag.com/tag/gregory-l-heller/ |date=October 18, 2015 }} ''Philadelphia Magazine'', August 11, 2014.</ref> The Gehry expansion is projected to be completed by 2028.<ref>[http://cdn.theatlantic.com/newsroom/img/posts/2014/06/Screen_Shot_2014_06_27_at_1.59.27_PM/2e7c5460e.png Gehry section through museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702191825/http://cdn.theatlantic.com/newsroom/img/posts/2014/06/Screen_Shot_2014_06_27_at_1.59.27_PM/2e7c5460e.png |date=July 2, 2014 }}, ''Philadelphia Magazine'', July 2, 2014.</ref>

==Collections==
{{see also|List of artists in the Philadelphia Museum of Art handbook of the collections}}
[[File:The Annunciation, Philadelphia Museum of Art, W1899-1-1-pma, by Henry Ossawa Tanner.jpg|thumb|[[Henry Ossawa Tanner]]'s ''[[The Annunciation (Tanner)|The Annunciation]]'', acquired in 1899]]
[[File:Pablo Picasso, 1921, Nous autres musiciens (Three Musicians), oil on canvas, 204.5 x 188.3 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|[[Pablo Picasso|Picasso]]'s, ''[[Three Musicians (Picasso)|Three Musicians]]'' from 1921 on display at the museum]]
The Philadelphia Museum of Art houses more than 240,000 objects,<ref name=collections/> highlighting the creative achievements of the [[Western world]] and those of Asia, in more than 200 galleries spanning 2,000 years.<ref name="PMA: About">{{Cite journal |title=Philadelphia Museum of Art: About |publisher=ARTINFO |year=2008 |url=http://www.artinfo.com/galleryguide/19912/6452/about/philadelphia-museum-of-art-philadelphia/ |access-date=July 29, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210010050/http://www.artinfo.com/galleryguide/19912/6452/about/philadelphia-museum-of-art-philadelphia/ |archive-date=December 10, 2008 }}</ref> The museum's collections of [[Art of ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] and [[Roman art]], and [[Pre-Columbian art|Pre-Columbian]] works, were relocated to the [[University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology|Penn Museum]] after an exchange agreement was made whereby the museum houses the university's collection of [[Chinese ceramics|Chinese porcelain]].<ref>[http://press.philamuseum.org/faq/#What%20does%20the%20Museum%E2%80%99s%20encyclopedic%20collection%20include? "Frequently Asked Questions: What does the Museum's collection include?"] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20180104021831/http://press.philamuseum.org/faq/ archive]). ''philamuseum.org''. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved March 27, 2018.</ref>

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.<ref name="collections" />

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]] and [[Post-Impressionism]]; 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]].<ref name="collections" />

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 Dutch|Pennsylvania German]] art, rural Pennsylvania furniture and ceramics, and the paintings of [[Thomas Eakins]]. The museum houses the most important Eakins collection in the world.<ref name="collections" />

Modern artwork includes works by [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Jean Metzinger]], [[Antonio Rotta]], [[Albert Gleizes]], [[Marcel Duchamp]], [[Salvador Dalí]] and [[Constantin Brâncuși]], as well as American modernists. The expanding collection of [[contemporary art]] includes major works by [[Agnes Martin]], [[Cy Twombly]], [[Jasper Johns]], and [[Sol LeWitt]], among many others.<ref name="collections" />

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.<ref name="collections" />

===The Carl Otto Kretzschmar von Kienbusch Collection===
[[File:1600 Milan Half Armor.jpg|thumb|Armor from {{Circa|1600}} [[Milan]], Italy]]
The museum also houses the [[armor]] collection of Carl Otto Kretzschmar von Kienbusch. The Von Kienbusch collection was bequeathed by the celebrated collector to the museum in 1976, the [[wikt:bicentennial|Bicentennial]] Anniversary of the [[American Revolution]]. The Von Kienbusch holdings are comprehensive and include European and Southwest Asian arms and armor spanning several centuries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/press/releases/2004/405.html |title=Philadelphia Museum of Art – Information : Press Room : Press Releases : 2004 |publisher=Philamuseum.org |date=September 27, 2004 |access-date=January 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202192912/http://www.philamuseum.org/press/releases/2004/405.html |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On May 30, 2000, the museum and the [[Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden|State Art Collections]] in [[Dresden]], Germany (''Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden''), announced an agreement for the return of five pieces of armor stolen from Dresden during [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philamuseum.org/press/releases/2000/189.html |title=PMA press release |publisher=Philamuseum.org |date=December 16, 1999 |access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3795448 | jstor=3795448 | title=Carl Otto Kretzschmar von Kienbusch and the Collecting of Arms and Armor in America | last1=Larocca | first1=Donald J. | journal=Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin | date=1985 | volume=81 | issue=345 | pages=2+4-24<!--prevent bot change --> | doi=10.2307/3795448 | url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>[http://arthistorians.info/haywardj Armor Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217014808/http://arthistorians.info/haywardj |date=December 17, 2018 }} at arthistorians.info.</ref>

==Special exhibitions==
The Philadelphia Museum of Art organizes several special exhibitions each year.<ref name=WebsitePastExpos/><ref name=WebsiteCurrExpos/> Special exhibitions have featured [[Salvador Dalí]] in 2005,<ref name=dali2005>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/2005/83.html |title=On View: Past Exhibitions: 2005 – Salvador Dalí |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> [[Paul Cézanne]] in 2009,<ref name=cez2009>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/2009/312.html |title=On View: Past Exhibitions: 2009 – Cézanne and Beyond |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> [[Pierre-Auguste Renoir|Auguste Renoir]] in 2010,<ref name=reno2010>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/2010/359.html |title=On View: Past Exhibitions: 2010 – Late Renoir |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> [[Vincent van Gogh]] in 2012,<ref name=gogh2012>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/2012/743.html |title=On View: Past Exhibitions: 2012 – Van Gogh Up Close |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref> [[Pablo Picasso]] in 2014,<ref name=picasso2014>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/2014/806.html |title=On View: Past Exhibitions: 2014 – Picasso Prints: Myths, Minotaurs, and Muses |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref> [[John James Audubon]] and [[Andy Warhol]] (et al.) in 2016,<ref name=audubon2017>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/2016/818.html |title=On View: Past Exhibitions: 2016 – Audubon to Warhol: The Art of American Still Life |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref> [[Winslow Homer]] and [[John Singer Sargent]] in 2017,<ref name=homer2017>{{cite web |url=http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/2017/851.html |title=On View: Past Exhibitions: 2017 – American Watercolor in the Age of Homer and Sargent |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref> and the Duchamp siblings—[[Marcel Duchamp|Marcel]], [[Jacques Villon|Gaston]], [[Raymond Duchamp-Villon|Raymond]] and [[Suzanne Duchamp|Suzanne]]—in 2019.<ref name=duchamp>{{cite web |url=https://www.philamuseum.org/calendar/exhibition/duchamp-family?gID=2&exID=882 |title=The Duchamp Family |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=December 30, 2020}}</ref> A [[Jasper Johns]] exhibition is planned for 2021.<ref name=johns>{{cite web |url=https://www.philamuseum.org/calendar/exhibition/jasper-johns-mindmirror |title=Jasper Johns: Mind/Mirror |publisher=Philadelphia Museum of Art |access-date=December 30, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/jasper-johns-exhibition-philadelphia-museum-of-art-new-york-city-whitney/|title=Jasper Johns exhibition to be split between Philadelphia and New York|last=Cummings|first=Sinead|website=www.phillyvoice.com|date=March 3, 2020 |access-date=2020-03-30}}</ref>

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]], for which the artist [[Bruce Nauman]] was awarded the Golden Lion.<ref>[http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/349.html "Bruce Nauman: Topological Gardens"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826181708/http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/349.html |date=August 26, 2017 }}, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Accessed May 14, 2017.</ref>

==Administration==
===Directors===
[[File:Sidney Fiske Kimball.gif|thumb|[[Fiske Kimball]], the museum's director from 1925 to 1955]]
The directors of the Philadelphia Museum of Art since its inception are:
* [[Sasha Suda]], 2022–Present<ref>[https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/union-philadelphia-museum-of-art-strike-new-director-1234640607 Union Members at the Philadelphia Museum of Art On Strike Indefinitely, as New Director Starts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007174626/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/union-philadelphia-museum-of-art-strike-new-director-1234640607/ |date=October 7, 2022 }}, ArtNews, Accessed online October 7, 2022</ref><ref name=SashaSuda1/>
* [[Timothy Rub]], 2009–2022<ref name=RubToRetire>{{Cite web |title=Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to Retire on January 30, 2022 |url=https://press.philamuseum.org/timothy-rub-the-george-d-widener-director-and-ceo-to-retire-january-30-2022/ |access-date=2022-05-07 |website=Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to Retire on January 30, 2022 |language=en-us}}</ref>
* [[Anne d'Harnoncourt]], 1982–2008
* [[Jean Sutherland Boggs]], 1978–1982<ref>[http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=top_repository_facet%3A%22Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%20Archives%22&id=PACSCL_PMA_PMABOG& Jean Sutherland Boggs records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919231834/http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=top_repository_facet:%22Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%20Archives%22&id=PACSCL_PMA_PMABOG& |date=September 19, 2016 }}, from Philadelphia Museum of Art.</ref>
* Evan Hopkins Turner, 1964–1977<ref>[http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=top_repository_facet%3A%22Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%20Archives%22&id=PACSCL_PMA_PMA004& Evan H. Turner records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920064719/http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=top_repository_facet:%22Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%20Archives%22&id=PACSCL_PMA_PMA004& |date=September 20, 2016 }}, from Philadelphia Museum of Art.</ref>
* Arnold H. Jolles, 1977–1979 (acting)<ref>[https://www.philamuseum.org/pma_archives/eadDtlFull.php?c=JOL&p=tp&s=&s1=s0&s2=s0&t=Arnold+H.+Jolles+Records "Arnold H. Jolles Records"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819084727/http://www.philamuseum.org/pma_archives/eadDtlFull.php?c=JOL&p=tp&s=&s1=s0&s2=s0&t=Arnold+H.+Jolles+Records |date=August 19, 2016 }}, Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives, Accessed online April 16, 2017.</ref>
* [[Henri Gabriel Marceau]], 1955–1964<ref>[http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=top_repository_facet%3A%22Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%20Archives%22&id=PACSCL_PMA_PMAMAR& Henri Gabriel Mareau Director records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919231313/http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=top_repository_facet:%22Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%20Archives%22&id=PACSCL_PMA_PMAMAR& |date=September 19, 2016 }}, from Philadelphia Museum of Art.</ref>
* [[Fiske Kimball]], 1925–1955
* Sr. Samuel W. Woodhouse, 1923–1925 (acting)<ref>[http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-227-23.html "Our Story: 1920 – 1930"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314190803/http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-227-23.html |date=March 14, 2016 }}, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Accessed April 16, 2017.</ref>
* [[Langdon Warner]], 1917–1923<ref>[http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=top_repository_facet%3A%22Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%20Archives%22&id=PACSCL_PMA_PMA008& Langdon Warner records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919231532/http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=top_repository_facet:%22Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%20Archives%22&id=PACSCL_PMA_PMA008& |date=September 19, 2016 }}, from Philadelphia Museum of Art.</ref>
* [[Edwin Atlee Barber]], 1907–1916<ref>[http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=top_repository_facet%3A%22Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%20Archives%22&id=PACSCL_PMA_PMA007& Edwin Atlee Barber records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919230857/http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=top_repository_facet:%22Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%20Archives%22&id=PACSCL_PMA_PMA007& |date=September 19, 2016 }}, from Philadelphia Museum of Art.</ref>
* William Platt Pepper, 1899–1907
* Dalton Dorr, 1892–1899<ref>[http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=top_repository_facet%3A%22Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%20Archives%22&id=PACSCL_PMA_PMA009& Dalton Dorr records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919230910/http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=top_repository_facet:%22Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%20Archives%22&id=PACSCL_PMA_PMA009& |date=September 19, 2016 }}, from Philadelphia Museum of Art.</ref>
* 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.

* Ellen T. Caplan 2023 – present
* [[Leslie Anne Miller|Leslie A. Miller]] 2016 – 2023
* [[Constance H. Williams]] 2010–2016
* [[Gerry Lenfest]] 2001–2009
* Raymond Perlman 1991–2001<ref name="press.philamuseum.org">{{Cite web |title=Constance H. Williams Announces Leslie A. Miller as Her Successor as the Museum's Board of Trustees Chair |url=https://press.philamuseum.org/constance-h-williams-announces-leslie-a-miller-as-her-successor-as-the-museums-board-of-trustees-chair/ |access-date=2020-08-01 |website=Constance H. Williams Announces Leslie A. Miller as Her Successor as the Museum's Board of Trustees Chair |language=en-us}}</ref>

== Looted art controversies ==
In December 2021, the heirs of Piet Mondrian filed a lawsuit against the museum for ''Composition with Blue'', which the artist had consigned to Küppers-Lissitzky when it was seized by the Nazis.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Solomon |first=Tessa |date=2021-12-13 |title=Mondrian Heirs Sue Philadelphia Museum, Claiming Painting Was Looted by Nazis |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/modrian-heirs-philadelphia-museum-lawsuit-1234613204/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-14 |title=Mondrian at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is Nazi loot, heirs allege |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/12/14/piet-mondrian-philadelphia-museum-of-art-nazi-loot-lawsuit |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=The Art Newspaper – International art news and events}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Heirs Sue to Claim Mondrian Painting in Philadelphia Museum of Art |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/13/arts/design/mondrian-painting-philadelphia-museum-of-art-lawsuit.html |work=New York Times|date=December 13, 2021 |last1=Hickley |first1=Catherine }}</ref> The same year, the museum announced that it would return an ancient 'Pageant Shield' looted by Nazis to the Czech Republic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kinsella |first=Eileen |date=2021-09-14 |title=The Philadelphia Museum of Art Will Return an Ancient 'Pageant Shield' Looted by Nazis to the Czech Republic |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/philadelphia-museum-returns-an-ancient-pageant-shield-to-czech-republic-2009057 |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Gallery==
{{Category see also|Paintings in the Philadelphia Museum of Art}}
<gallery heights="150" mode="packed">
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]], ''Crucifixion Diptych'', {{Circa|1460}}
File:Hieronymus Bosch or follower - Adoration of the Magi.jpg|[[Hieronymus Bosch]], ''Epiphany'', {{Circa|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]]'', {{Circa|1500}}
File:El Greco Pietà.jpg|[[El Greco]], ''[[Pietà]],'' 1571–1576
File:0 Prométhée supplicié - Rubens - Snyders - Philadelphia Museum of Art (W1950-3-1) - (1).JPG|[[Peter Paul Rubens]], ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'', 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]]'', by [[Benjamin West]], {{Circa|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|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 (painter)|Alfred Stevens]], ''Will you go out with me, Fido?'', 1859
File:Édouard Manet-Kearsarge-Alabama2.jpg|[[Édouard Manet]], ''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|[[Thomas Eakins]], ''[[The Gross Clinic]]'', 1875
File:Thomas Eakins, American - William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Thomas Eakins]], ''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|[[Édouard Manet]], ''Portrait of Émilie Ambre as Carmen'', 1880
File:Winslow Homer - The Life Line.jpg|[[Winslow Homer]], ''[[The Life Line (painting)|The Life Line]]'', 1884
File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French - The Large Bathers - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Pierre-Auguste Renoir]], ''[[Les Grandes Baigneuses (Renoir)|The Large Bathers]]'', 1887
File:Van Gogh Twelve Sunflowers.jpg|[[Vincent van Gogh]], ''[[Sunflowers (Van Gogh series)|Sunflowers]]'', [[Arles]], 1889
File:Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French - At the Moulin Rouge- The Dance - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Henri Toulouse-Lautrec]], ''[[At the Moulin Rouge, The Dance]]'', 1890
File:Claude Monet, French - Poplars - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Claude Monet]], ''[[Poplar Series (Monet)|Poplars (Autumn)]]'', 1891
File:Thomas Eakins, American - The Concert Singer - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Thomas Eakins]], ''[[The Concert Singer]]'', 1890–1892
File:Claude Monet - Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge.jpg|[[Claude Monet]], ''Japanese Bridge and Water Lilies'', {{Circa|1899}}
File:Paul Cézanne, French - The Large Bathers - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Paul Cézanne]], ''[[The Bathers (Cézanne)|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|[[Pablo Picasso]], ''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]], ''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|[[Marcel Duchamp]], ''La sonate (Sonata)'', 1911
File:Jean Metzinger, Le goûter, Tea Time, 1911, 75.9 x 70.2 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg|[[Jean Metzinger]], ''[[Le goûter (Tea Time)]]'', 1911 – [[André Salmon]] dubbed this painting "The Mona Lisa of Cubism"
File:Duchamp - Nude Descending a Staircase.jpg|[[Marcel Duchamp]], ''[[Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2]]'', 1912
File:Albert Gleizes, l'Homme au Balcon, 1912, oil on canvas, 195.6 x 114.9 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg|[[Albert Gleizes]], ''[[Man on a Balcony (Gleizes)|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]], ''The Dance at the Spring'', 1912
File:Juan Gris - Chessboard, Glass, and Dish.jpg|[[Juan Gris]], ''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''
</gallery>

==In popular culture==
[[File:Philaartmusliv8.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Live 8]] concert in 2005 with the [[Ben Franklin Parkway]] (in foreground) and the museum (in background).]]
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 (franchise)#Films|''Rocky'' films]]{{emdash}}''[[Rocky]]'' (1976) and seven of its eight sequels, ''[[Rocky II|II]]'', ''[[Rocky III|III]]'', ''[[Rocky V|V]]'', ''[[Rocky Balboa (film)|Rocky Balboa]]'', ''[[Creed (film)|Creed]]'', ''[[Creed II]]'', and ''[[Creed III]]''. 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]].<ref>[http://www.visitphilly.com/museums-attractions/philadelphia/the-rocky-statue-and-the-rocky-steps/ The Rocky Statue and the Rocky Steps] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309104134/http://www.visitphilly.com/museums-attractions/philadelphia/the-rocky-statue-and-the-rocky-steps/ |date=March 9, 2018 }} visitphilly.com, accessed June 17, 2011.</ref> [[Screen Junkies]] named the museum's stairs the second most famous movie location behind only [[Grand Central Terminal|Grand Central Station]] in New York.<ref>[http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-lists/10-most-famous-movie-locations/ ''10 Most Famous Movie Locations''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113074139/http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-lists/10-most-famous-movie-locations/ |date=November 13, 2015 }} [[Screen Junkies]]</ref>

An {{convert|8.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} 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]]''. 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 [[Wachovia Spectrum#Statues|Spectrum]] 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]]'' 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.<ref name=rocky1>{{cite web |last=Avery |first=Ron |url=http://www.ushistory.org/oddities/rocky.htm |title=Philadelphia Oddities – Rocky Statue |publisher=Independence Hall Association |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref><ref name=rocky2>{{cite web |last=Holzman |first=Laura |url=http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/rocky/ |title=Rocky |publisher=Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia |date=2013 |access-date=March 28, 2016}}</ref>

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]] concert held on July 2, 2005, with musical artists including [[Dave Matthews Band]], [[Linkin Park]] and [[Maroon 5]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050703011106/http://www.live8.us/100.html Live 8 Philadelphia (scroll down)], [[Archive.org]], July 2, 2005</ref> 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<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070624081921/http://www.phillyfreedom.net/concert.htm The Philadelphia Freedom Concert], [[Archive.org]], July 4, 2005</ref> while a preceding [[Ball (dance party)|ball]] was held inside the museum.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070624081848/http://www.phillyfreedom.net/ball.htm The Philadelphia Freedom Ball], [[Archive.org]], July 4, 2005</ref>

On September 26, 2015, the ''Festival of Families'' event, attended by [[Pope Francis]], 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 Circle (Philadelphia)|Logan Square]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160531222112/http://www.worldmeeting2015.org/festival-of-families/ "Festival of Families"] (archive). ''worldmeeting2015.org''. Retrieved March 27, 2018.</ref><ref>Jim Yardley and Daniel J. Wakin (September 26, 2015). [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/us/pope-francis-philadelphia.html?_r=0 "At Independence Hall, Pope Offers a Broad Vision of Religious Freedom"] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150928225634/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/us/pope-francis-philadelphia.html?_r=0 archive]). ''nytimes.com''. Retrieved March 27, 2018.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150905115716/http://www.visitphilly.com/popes-visit-world-meeting-of-families-2015/ "The Pope's Visit to Philadelphia"] (archive). ''visitphilly.com''. Retrieved March 27, 2018.</ref>

On April 27, 2017, the [[2017 NFL draft]] was held at the museum through April 29 of that year.

On February 8, 2018, the victory parade for the [[2017 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles]]' win in [[Super Bowl LII]] finished upon the museum steps, where players and team personnel gave speeches from a lectern to the large crowd gathered along Ben Franklin Parkway.<ref>Eric Levenson and David Williams (February 8, 2018). [https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/08/us/philadelphia-eagles-super-bowl-parade/index.html "Eagles fans flock to Philadelphia streets for Super Bowl parade"] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20180208221256/https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/08/us/philadelphia-eagles-super-bowl-parade/index.html archive]). ''cnn.com''. Retrieved March 27, 2018.</ref> On February 14, 2025, another victory parade finished on the museum steps to celebrate the Eagles victory in [[Super Bowl LIX]]. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/eagles-parade-philadelphia-fans-20250214.html|title=The Eagles’ Super Bowl parade is a daylong party as Philadelphians express their love for the Birds|first1=Anthony R. |last1=Wood |first2=Jesse |last2=Bunch |first3=Rodrigo |last3=Torrejón |first4=Erin|last4=McCarthy|date=February 14, 2025|website=www.inquirer.com}}</ref>

It was featured on the finale of [[The Amazing Race 36]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Philadelphia|Visual arts|Museums}}
* [[3rd Sculpture International]]
** ''[[70 Sculptors]]'', photograph by [[Herbert Gehr]]
* [[Barnes Foundation]]
* [[Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts]]
* [[Woodmere Art Museum]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Official website|https://www.philamuseum.org}}
* {{HABS |survey=PA-1661 |id=pa1065 |title=Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA |photos=6 |color=4 |cap=3}}
* [https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/pj_display.cfm/13233 Listing at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings], including more than 800 images, mostly of the main building's construction
* [https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/philadelphia-museum-of-art?hl=en "Philadelphia Museum of Art"] at [[Google Arts & Culture]]

{{Philadelphia}}
{{Museums in Pennsylvania}}
{{Frank Gehry}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Philadelphia Museum of Art| ]]
[[Category:1876 establishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries established in 1876]]
[[Category:Asian art museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Benjamin Franklin Parkway]]
[[Category:East Fairmount Park]]
[[Category:Fairmount, Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Horace Trumbauer buildings]]
[[Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Museums of American art]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:Terminating vistas in the United States]]