

The Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art was founded in 1876 and opened to the public in Fairmount Park’s Memorial Hall in 1877, but members of the Fairmount Park Commission had discussed the idea even earlier. Architects designed the Greek Revival building as a shell in which the museum could gradually build galleries for new collections. Originally located in Fairmount Park’s Memorial Hall, the museum moved into its current location on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 1928.

With 90 percent of its collection acquired from donors but also a longstanding, if declining, financial relationship with Philadelphia’s city government and the Fairmount Park Commission, the museum negotiated a tension familiar to most art museums between the aesthetic values of high-society collectors and a charitable mission to enhance public life through art. By the 1920s, however, the museum shifted its emphasis toward cultivating elite taste as it constructed a monumental new building, acquired landmark collections, and courted wealthy patrons. Modeled on the South Kensington Museum in London, the new institution sought through both collections and classes to teach design so that goods produced in Philadelphia would be more competitive with those made in Europe. The Philadelphia Museum of Art-originally known as the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art-developed from collections exhibited in 1876 at the Centennial Exhibition in Fairmount Park. Philadelphia, the Place that Loves You Back.When you leave the museum, make sure you take a second to check out the amazing view down the Ben Franklin Parkway and then come visit us at Geno’s to wrap up your perfect day with a cheesesteak – another staple for anyone visiting Philadelphia.
PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART VIEW FROM FREE
Admission is $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, $14 for youth and students with IDs and free for those 12 and under. If you can’t make it for pay what you wish Sunday, don’t worry! You can swing over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. and Katherine Sachs Collection, Creative Africa, The Architecture of Francis Kéré: Building for Community, Three Photographers/Six Cities and Contemporary Perspectives on African Art, featuring pieces from the Penn Museum. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has something for everyone, including European, Modern and Contemporary, Asian and American art arms and suits of armor prints, drawings and photographs textiles and special exhibitions all spread out amongst three floors.įor those planning on heading to September’s pay what you wish Sunday, there are several exhibits on display for a limited time, such as Embracing the Contemporary: The Keith L. The third largest art museum in the country, it is situated at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and features art from different cultures and various time periods, making it a must-see attraction for anyone visiting Philadelphia.

Run up the cascading steps, like Philadelphia’s own Rocky Balboa, and you will come face-to-face with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, architecturally designed to resemble the temples in Greece. If First Friday isn’t your style, check out First Sundays at the Philadelphia Museum of Art! On the first Sunday of each month, admission is pay what you wish all day long.
