Birthday Presents

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts celebrates its 200th anniversary.

By: Matt Smith

Founded in 1805 by painter Charles Willson Peale, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia is celebrating its 200th anniversary with the opening of an 11-story, 300,000-square-foot expansion (above) next door to its 1876 building (below) on Broad Street.

   Everyone dreams of getting a pony for his or her birthday, but usually ends up with toys that break the next day, or perhaps some sensible socks. To celebrate its 200th year, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts has ponied up for a new 11-story, 300,000-square-foot expansion.
   The Academy just moved into the Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, a converted automobile showroom just across Cherry Street to the north of its historic 1876 home on North Broad Street — which underwent extensive renovations for the occasion.
   Founded in 1805 by painter Charles Willson Peale, the oldest museum and school of fine arts in the nation is in the midst of a $50 million capital campaign designed to increase the Academy’s profile and attract more visitors — including some 175,000 for anniversary-year events.

   "We no longer want to be a hidden treasure. We want to be a part of your lives," noted Kim Sajet, senior vice president of museum and public programs, at a sneak peek of the tony facilities last week.
   The Academy now occupies the six finished floors in the Hamilton Building, with plans for more gallery and school space on the other five when funding and construction are complete. The first two floors are currently showing a pair of exhibits: The Chemistry of Color: The Harold A. and Ann R. Sorgenti Collection of Contemporary African-American Art is the Academy’s first comprehensive exhibition of works by African-Americans; In Full View: American Painting and Sculpture (1720-2005), which is split between the old and new facilities, is the most expansive look at the Academy’s collection ever presented.

"The Cello Player" by Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumnus Thomas Eakins on display as part of In Full View , one of two exhibits celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Academy.

   The new galleries will allow for more special and touring exhibitions, and as in the case of In Full View, increased visibility of the Academy’s extensive library of American art. "We don’t have to take down our collection anymore," says Ms. Sajet. "We’ve more than doubled our gallery space, and we still have a floor to build out, with another four galleries and a smaller gallery for works-on-paper exhibitions. We haven’t stopped."
   When work is finished on the Hamilton Building, the galleries and the school will be together for the first time in more than 40 years. (Some departments are housed in a building at 1301 Cherry St.) That will allow an institution that lists Mary Cassatt, Thomas Eakins and Maxfield Parrish as alumni to increase academic enrollment from 285 to nearly 400 students by 2007-2008, says Jeffrey Carr, dean of academic affairs. Unlike some art schools, the Academy’s 65 teachers are all working artists, notes Prof. Carr — and unlike nearly all other art schools, the Academy still eschews job-track fields like graphic design for four traditional disciplines: painting, drawing, sculpture and printmaking.
   As for recent life in the Frank Furness-designed "Historic Building," as the older building is now referred to: "We’ve been in shutdown mode for about a year," says Ms. Sajet. "We’ve added new colors, new carpets, a new track-lighting system, new text panels, new labels and a new audio guide.
   "This has been a marathon," she continues. "It struck me that we were getting closer when I’d walk into the galleries and everyone was very, very busy. I had been doing all the planning and the pushing and the bribing — saying, ‘If you do this for me, I’ll give you some chocolate’ — and I walked into the galleries and said, ‘I’m not too sure about that.’ Five people told me to leave and said, ‘Come back when we’re finished and you’ll change your mind.’"
   Now that the bulk of the work has been finished, Ms. Sajet hopes the extensive events planned for the anniversary year will open up the Academy to a new audience; she has a message for those who have yet to make their way to this former "hidden treasure" in Philadelphia:
   "I’d like to tell everybody ‘the Academy is constantly changing,’" says Ms. Sajet. "We’re a really exciting place to be. If you want to learn about America, you want to learn about life, about people, a picture tells a thousand words — and that’s what this (place) does.
   "Come and see what the Civil War looked like. Come see Abraham Lincoln," she continues. "Come across the street (to the Hamilton building) and (see) how one artist reacted to Vietnam. You don’t need to like it sometimes… but no one’s going to make up your mind for you. We’re not going to preach to you. That’s art — that’s the beauty of art."
The Chemistry of Color: The Harold A. and Ann R. Sorgenti Collection of Contemporary African-American Art and In Full View: American Painting and Sculpture (1720-2005) are on view at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118-128 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, through April 10. Other exhibitions planned for 2005 include: 104th Annual Student Exhibition and 13th Annual Graduate Thesis Exhibition, May 6-29; Light Line and Color: American Works on Paper (1765-2005), June 25-Sept. 4; In Private Hands: 200 Years of American Painting, Oct. 1-Jan. 8; and Ellen Harvey: Mirror, Oct. 15-Jan. 8. Museum hours: Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission costs $7, $6 seniors/students, $5 ages 5-18. For information, call (215) 972-7600. On the Web: www.pafa.org