Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts
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Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
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The museum building of the Academy
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| Location | SW corner of Broad & Cherry Sts. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | Coordinates: 39°57′18″N 75°9′50″W / 39.95500°N 75.16389°W |
| Built | 1871–1876 |
| Architect | Frank Furness; George Hewitt |
| Architectural style | Second Empire, Renaissance, Gothic |
| Website | www.pafa.org |
| NRHP reference # | 71000731 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 27, 1971 |
| Designated NHL | May 15, 1975 |
| Designated PHMC | November 17, 2004 |
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the first and oldest art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th- and 20th-century American paintings, sculptures, and works on paper. Its archives house important materials for the study of American art history, museums, and art training.
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) was founded in 1805 by painter and scientist Charles Willson Peale, sculptor William Rush, and other artists and business leaders. The growth of the Academy of Fine Arts was slow. For many years it held its exhibitions in an 1806 building, designed by John Dorsey with pillars of the Ionic order. It stood on the site of the later American Theater at Chestnut and 10th streets. The academy opened as a museum in 1807 and held its first exhibition in 1811, where more than 500 paintings and statues were displayed. The first school classes held in the building were with the Society of Artists in 1810.
The Academy had to be reconstructed after the fire of 1845. Some 23 years later, leaders of the academy raised funds to construct a building more worthy of its treasures. They commissioned the current Furness-Hewitt building, which was constructed from 1871. It opened as part of the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition.
In 1876, former Academy student and artist Thomas Eakins returned to teach as a volunteer. Fairman Rogers, chairman of the Committee on Instruction from 1878 to 1883, made him a faculty member in 1878, and promoted him to director in 1882. Eakins revamped the certificate curriculum to what it remains today. Students in the certificate program learn fundamentals of drawing, painting, sculpture, and printmaking (relief, intaglio, and lithography) for two years. For the next two years, they conduct independent study, guided by frequent critiques from faculty, students, and visiting artists.
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