Philadelphia Museum of Art
Pennsylvania Fine Arts Museum: History,
Acquisitions, Collection Highlights.
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Philadelphia Museum of Art |
 Nude Descending a Staircase No.2 (1912) by Marcel Duchamp. |
Philadelphia Museum of ArtContents • One
of the Largest Art Museums in America |
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BEST ART MUSEUMS
IN AMERICA |
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OTHER TOP ART MUSEUMS ART EDUCATION: PHILADELPHIA HOW TO JUDGE A PAINTING |
One of America's Largest Art Museums Established in 1876, following the Centennial Exposition, and known originally as the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is now one of the largest and best art museums in America if not the world. It stands at the western end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in the city's Fairmount Park, a site it has occupied since 1928, and is home to 200 galleries and a permanent collection in excess of 225,000 objects. The collection traces the history of Western art since the birth of Christ, and Eastern art since the third millennium BCE. Particular strengths of the collection include: an outstanding assembly of European fine art dating from the medieval era onwards; one of the finest holdings of American art in the country; the second largest assembly of arms and armour in the United States; and an exceptional collection of Asian art. Other departments are concerned with modern art and contemporary art, works on paper (drawings, prints, photographs), textile arts and ceramics. |
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TEMPORARY
EXHIBITIONS AMERICAN SCULPTURE BEST EUROPEAN GALLERIES |
The first curatorial departments were established in 1893: these were American Pottery; Numismatics; and Textiles, Lace and Embroidery. As the collections grew during the late 19th and early 20th century, new departments were added and existing ones modified under the direction of Honorary Curators. The museum's main departments now include: American Art; European Art; Modern & Contemporary Art; Prints, Drawings & Photographs; Arms & Armour; Asian Art; Costume & Textiles; Dutch Ceramics. In October 2006, plans were announced for a new 80,000-square-foot underground gallery to be built beneath the museum, although a starting date has yet to be finalised. The project is estimated to last a decade and cost $500 million. Housing mainly contemporary sculpture, Asian art, and special exhibitions, the new gallery will boost the museum's available display space by 60 percent. Meantime, the museum's 200,000 books and periodicals, and 1.6 million other reference documents are relocating across the street to the art deco former headquarters of the Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Company - now known as the Perelman Building. |
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The 225,000 items in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's permanent collection are divided into the following departments. American Art European Art 1100–1500 European Art 1500–1850 European Art 1850–1900 Sculpture highlights include group of more than 100 bronzes, marbles, and plasters created by the naturalist French sculptor Auguste Rodin, including the first bronze cast of his masterpiece, The Gates of Hell (1880-1917). Other late-19th century treasures include furniture and wallpaper designs by William Morris; a collection of Art Nouveau furniture, glass, and ceramics.
Modern & Contemporary Art (1900-present) Prints, Drawings & Photographs (c.1500-present) Arms & Armour Asian Art (c.2,000 BCE - present) Costume & Textiles All these works make it one of the best art museums in America. |
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• For details of the development of
painting and sculpture, see: History of
Art.
Art
Types |
