Philadelphia is a well-known arts hub, boasting more public art than any other American city, and home to a vast number of art museums and galleries. It is a city which is sure to satisfy any aesthete and with a number of high-profile exhibitions coming to Philadelphia over the next few months, now is the time to plan your next visit.
Art in Museums
The majestic Benjamin Franklin Parkway which was modelled after the Champs-Élysées in Paris, is dubbed Philadelphia’s “Museum Mile”. Here you will find most of the city’s premier cultural institutions including the Philadelphia Museum of Art which last year unveiled 90,000 square feet of new and reimagined public and exhibition space as part of the Frank Gehry-led Core Project. Included in the project are a reimagined West Entrance and Lenfest Hall, a new multilevel Forum space and 20,000 square feet of new gallery space, including new early American art and modern and contemporary galleries — marking the largest installation of new exhibition space since the building opened in 1928.
Matisse in the 1930s will be showing at the Philadelphia Museum of Art from 20th October 2022 to 29th January 2023. A visit to Philadelphia in 1930 inspired Matisse to develop a new creative approach and outlook. This will be the first exhibit to ever be dedicated to that pivotal decade in his art, showing more than 100 of Matisse’s works, including renowned and rarely seen paintings and sculptures, drawings, prints, and illustrated books.
Coming to the Barnes Foundation later this year is Modigliani Up Close, showing from 16th October 2022 to 29th January 2023, the exhibition takes a close look at how Modigliani created his works, which are portraits and nudes often characterised by a surreal elongation of faces and necks.
Towards the eastern end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway is the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts which was founded in 1805 by Charles Wilson Peale. It is the first and oldest art museum and art school in the United States. The museum houses a renowned collection of American paintings from the 1760s to the present although it is best known internationally for its collections of 19th and 20th century paintings, sculptures and works on paper.
Moore College of Art and Design was founded in 1848 as the first and only women’s visual arts college in the United States. The Galleries at Moore introduce the work of significant regional, national and international artists through exhibitions and educational programs.
Public Art
Philadelphia is home to the USA’s largest public art program, dedicated to the belief that creativity can ignite change and offer travellers to the city the opportunity to see outdoor murals on guided and self-guided tours, by foot or by segway. Over 4,000 murals can be found throughout the City of Philadelphia, making it the “Mural Capital of the World.” Mural Arts Philadelphia started as an anti-graffiti program in 1984 and has grown to be an international leader having activated some of Philadelphia’s most unassuming locations and repurposing public spaces.
The huge amount of public art is thanks to a number of organisations. The Association for Public Art was founded in Philadelphia in 1872 and is the country’s first private entity dedicated to public art. Its mission is to commission, preserve, interpret and promote public art in the city. The Association has created six self-guided tours which are free to download here
The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority’s Percent for Art Program, which was established in 1959, resulted in the city becoming the first in the nation to require most property developers to dedicate a percentage (about one percent) of the project’s construction budget to commission a new piece of art. The program has resulted in more than 650 works that can be found throughout the city and include sculptures on public streets, paintings that brighten underground subway stations and unusual light displays.
As well as sculpture and murals, more unusual public art found in Philadelphia includes mosaic, the most prominent local artist in this medium being Isaiah Zagar who has been creating public mosaics since the 1960’s, his largest work being Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens which spans three city lots, the equivalent to half a block.
Overnight accommodation in a Traditional King room at ideally located Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel costs from £221 ($279) per night.
