On May 7, 2021, the Philadelphia Museum of Art unveils to the public the culmination of two decades of planning, design, and construction: a project by the celebrated architect Frank Gehry that represents a major milestone in the renovation, reorganization, and interior expansion of the museum’s landmark 1928 building. Called the Core Project because it has focused on the renewal of the museum’s infrastructure and has opened up the very heart of the main building, its completion after four years of construction represents an enormous step forward for the museum.

The scope of the Core Project comprises nearly 90,000 square feet of reimagined and newly created space within the main building, all of which is ADA compliant and energy efficient. It includes a rebuilt West Terrace, now the Robbi and Bruce Toll Terrace, with integrated ramps to facilitate access for all visitors; a renovated Lenfest Hall, which has long served as the principal entrance to the museum; a new public space, the Williams Forum, which will serve as the setting for a wide range of activities and will connect the ground floor of the museum to its upper levels; and the Vaulted Walkway, a grand 640-foot long corridor that spans the entire breadth of the building and has not been open to the public for nearly 50 years.

In addition, areas once devoted to offices, the museum’s restaurant, and retail operation have been converted into two new suites of galleries totaling 20,000 square feet of exhibition space. One of these, the Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries, is devoted to telling a broader and more inclusive narrative of the development of early American art centered on the prominent role played by Philadelphia in this story. The other, the Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries, focusing on the creative spirit of Philadelphia today, presents an exhibition of the work of 25 contemporary artists with ties to the city and speaks to many of the most pressing issues of our time. To celebrate the completion of the Core Project, the museum will welcome visitors on a special pay-what-you-wish basis, starting Friday, May 7, through Monday, May 10, the historic date when the museum first opened to the public in 1877. In addition, Senga Nengudi: Topologies, the first major special exhibition to be presented in the museum in more than a year, will be on view in the Dorrance Galleries, and the Rodin Museum will reopen to the public for the first time since March 2020.

Leslie Anne Miller, Chair of the museum’s Board of Trustees, notes, “This is an investment in Philadelphia. It is critically important not only for one of this city’s most significant cultural assets, but also for the future of the city. It is vital to our economic recovery, but the value of its impact will only become fully evident over time. I am especially eager to see us reconnect with schools and communities and to welcome families back to the museum. We also recognize how significant the museum is as a destination for visitors to our city, and believe that the Core Project and the exhibitions and programs we present in the coming years will play a valuable role in encouraging the renewal and, ultimately, the growth of tourism.”

Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer, states, “What we have achieved through the completion of the Core Project represents the work of many hands, from architects and engineers to steel workers and stonemasons. Our deepest thanks go to everyone involved with the construction, to our dedicated staff and volunteers, to the many public officials who have assisted us with this work, and to our donors. The value of Frank Gehry’s brilliant plan for the renewal and improvement of this great building will be clear for everyone to see and appreciate. It both honors the past, respecting the character of this great building, and at the same time offers a compelling vision of the future.”

Scope of the Core Project

The scope of work has fully preserved the building’s temple-like exterior and picturesque setting, taking place largely within. The museum’s uppermost public levels—the second floor with its galleries dedicated to Impressionism and modern and contemporary art; the Great Stair Hall, where the monumental bronze Diana arches her bow; and the third floor’s European and Asian collections—have remained largely untouched. Gehry and his team have focused downward, to the level of the streets surrounding the hill upon which the museum is built, called Fairmount. From this height, the building overlooks the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, lined by sycamore trees, to which thousands come each year to ascend the so-called “Rocky Steps” up to the East Terrace. Focusing on the lower levels of the museum, the Gehry team opened up long-closed or underutilized back-of-house spaces on the first floor and ground level, and returned them, fully restored and reenvisioned, to public use. An early result of this plan was revealed in 2019, when the Kelly Drive-facing North Entrance opened to much fanfare, for the first time in decades. The lower level, where the building’s electrical and mechanical systems are housed, has also been extensively renovated.

From the outset, Gehry and the museum were determined to honor the building’s original architectural language and materials; notably, they used throughout the same golden-hued Kasota limestone, sourced from the same quarries in a small town in southern Minnesota that supplied it for the construction of the 1928 building. As Gehry puts it: “The goal in all of our work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art has been to let the museum guide our hand. The brilliant architects who came before us created a strong and intelligent design that we have tried to respect, and in some cases accentuate. Our overarching goal has been to create spaces for art and for people.” So while the project renovations feature new galleries and a dramatic multistory “forum” space, they also reveal more of the work of the original architects: Horace Trumbauer and his chief designer, the African American architect Julian Abele; and their partner firm of Zantzinger, Borie, and Medary. For instance, this phase marks the reopening of the entire length of the original Vaulted Walkway, which will take visitors across the building’s entire length from north to south on the ground level.

New Core Project Spaces in Detail

Williams Forum (ground level through lower level to first floor)

Gehry Partners have now reestablished the central east-west axis of the ‘U’ shaped building scheme by removing the auditorium and by opening the vertical circulation at the center of the building. It is in this space the architectural team has created the Williams Forum, a new public space that rises 40 feet from the ground level up to an elegantly curved ceiling just below the floor of the Great Stair Hall, named in recognition of the remarkable generosity of Board Chair Emerita Constance Hess Williams—who remains an active trustee—and her husband Sankey Williams, to celebrate their gifts toward the Core Project, endowment, and many other museum priorities over the past decade. Visitors arriving at the North Entrance will discover it via the Vaulted Walkway, as they walk past the Main Store and Espresso Bar. Arriving through the West Entrance, they will encounter the Forum on the first floor as they pass through Lenfest Hall into the Gallery that surrounds this space. The Forum Gallery, in turn, leads to the suites of new exhibition galleries on Level 1 that will feature the reinstallation of the museum’s holdings of American art to 1850 in the Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries, and an inaugural exhibition titled New Grit: Art & Philly Now in the new suite of galleries that will be devoted to the display of modern and contemporary art, the Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries.

A Signature Touch

As visitors walk through Lenfest Hall, they will encounter two new glass and stone staircases leading up to the Great Stair Hall, their curving forms accentuating the building’s central axis. Beyond these lies the Williams Forum, which can be reached by an extraordinary new staircase, likewise clad in Kasota stone and framed in glass rails capped with patinated bronze. Cantilevering outward as it descends, the staircase first curves back on itself and then curves outwards again as it reaches the floor of the Forum, creating a dramatic, almost Piranesi-like visual interplay of sculptural form that animates this new public space.

A Space for Community and Art

The Williams Forum will function as a lively public space, housing large-scale art installations, programs, and, as the pandemic wanes, other gatherings. Its slightly domed white-toned plaster ceiling and curving east wall enliven the space and serve as a nod to the arched forms of the Vaulted Walkway on the ground level that is bisected by the Forum. As visitors enter, they will immediately encounter Fire (United States of the Americas) (2017/2020), a large-scale work by the renowned American artist Teresita Fernández. This promised gift to the museum by trustee Hilarie Morgan and her husband, Mitchell, is the first in a series of installations planned for this space. Installed on the east wall, Fire (United States of the Americas) is a rendering of a map of the United States, each of its states and territories assembled from pieces of charcoal. Posing questions about what constitutes America, it points to the cycles of destruction and regeneration on which the history of this country is built.

Williams Forum: 45 ft across (N/S) x 85 ft long (E/W) x 40 ft highKasota stone floors and wall cladding; level five finished plaster ceiling and gallery walls.

South Vaulted Walkway (ground level)

When the North Entrance was opened two years ago, less than half of the Vaulted Walkway was made accessible to visitors. Bisected by the Forum, its full-length now completes a pathway to the south end of the building. Although visitors strolling the walkway may admire the restored, luminous Guastavino tilework overhead and the graceful vaulted forms of its arcade, what they will not be able to see, tucked below new stone pavers underfoot, is the remarkable array of new steam pipes, water lines, and conduits for electricity and digital communications that serve the entire building and represent a significant investment in the museum’s infrastructure.

South Hall (ground level)

At the southern end of the Vaulted Walkway is one of the building’s historic hidden gems, the South Hall. Once open for limited use by school groups only, it has required only a light touch by Gehry Partners, such as a new coffered ceiling and LED lighting, cleaning, and repointing of the stone surfaces, and a new Kasota stone floor. It will be especially well-suited to large scale sculpture, installations, or video projections, and will also serve as a venue for events and programmatic activities. This magnificent space was originally designed to serve as one of the building’s four entrances—North, South, East, and West—but was never placed into full service. Now, like the Williams Forum, it will become a site for community use and artistic activities. It will be installed with Nuria (2017), a large head—twelve feet in height—by the Spanish artist Jaume Plensa made of stainless steel mesh, a recent gift from Aileen and Brian Roberts.

Two levels, ADA compliant lift: Upper level is 39’-6”(N/S) x 21’-6” (E/W), lower level is 39’-6”(N/S) x 30’-0” (E/W)

Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries of Early American Art (first floor)

Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries of Modern and Contemporary Art (first floor)

Visitors coming through the West Entrance will have easy access to the new Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries of Early American Art and the new Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries of Modern and Contemporary Art. The Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries to the south side of the Forum Gallery occupy the former location of small galleries, the museum store, and restaurant, which was replaced in 2018 by the new Gehry-designed restaurant called Stir, while the Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries on the north side replace administrative offices and the space once occupied by the museum’s library, now in the Perelman Building. The team removed the steep ramps leading to the central corridors in each of these wings and moved the corridors, now ADA compliant, to the east to provide visitors with views of the East Terrace and the skyline of the city beyond. These changes provide an additional 20,000 square feet of new space for the display of the museum’s collection and special exhibitions. The walls of the corridor running the length of the new Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries of Modern and Contemporary Art will feature Walls of Change (2021), a brightly colored mural composed of abstract forms by Odili Donald Odita commissioned by the museum. The Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries are named for the late Robert L. McNeil, Jr., longtime trustee and champion of the museum’s American Art department. He was a collector and philanthropist who entrusted the museum with many works of art from his collection, including the art of the Peale family, furniture, silver, and presidential china, which will be on view in these spaces, and who made a major gift in support of the creation of these galleries. The Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries are named for the late Daniel W. Dietrich II, philanthropist and art collector, whose bequest in 2016 left the museum a number of contemporary works from his collection and an endowment gift to support a range of initiatives in the field of contemporary art.

Inaugural installations

More than 800 works will fill the Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries in a magisterial and provocative survey of early American art that explores the many forces that shaped it and left an indelible record of encounter, innovation, and exchange, from William Penn’s early meetings with the indigenous Lenape people to the zealously expansionist period of Manifest Destiny in the middle decades of the 19th century. With its focus on urgent ideas generated and inspired by our city’s artistic community today, New Grit: Art & Philly Now will fill the Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries with an array of 25 voices that underscore the significant role of artistic experimentation in the resilient spirit of Philadelphia, which has been a hotbed for a vibrant and continually expanding contemporary art scene. Both suites of galleries are equipped to support a wide range of multimedia needs, with state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure.

A Newly Renovated Lenfest Hall (first floor)

Just inside the West Entrance, Lenfest Hall has now become more open and light-filled, with its Kasota stone walls and columns cleaned, and a new coffered ceiling with integrated LED lighting. The small vestibule that visitors encountered when coming into the West Entrance has now been integrated into Lenfest Hall, and the conversion of storage areas on the floor below has provided sufficient space for new and much larger and fully accessible bathrooms.

Two large-scale plaster bas-reliefs, The Race of Atalanta and Hippomenes and The Triumph of Flora, by Joseph Deschamps (French, 1743-88), which have been situated high in the balconies on the north and south walls since the museum’s opening in 1928, have been newly restored and stabilized, and a newly installed wall sculpture, Generation (1988) by the distinguished American artist Martin Puryear, will grace the wall at the threshold between Lenfest Hall and the Forum Gallery.

Lenfest Hall will also be furnished with gently curving, Gehry-designed admissions desks, with warm Douglas fir surfaces and bronze counters. The twin balconies will house the museum’s new Members Lounge, which will also be used for community groups, and a refurbished Balcony Café, both ADA accessible. The Members Lounge will contain a coffee bar and comfortable seating; the Café will offer espresso, teas, drinks, and light fare, served from a Gehry-designed millwork countertop. Both balconies will now open out to the newly accessible West Portico. During fair weather, visitors will be able head outside to the portico for views of rowers on the Schuylkill River, of Lemon Hill, Boathouse Row, Fairmount Park including a distant view of the copper dome of the museum’s original home, Memorial Hall, and, perhaps, catch the sunset over a glass of wine.

Dimensions: 69’-6” (N/S) x 49’-9” (E/W)

Robbi and Bruce Toll Terrace and the West Entrance

Gehry Partners have left the exterior of the museum largely untouched, but the West Terrace reveals subtle but much-needed changes. A gently graded ADA-compliant ramp has been elegantly integrated into the terrace itself, which has been rebuilt with new Kasota stone steps and walls, resurfaced with new granite paving, improved with new lighting, digital signage, and three new bronze and glass entrance vestibules. As visitors approach the building, in warm weather months they may see people overhead, strolling the nearly 100-foot length of the portico, and passing between the tall columns that tower above the West Entrance. The Robbi and Bruce Toll Terrace has been named in recognition of the generosity of longtime museum trustee Bruce Toll and his wife, Robbi.

The Facilities Master Plan

The museum’s Facilities Master Plan, approved by the Board of Trustees in 2004, was designed as a comprehensive, multi-phased plan to be carried out in stages and implemented as time and resources have permitted. The completion of this latest phase of the Master Plan ($233 M) will enable the museum to achieve a number of ambitious goals for the display of its collections, for educational activities and public programs, and for improved public access and community engagement. It replaces many antiquated building systems, hidden from view, with state-of-the art HVAC systems and chillers now provide optimal ventilation and temperature/humidity control; fiber optic and ethernet connections allow for the flexible use of technologies throughout the space; and upgraded electrical, security, and fire protection systems that will serve to bring this historic structure up to date.

Gail Harrity, the museum’s President, has led each step of the Master Plan working closely with late Director and fomer CEO Anne d’Harnoncourt and the Board of Trustees, and generated a plan to return sections of the landmark building to public use, a process that began at the turn of this century. Harrity said, “It was following a long and thoughtful assessment of the museum’s long-term collection needs and desire to enhance the visitor experience, when we announced, in 2006, our selection of Frank Gehry as architect.” Harrity completed the concept and schematic design process working with d’Harnoncourt, and later, final designs with Timothy Rub, Director and CEO since fall 2009. “We essentially emptied the landmark building of non-public facing activities by relocating collections storage, conservation studios, and staff offices. It wasn’t until the addition of offsite collections storage, a new landscaped parking garage and sculpture garden, and the creation of a state-of-the-art art handling facility on the south side of the building that we were able to break ground in 2017 on the Core Project. And it will shortly come to completion.“

In a closely integrated parallel project, the museum advanced a significant program of energy conservation and other sustainability improvements, working closely with officials of the City of Philadelphia, which owns the building, the Philadelphia Energy Authority, and Johnson Controls. The program guarantees major reductions in electricity, steam and water use and has included the installation of LED lighting throughout the building (some 11,000 bulbs replaced); upgrades to the steam heating system; a new high efficiency chiller; improvements to air handling units; building automation upgrades; and an innovative system to repurpose waste condensate from steam used in heating and humidification which reduces both water consumption and the discharge to the city’s sewer system. This work was completed in 2020.

The museum will pause before it undertakes the next phases of the Facilities Master Plan, which call for the construction of a new auditorium to be located under the Toll Terrace and accessed from the North Entrance; new high ceiling galleries for contemporary art and special exhibitions underneath the East Terrace, graced with a sunlit oculus and sunken gardens; expanded educational facilities and a learning center, adding to the classroom spaces for school visits that were opened in 2019; the renovation of galleries on the second and third floors; and the repurposing of the attic of the museum’s main pavilion into meeting and public spaces that will provide spectacular views of Center City and Fairmount Park.

Facilities Master Plan Timeline (2000–Present)

2000

Museum acquires the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, across Kelly Drive, providing a first step to new space allocation planning in the main building as well as new galleries for the public.

2004

The long-range Facilities Master Plan is approved by the Board of Trustees and the City of Philadelphia.

2006

Museum selects architect Frank O. Gehry to design, renovate and renovate the Museum’s landmark main building.

2007

Museum opens the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building to the public. Fully renovated and expanded by architect Richard Gluckman, the building contains new galleries, and houses collections storage, the museum’s library and archives, conservation studios, and staff offices formerly situated in the main building.

2009

Museum completes its new landscaped parking facility and its green rooftop sculpture garden designed by OLIN and Atkin, Olshin Schade architects.

Museum completes works with Vitetta, historic restoration architects, to restore the main building’s entire exterior envelope, including its four-acre tile roof, stonework, its polychromed decoration and historic Tiffany grille windows.

2012

Museum completes the first phase of Frank Gehry’s plans to renovate and expand the landmark main building with a new state-of-the-art art handling facility, called the “Keystone Project,” which also relocates a loading dock to the south side of the building, enabling the eventual renewed public use of the building’s historic Vaulted Walkway.

2017

Museum announces groundbreaking for the Gehry-led Core Project.

2018

On the first floor, the museum opens the new café and Stir, the only Gehry-designed restaurant for fine dining on the East Coast.

2019

Museum opens the historic North Entrance for the first time since 1975, unveiling a new North Lobby, education studios, a main store, espresso bar, and a restored section of its distinctive Vaulted Walkway.

2021 (May)

Core Project is completed.

About Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry has built an architectural career that spans over six decades. Gehry received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Southern California in 1954, and studied city planning at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Born in Toronto and based in Los Angeles since 1947, Gehry has produced public and private buildings across America, Europe, and Asia. Hallmarks of Gehry’s work include a concern that people exist comfortably within the spaces that he creates, and an insistence that his buildings address the context and culture of their sites.

Gehry’s was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1974, and his buildings have received more than 100 national and regional AIA awards. In 1989, he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize, honoring “significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.” Internationally, Gehry has been honored with myriad awards, including the French government’s National Order of the Legion of Honor, Chevalier, and was later elevated to the rank of Commandeur of the National Order of the Legion of Honor. He was honored with the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 Venice Biennale. In 2014, he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts in Oviedo, Spain. He has received honorary doctoral degrees from a few universities, and has held teaching positions at Harvard University, the University of Southern California, the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, and Yale University.

Social Media @philamuseum

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For additional information, contact the Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art by phone at 215-684-7860, by fax at 215-235-0050, or by e-mail at pressroom@philamuseum.org. The Museum is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call 215-763-8100.

The scope of the Core Project comprises nearly 90,000 square feet of reimagined and newly created space within the main building, all of which is ADA compliant and energy efficient. It includes a rebuilt West Terrace, now the Robbi and Bruce Toll Terrace, with integrated ramps to facilitate access for all visitors; a renovated Lenfest Hall, which has long served as the principal entrance to the museum; a new public space, the Williams Forum, which will serve as the setting for a wide range of activities and will connect the ground floor of the museum to its upper levels; and the Vaulted Walkway, a grand 640-foot long corridor that spans the entire breadth of the building and has not been open to the public for nearly 50 years.

In addition, areas once devoted to offices, the museum’s restaurant, and retail operation have been converted into two new suites of galleries totaling 20,000 square feet of exhibition space. One of these, the Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries, is devoted to telling a broader and more inclusive narrative of the development of early American art centered on the prominent role played by Philadelphia in this story. The other, the Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries, focusing on the creative spirit of Philadelphia today, presents an exhibition of the work of 25 contemporary artists with ties to the city and speaks to many of the most pressing issues of our time. To celebrate the completion of the Core Project, the museum will welcome visitors on a special pay-what-you-wish basis, starting Friday, May 7, through Monday, May 10, the historic date when the museum first opened to the public in 1877. In addition, Senga Nengudi: Topologies, the first major special exhibition to be presented in the museum in more than a year, will be on view in the Dorrance Galleries, and the Rodin Museum will reopen to the public for the first time since March 2020.

Leslie Anne Miller, Chair of the museum’s Board of Trustees, notes, “This is an investment in Philadelphia. It is critically important not only for one of this city’s most significant cultural assets, but also for the future of the city. It is vital to our economic recovery, but the value of its impact will only become fully evident over time. I am especially eager to see us reconnect with schools and communities and to welcome families back to the museum. We also recognize how significant the museum is as a destination for visitors to our city, and believe that the Core Project and the exhibitions and programs we present in the coming years will play a valuable role in encouraging the renewal and, ultimately, the growth of tourism.”

Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer, states, “What we have achieved through the completion of the Core Project represents the work of many hands, from architects and engineers to steel workers and stonemasons. Our deepest thanks go to everyone involved with the construction, to our dedicated staff and volunteers, to the many public officials who have assisted us with this work, and to our donors. The value of Frank Gehry’s brilliant plan for the renewal and improvement of this great building will be clear for everyone to see and appreciate. It both honors the past, respecting the character of this great building, and at the same time offers a compelling vision of the future.”

Scope of the Core Project

The scope of work has fully preserved the building’s temple-like exterior and picturesque setting, taking place largely within. The museum’s uppermost public levels—the second floor with its galleries dedicated to Impressionism and modern and contemporary art; the Great Stair Hall, where the monumental bronze Diana arches her bow; and the third floor’s European and Asian collections—have remained largely untouched. Gehry and his team have focused downward, to the level of the streets surrounding the hill upon which the museum is built, called Fairmount. From this height, the building overlooks the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, lined by sycamore trees, to which thousands come each year to ascend the so-called “Rocky Steps” up to the East Terrace. Focusing on the lower levels of the museum, the Gehry team opened up long-closed or underutilized back-of-house spaces on the first floor and ground level, and returned them, fully restored and reenvisioned, to public use. An early result of this plan was revealed in 2019, when the Kelly Drive-facing North Entrance opened to much fanfare, for the first time in decades. The lower level, where the building’s electrical and mechanical systems are housed, has also been extensively renovated.

From the outset, Gehry and the museum were determined to honor the building’s original architectural language and materials; notably, they used throughout the same golden-hued Kasota limestone, sourced from the same quarries in a small town in southern Minnesota that supplied it for the construction of the 1928 building. As Gehry puts it: “The goal in all of our work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art has been to let the museum guide our hand. The brilliant architects who came before us created a strong and intelligent design that we have tried to respect, and in some cases accentuate. Our overarching goal has been to create spaces for art and for people.” So while the project renovations feature new galleries and a dramatic multistory “forum” space, they also reveal more of the work of the original architects: Horace Trumbauer and his chief designer, the African American architect Julian Abele; and their partner firm of Zantzinger, Borie, and Medary. For instance, this phase marks the reopening of the entire length of the original Vaulted Walkway, which will take visitors across the building’s entire length from north to south on the ground level.

New Core Project Spaces in Detail

Williams Forum (ground level through lower level to first floor)

Gehry Partners have now reestablished the central east-west axis of the ‘U’ shaped building scheme by removing the auditorium and by opening the vertical circulation at the center of the building. It is in this space the architectural team has created the Williams Forum, a new public space that rises 40 feet from the ground level up to an elegantly curved ceiling just below the floor of the Great Stair Hall, named in recognition of the remarkable generosity of Board Chair Emerita Constance Hess Williams—who remains an active trustee—and her husband Sankey Williams, to celebrate their gifts toward the Core Project, endowment, and many other museum priorities over the past decade. Visitors arriving at the North Entrance will discover it via the Vaulted Walkway, as they walk past the Main Store and Espresso Bar. Arriving through the West Entrance, they will encounter the Forum on the first floor as they pass through Lenfest Hall into the Gallery that surrounds this space. The Forum Gallery, in turn, leads to the suites of new exhibition galleries on Level 1 that will feature the reinstallation of the museum’s holdings of American art to 1850 in the Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries, and an inaugural exhibition titled New Grit: Art & Philly Now in the new suite of galleries that will be devoted to the display of modern and contemporary art, the Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries.

A Signature Touch

As visitors walk through Lenfest Hall, they will encounter two new glass and stone staircases leading up to the Great Stair Hall, their curving forms accentuating the building’s central axis. Beyond these lies the Williams Forum, which can be reached by an extraordinary new staircase, likewise clad in Kasota stone and framed in glass rails capped with patinated bronze. Cantilevering outward as it descends, the staircase first curves back on itself and then curves outwards again as it reaches the floor of the Forum, creating a dramatic, almost Piranesi-like visual interplay of sculptural form that animates this new public space.

A Space for Community and Art

The Williams Forum will function as a lively public space, housing large-scale art installations, programs, and, as the pandemic wanes, other gatherings. Its slightly domed white-toned plaster ceiling and curving east wall enliven the space and serve as a nod to the arched forms of the Vaulted Walkway on the ground level that is bisected by the Forum. As visitors enter, they will immediately encounter Fire (United States of the Americas) (2017/2020), a large-scale work by the renowned American artist Teresita Fernández. This promised gift to the museum by trustee Hilarie Morgan and her husband, Mitchell, is the first in a series of installations planned for this space. Installed on the east wall, Fire (United States of the Americas) is a rendering of a map of the United States, each of its states and territories assembled from pieces of charcoal. Posing questions about what constitutes America, it points to the cycles of destruction and regeneration on which the history of this country is built.

Williams Forum: 45 ft across (N/S) x 85 ft long (E/W) x 40 ft high
Kasota stone floors and wall cladding; level five finished plaster ceiling and gallery walls.

South Vaulted Walkway (ground level)

When the North Entrance was opened two years ago, less than half of the Vaulted Walkway was made accessible to visitors. Bisected by the Forum, its full-length now completes a pathway to the south end of the building. Although visitors strolling the walkway may admire the restored, luminous Guastavino tilework overhead and the graceful vaulted forms of its arcade, what they will not be able to see, tucked below new stone pavers underfoot, is the remarkable array of new steam pipes, water lines, and conduits for electricity and digital communications that serve the entire building and represent a significant investment in the museum’s infrastructure.

South Hall (ground level)

At the southern end of the Vaulted Walkway is one of the building’s historic hidden gems, the South Hall. Once open for limited use by school groups only, it has required only a light touch by Gehry Partners, such as a new coffered ceiling and LED lighting, cleaning, and repointing of the stone surfaces, and a new Kasota stone floor. It will be especially well-suited to large scale sculpture, installations, or video projections, and will also serve as a venue for events and programmatic activities. This magnificent space was originally designed to serve as one of the building’s four entrances—North, South, East, and West—but was never placed into full service. Now, like the Williams Forum, it will become a site for community use and artistic activities. It will be installed with Nuria (2017), a large head—twelve feet in height—by the Spanish artist Jaume Plensa made of stainless steel mesh, a recent gift from Aileen and Brian Roberts.

Two levels, ADA compliant lift: Upper level is 39’-6”(N/S) x 21’-6” (E/W), lower level is 39’-6”(N/S) x 30’-0” (E/W)

Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries of Early American Art (first floor)

Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries of Modern and Contemporary Art (first floor)

Visitors coming through the West Entrance will have easy access to the new Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries of Early American Art and the new Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries of Modern and Contemporary Art. The Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries to the south side of the Forum Gallery occupy the former location of small galleries, the museum store, and restaurant, which was replaced in 2018 by the new Gehry-designed restaurant called Stir, while the Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries on the north side replace administrative offices and the space once occupied by the museum’s library, now in the Perelman Building. The team removed the steep ramps leading to the central corridors in each of these wings and moved the corridors, now ADA compliant, to the east to provide visitors with views of the East Terrace and the skyline of the city beyond. These changes provide an additional 20,000 square feet of new space for the display of the museum’s collection and special exhibitions. The walls of the corridor running the length of the new Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries of Modern and Contemporary Art will feature Walls of Change (2021), a brightly colored mural composed of abstract forms by Odili Donald Odita commissioned by the museum. The Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries are named for the late Robert L. McNeil, Jr., longtime trustee and champion of the museum’s American Art department. He was a collector and philanthropist who entrusted the museum with many works of art from his collection, including the art of the Peale family, furniture, silver, and presidential china, which will be on view in these spaces, and who made a major gift in support of the creation of these galleries. The Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries are named for the late Daniel W. Dietrich II, philanthropist and art collector, whose bequest in 2016 left the museum a number of contemporary works from his collection and an endowment gift to support a range of initiatives in the field of contemporary art.

Inaugural installations

More than 800 works will fill the Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Galleries in a magisterial and provocative survey of early American art that explores the many forces that shaped it and left an indelible record of encounter, innovation, and exchange, from William Penn’s early meetings with the indigenous Lenape people to the zealously expansionist period of Manifest Destiny in the middle decades of the 19th century. With its focus on urgent ideas generated and inspired by our city’s artistic community today, New Grit: Art & Philly Now will fill the Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries with an array of 25 voices that underscore the significant role of artistic experimentation in the resilient spirit of Philadelphia, which has been a hotbed for a vibrant and continually expanding contemporary art scene. Both suites of galleries are equipped to support a wide range of multimedia needs, with state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure.

A Newly Renovated Lenfest Hall (first floor)

Just inside the West Entrance, Lenfest Hall has now become more open and light-filled, with its Kasota stone walls and columns cleaned, and a new coffered ceiling with integrated LED lighting. The small vestibule that visitors encountered when coming into the West Entrance has now been integrated into Lenfest Hall, and the conversion of storage areas on the floor below has provided sufficient space for new and much larger and fully accessible bathrooms.

Two large-scale plaster bas-reliefs, The Race of Atalanta and Hippomenes and The Triumph of Flora, by Joseph Deschamps (French, 1743-88), which have been situated high in the balconies on the north and south walls since the museum’s opening in 1928, have been newly restored and stabilized, and a newly installed wall sculpture, Generation (1988) by the distinguished American artist Martin Puryear, will grace the wall at the threshold between Lenfest Hall and the Forum Gallery.

Lenfest Hall will also be furnished with gently curving, Gehry-designed admissions desks, with warm Douglas fir surfaces and bronze counters. The twin balconies will house the museum’s new Members Lounge, which will also be used for community groups, and a refurbished Balcony Café, both ADA accessible. The Members Lounge will contain a coffee bar and comfortable seating; the Café will offer espresso, teas, drinks, and light fare, served from a Gehry-designed millwork countertop. Both balconies will now open out to the newly accessible West Portico. During fair weather, visitors will be able head outside to the portico for views of rowers on the Schuylkill River, of Lemon Hill, Boathouse Row, Fairmount Park including a distant view of the copper dome of the museum’s original home, Memorial Hall, and, perhaps, catch the sunset over a glass of wine.

Dimensions: 69’-6” (N/S) x 49’-9” (E/W)

Robbi and Bruce Toll Terrace and the West Entrance

Gehry Partners have left the exterior of the museum largely untouched, but the West Terrace reveals subtle but much-needed changes. A gently graded ADA-compliant ramp has been elegantly integrated into the terrace itself, which has been rebuilt with new Kasota stone steps and walls, resurfaced with new granite paving, improved with new lighting, digital signage, and three new bronze and glass entrance vestibules. As visitors approach the building, in warm weather months they may see people overhead, strolling the nearly 100-foot length of the portico, and passing between the tall columns that tower above the West Entrance. The Robbi and Bruce Toll Terrace has been named in recognition of the generosity of longtime museum trustee Bruce Toll and his wife, Robbi.

The Facilities Master Plan

The museum’s Facilities Master Plan, approved by the Board of Trustees in 2004, was designed as a comprehensive, multi-phased plan to be carried out in stages and implemented as time and resources have permitted. The completion of this latest phase of the Master Plan ($233 M) will enable the museum to achieve a number of ambitious goals for the display of its collections, for educational activities and public programs, and for improved public access and community engagement. It replaces many antiquated building systems, hidden from view, with state-of-the art HVAC systems and chillers now provide optimal ventilation and temperature/humidity control; fiber optic and ethernet connections allow for the flexible use of technologies throughout the space; and upgraded electrical, security, and fire protection systems that will serve to bring this historic structure up to date.

Gail Harrity, the museum’s President, has led each step of the Master Plan working closely with late Director and fomer CEO Anne d’Harnoncourt and the Board of Trustees, and generated a plan to return sections of the landmark building to public use, a process that began at the turn of this century. Harrity said, “It was following a long and thoughtful assessment of the museum’s long-term collection needs and desire to enhance the visitor experience, when we announced, in 2006, our selection of Frank Gehry as architect.” Harrity completed the concept and schematic design process working with d’Harnoncourt, and later, final designs with Timothy Rub, Director and CEO since fall 2009. “We essentially emptied the landmark building of non-public facing activities by relocating collections storage, conservation studios, and staff offices. It wasn’t until the addition of offsite collections storage, a new landscaped parking garage and sculpture garden, and the creation of a state-of-the-art art handling facility on the south side of the building that we were able to break ground in 2017 on the Core Project. And it will shortly come to completion.“

In a closely integrated parallel project, the museum advanced a significant program of energy conservation and other sustainability improvements, working closely with officials of the City of Philadelphia, which owns the building, the Philadelphia Energy Authority, and Johnson Controls. The program guarantees major reductions in electricity, steam and water use and has included the installation of LED lighting throughout the building (some 11,000 bulbs replaced); upgrades to the steam heating system; a new high efficiency chiller; improvements to air handling units; building automation upgrades; and an innovative system to repurpose waste condensate from steam used in heating and humidification which reduces both water consumption and the discharge to the city’s sewer system. This work was completed in 2020.

The museum will pause before it undertakes the next phases of the Facilities Master Plan, which call for the construction of a new auditorium to be located under the Toll Terrace and accessed from the North Entrance; new high ceiling galleries for contemporary art and special exhibitions underneath the East Terrace, graced with a sunlit oculus and sunken gardens; expanded educational facilities and a learning center, adding to the classroom spaces for school visits that were opened in 2019; the renovation of galleries on the second and third floors; and the repurposing of the attic of the museum’s main pavilion into meeting and public spaces that will provide spectacular views of Center City and Fairmount Park.

Facilities Master Plan Timeline (2000–Present)

2000

Museum acquires the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, across Kelly Drive, providing a first step to new space allocation planning in the main building as well as new galleries for the public.

2004

The long-range Facilities Master Plan is approved by the Board of Trustees and the City of Philadelphia.

2006

Museum selects architect Frank O. Gehry to design, renovate and renovate the Museum’s landmark main building.

2007

Museum opens the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building to the public. Fully renovated and expanded by architect Richard Gluckman, the building contains new galleries, and houses collections storage, the museum’s library and archives, conservation studios, and staff offices formerly situated in the main building.

2009

Museum completes its new landscaped parking facility and its green rooftop sculpture garden designed by OLIN and Atkin, Olshin Schade architects.

Museum completes works with Vitetta, historic restoration architects, to restore the main building’s entire exterior envelope, including its four-acre tile roof, stonework, its polychromed decoration and historic Tiffany grille windows.

2012

Museum completes the first phase of Frank Gehry’s plans to renovate and expand the landmark main building with a new state-of-the-art art handling facility, called the “Keystone Project,” which also relocates a loading dock to the south side of the building, enabling the eventual renewed public use of the building’s historic Vaulted Walkway.

2017

Museum announces groundbreaking for the Gehry-led Core Project.

2018

On the first floor, the museum opens the new café and Stir, the only Gehry-designed restaurant for fine dining on the East Coast.

2019

Museum opens the historic North Entrance for the first time since 1975, unveiling a new North Lobby, education studios, a main store, espresso bar, and a restored section of its distinctive Vaulted Walkway.

2021 (May)

Core Project is completed.

About Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry has built an architectural career that spans over six decades. Gehry received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Southern California in 1954, and studied city planning at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Born in Toronto and based in Los Angeles since 1947, Gehry has produced public and private buildings across America, Europe, and Asia. Hallmarks of Gehry’s work include a concern that people exist comfortably within the spaces that he creates, and an insistence that his buildings address the context and culture of their sites.

Gehry’s was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1974, and his buildings have received more than 100 national and regional AIA awards. In 1989, he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize, honoring “significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.” Internationally, Gehry has been honored with myriad awards, including the French government’s National Order of the Legion of Honor, Chevalier, and was later elevated to the rank of Commandeur of the National Order of the Legion of Honor. He was honored with the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 Venice Biennale. In 2014, he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts in Oviedo, Spain. He has received honorary doctoral degrees from a few universities, and has held teaching positions at Harvard University, the University of Southern California, the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, and Yale University.

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Social Media @philamuseum

We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A world-renowned collection. A landmark building. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

For additional information, contact the Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art by phone at 215-684-7860, by fax at 215-235-0050, or by e-mail at pressroom@philamuseum.org. The Museum is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call 215-763-8100.

This exhibition in the new Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries will present the expansive vision of artists who are engaged in diverse practices and use many different media such as ceramics, glass, installation, painting, photography, sculpture, fiber, and video. Comprising eight new galleries and the adjacent corridor space, New Grit will also include five new commissions. As the exhibition was planned over a multi-year period and finalized during the trials and transformations of 2020, it will reflect on the recent past through works that amplify some of the most urgent issues of our time. These include Black Lives Matter, immigration, incarceration, and re-entry. With additional works that explore memory, depict street scenes, and enact social and cultural exchange, the exhibition will explore a range of compelling narratives that speak to our sociopolitical context.

This will be the first exhibition in the new range of galleries comprising 10,000-square-feet that will be used primarily for the presentation of modern and contemporary art. They are scheduled to be unveiled in May 2021. New Grit will also offer a compelling dialogue with a new installation in another suite of new galleries that will be dedicated to the display of 18th- and 19th-century American art from the museum’s collection. Given the prominent role that this city played in the development of American art during this period, a key focus will be on art produced in Philadelphia at that time. An important component of Frank Gehry’s design for the museum’s Core Project, these galleries will represent the most significant expansion of exhibition space in the museum’s Main Building since 1928.

The works presented in New Grit will offer interdisciplinary and intergenerational perspectives on the spatial, social, and political dimensions of place. Evoking ideas of infinity, of history and time, a section called Cosmos will feature works by Howardena Pindell (b. 1943, Philadelphia), Jane Irish (b. 1955, Pittsfield, Massachusetts), and Mi-Kyoung Lee (b. 1970, Geoje City, South Korea). Another section, Crossing Boundaries, will focus on selfhood, incarceration and imagining freedom, and ruminations on the status of confederate monuments, featuring works by Jesse Krimes (b. 1982, Lancaster, Pennsylvania), Roberto Lugo (b. 1981, Philadelphia), and Wilmer Wilson IV (b. 1989, Richmond, Virginia). In Encounter & Exchange, Mohamed Bourouissa (b. 1978, Blida, Algeria), Kukuli Velarde (b. 1962, Lima, Peru), and Daniel Traub (b. 1971, Philadelphia) will examine both the immediate context and international dimensions of cultural encounters through images of the street: its passersby, processions, and urban cowboys. Another grouping will include a new commission by David Hartt (b. 1967, Montreal, Canada) and a collaborative installation of works by Eileen Neff (b. 1945, Philadelphia) and Micah Danges (b. 1979, Morgantown, West Virginia). This section, (Un)Natural Histories, will blur the real and the artificial with works that examine historical narratives and bring both abstraction and traditional landscape imagery to bear on depictions of the natural world. In The Epic & the Everyday, Tiona Nekkia McClodden (b. 1981, Blytheville, Arkansas), Jonathan Lyndon Chase (b. 1989, Philadelphia), and Ken Lum (b. 1956, Vancouver, Canada), offer works that chronicle the emotional and experiential depths of biography and daily life, both real and fictionalized.

Animation, the virtual, and the surreal will collide in Imagined Worlds, gathering paintings, works in stained glass, and digital renderings by, respectively, Hiro Sakaguchi (b. 1965, Nagano, Japan), Judith Schaechter (b. 1961, Gainesville, Florida), and Tim Portlock (b. 1969, Chicago). The narratives in the section of the exhibition titled Memory & Belonging will explore how personal histories contend with social, familial, and political conditions of acceptance and connection. A five-channel video installation by Sharon Hayes (b. 1970, Baltimore), paintings by Becky Suss (b. 1980, Philadelphia), and a commissioned lightbox and video installation by Michelle Angela Ortiz (b. 1978, Philadelphia) will be featured in this gallery.

A gallery called Inside Out will pair works by two artists investigating analogous messages related to overindulgence, consumption, and memory, yet situate the spectator at opposite spatial perspectives. A commission by Doug Bucci (b. 1971, Philadelphia)—his largest realized work to date—will place us within a sterile interior that simultaneously reflects on the artist’s childhood hospital stay, his lifelong struggle with diabetes, and 18th-century dining rituals. Conjoining this installation will be a suite of brightly colored windows made of vinyl siding and neon by Alex Da Corte (b. 1980, Camden, New Jersey) whose imagery touch on the familiar and macabre.

Finally, two of the five commissioned works will be presented in the exhibition’s Movement section: a mural by Odili Donald Odita (b. 1966, Enugu, Nigeria) and an interactive dance performance by Nichole Canuso (b. 1973, Philadelphia). Extending along the light-filled hallway which connects these new galleries to the new Forum, Odita’s wall painting will unfold in a procession of color, taking as its point of departure the recent Black Lives Matter protests that converged on the museum’s steps. Canuso’s project will take four participants at a time along a choreographed route through the exhibition itself, in which stories and cues heard in headphones will bring them into view of dancers throughout the space (Specific dates and ticket information for this performance will be announced closer to the exhibition opening).

Organized by a cross-departmental curatorial team—the first of its kind for a large-scale contemporary project at the museum—the exhibition will take the new gallery spaces as an opportunity to reimagine curatorial work in the form of collaboration and a blending of expertise. Informed by a lively and productive exchange between curators specializing in photography, craft, contemporary art, design, and textiles, this interdisciplinary exhibition will amplify the range and interconnectedness of Philadelphia as a creative crossroads.

“Philly is not just a physical place. As a catalyst for creativity, it offers a network for artists, and a hub of contemporary arts that extends its influence from here to abroad,” said Erica Battle, the John Alchin and Hal Marryatt Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, who led the interdisciplinary team of curators as they engaged artists working in, around, and in relation to Philadelphia.

“An artist of Philadelphia is an artist of an inter-connected world; we wanted to expand upon definitions of the ‘local’ to encompass both veterans of the scene and artists from elsewhere who cite the city’s energy as a creative influence. New Grit affirms that our city has been, and will continue to be, a site for the exchange of ideas, civic engagement, and boundless imagination. It is truly a critical time to support artists of our city, and to amplify Philly itself as a source of resilience and inspiration.”

New Grit: Art & Philly Now Curatorial Team

Elisabeth Agro, Nancy M. McNeil Curator of American Modern and Contemporary Crafts and Decorative Arts; Peter Barberie, Brodsky Curator of Photographs, Alfred Stieglitz Center; Erica F. Battle, John Alchin and Hal Marryatt Associate Curator of Contemporary Art (Team Lead); Dilys Blum, Jack M. and Annette Y. Friedland Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles; Kathryn B. Hiesinger, J. Mahlon Buck, Jr. Family Senior Curator of European Decorative Arts after 1700; with curatorial assistance by Tally de Orellana, former Daniel W. Dietrich II Fellow in Contemporary Art, and Charlotte Lowrey, Coordinator of Curatorial Initiatives, Contemporary Art. The exhibition benefited from the research contributions by Michelle Millar Fisher, former Louis C. Madeira IV Assistant Curator of European Decorative Arts and Emily Schreiner, former Zoë and Dean Pappas Curator of Education, Public Programs.

About the Artists

Artist biographies and an image bank of artist headshots is available here. To request an image, contact the Press Office.

Support

New Grit: Art & Philly Now has been made possible with support from John Alchin and Hal Marryatt and through the museum’s endowment, with the Daniel W. Dietrich II Fund for Excellence in Contemporary Art, the Laura and William C. Buck Endowment for Exhibitions, the Lois G. and Julian A. Brodsky Installation and Exhibition Fund, the Gloria and Jack Drosdick Fund for Special Exhibitions, the Harriet and Ronald Lassin Fund for Special Exhibitions, the Kathleen C. and John J. F. Sherrerd Fund for Exhibitions, and by additional contributions from the museum’s Contemporary Art Committee, Eduardo Ardiles and Joseph Ujobai, Robert and Julie Jensen Bryan, Emily and Mike Cavanagh, Jaimie and David Field, Julia and David Fleischner, Arthur M. Kaplan and R. Duane Perry, Susan and James Meyer, Mitchell and Hilarie Morgan Family Foundation, Katherine Sachs, Sarena Snider, Karen Goodman Tarte, Harriet and Larry Weiss, and other generous donors.

Additional support for the construction of these new galleries was provided by the Daniel W. Dietrich II Foundation, Jane and Leonard Korman, Mitchell and Hilarie Morgan Family Foundation, Lynne and Harold Honickman, Jaimie and David Field, Marie and Joseph Field, and other generous donors.

Credits as of March 26, 2021

Related Programs

In Conversation: Artist Odili Donald Odita
Wednesday, March 24, 5:00–6:00 p.m.
Irma and Herbert Barness Endowed Lecture

Artist Odili Donald Odita discusses his new mural, Walls of Change, which will be included in New Grit: Art & Philly Now. This bold and dynamic abstract wall painting weaves together the history of the museum’s architectural and social history, including its original design, the new Frank Gehry–designed spaces, through its role as a site for the Black Lives Matter protests last summer.

Odili Donald Odita (born 1966 in Enugu, Nigeria) is an abstract painter whose work explores how color can imbue meaning and trigger profound social and political connotations. He is currently a professor of painting at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia.

In the Artist’s Voice: Kukuli Velarde
Wednesday, April 21, 5:00–6:00 p.m.

Artist Kukuli Velarde creates embroidered banners and decorated clay figures that evoke ritual procession and a mix of cultural influences (from the pre-Columbian to Catholicism) and reflect her contemporary perspective. In this virtual talk, Velarde considers the influences on this body of work, titled Corpus, as well as her multimedia artistic practice with curator Elisabeth Agro. Q&A to follow.

Registration ends at noon the day before the program; a link will be sent to registrants prior to the program.

Velarde’s work will be on view in New Grit: Art & Philly Now.

Speakers

Kukuli Velarde is a multimedia artist who works in drawing, painting, and sculpture. She lives and works in Philadelphia.
Elisabeth Agro is the Nancy M. McNeil Curator of American Modern and Contemporary Crafts and Decorative Arts. She is one of the curators of the upcoming exhibition New Grit: Art & Philly Now.

Shifting Borders of the Americas
Thursday, April 29, 12:00–1:00 p.m
Rose Susan Hirschhorn Behrend Lecture

Trace how art of former colonies of land now part of Latin America—which includes many national identities that have changed over time—has come to be classified as “art of the Americas.” Professor Mey-Yen Moriuchi of La Salle University, curator Cesáreo Moreno of the National Museum of Mexican Art, and Philadelphia-based artist Michelle Angela Ortiz discuss how these histories are displayed in the museum and their relationship to the US raise ongoing questions about the fixity of borders.

Registration ends at noon the day before the program; a link will be sent to registrants prior to the program.

Speakers

Panelist & moderator: Mey-Yen Moriuchi, Associate Professor, Art History at La Salle University, Philadelphia
Cesáreo Moreno, Chief Curator and Visual Arts Director, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago
Michelle Angela Ortiz, Philadelphia-based artist who will present a new commission as part of the upcoming exhibition New Grit: Art & Philly Now

In Conversation: Doug Bucci & David Hartt
Thursday, May 20, 5:00–6:15 p.m.

Artists Doug Bucci and David Hartt discuss their commissions for the new exhibition New Grit: Art & Philly Now with curators Elisabeth Agro and Peter Barberie. They’ll explore the surprising commonalities of their artistic practices, including a shared interest in history and art history.

Free but donation appreciated; registration required.This event is part of the Museum Reimagined program series.

Speakers

Doug Bucci is an artist and educator whose work focuses on how digital processes can display biological systems and the effects of disease on the body.

David Hartt is an artist and curator interested in how historic ideas and ideals persist over time. He often combines elements of video, music, and sculpture to create site-specific installations.

Elizabeth Agro is the Nancy M. McNeil Curator of American Modern and Contemporary Crafts and Decorative Arts.

Peter Barberie is the Brodsky Curator of Photographs, Alfred Stieglitz Center.

The Garden: Invisible Branches

Nichole Canuso Dance Company will present The Garden: Invisible Branches, an interactive dance commissioned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, for four weeks, May 21–June 19, 2021 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Garden: Invisible Branches will be performed with showings at the following dates at 11:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 1:00 p.m.

Friday, May 21
Saturday, May 22
Monday, May 24
Friday, May 28
Saturday, May 29
Saturday, June 4
Sunday, June 5
Monday, June 7
Friday, June 11
Saturday, June 12
Monday, June 14
Friday, June 18
Saturday, June 19

In The Garden: Invisible Branches, four participants at a time will follow cues from an audio-guide as they navigate through New Grit: Art & Philly Now in the museum’s new Daniel W. Dietrich II Galleries where they will encounter artworks, dancers and one another. Choreographed by Canuso, this interactive dance experience unfolds over 20 minutes, guiding each participant in an intimate yet expansive journey that heightens the experience of looking and observing towards unexpected and magical ends.

Free after museum admission. Reservations required.
 

In Conversation: Jonathan Lyndon Chase & Sharon Hayes
Thursday, June 3, 5:00– 6:00 p.m.

Philadelphia-based artists Jonathan Lyndon Chase and Sharon Hayes discuss their practices, drawing out themes of the intimate and everyday, navigating public and private space, and giving visibility to a multiplicity of queer identities. Both artists are featured in the exhibition New Grit: Art & Philly Now.

Free but donation appreciated; registration required.This event is part of the Museum Reimagined program series.

Speakers

Jonathan Lyndon Chase takes on issues of race, gender, and sexuality in paintings, drawings, and installations that celebrate Black male queerness, and in doing so centers those who have gone unseen in the history of art.

Sharon Hayes creates video works and installations, blending a documentary style with the fictional and the speculative. Since her involvement in New York City’s performance scene during the peak of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1990s, she has collaborated with queer-identifying and feminist cultural workers such as artists, poets, and academics.

Arrival and Belonging: Philadelphia Stories
Tuesday, June 22, 6:00–7:00 p.m.

Artist Michelle Angela Ortiz leads a conversation with two community members featured in her new video installation, Arrival and Belonging, which humanizes the struggles and challenges of finding a home.

Arrival and Belonging is a two-part project commissioned by the museum: a large-scale multiscreen video installation with light boxes and a series of events highlighting the experiences of community members throughout the city. Over an extended period of intimate conversations, Ortiz gathered the stories of four Philadelphians who represent a wide range of lived experiences as immigrants and migrants. In this talk, Ortiz talks with singer Fatu Gayflor and activist Jamaal Henderson as well as shares excerpts and images of this new work, currently on view in the exhibition New Grit: Art & Philly Now.

Free but donation appreciated; registration required.This event is part of the Museum Reimagined program series.

Speakers

Michelle Angela Ortiz is a visual artist, muralist, community arts educator, and filmmaker. Through community arts practices, painting, documentaries, and public art installations, she creates a safe space for dialogue around some of the most profound issues communities and individuals may face.

Fatu Gayflor is a singer and songwriter who sings the traditional songs of Liberia’s sixteen ethnic groups. Impacted by the war, she was in exile in neighboring countries for ten years. It was during this time that she started to compose songs based on traditional rhythms and melodies that address immediate concerns and call for change.

Jamaal Henderson is an activist fighting for housing rights in Philadelphia. In 2020 they were active in advocating on behalf of residents of a homeless encampment on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway fighting for decent housing.
 

Further programming to be confirmed.

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Social Media @philamuseum

We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A world-renowned collection. A landmark building. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

For additional information, contact the Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art by phone at 215-684-7860, by fax at 215-235-0050, or by e-mail at pressroom@philamuseum.org. The Museum is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call 215-763-8100.

The reinstallation of the American galleries will be broad-ranging and inclusive, inviting visitors to confront the interaction and competition between different cultures and placing an emphasis on the contributions of individuals and groups that have long been underrepresented in presentations of American art. The exceptional strength of the museum’s collection is in the arts produced in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in and around Philadelphia, which by the 1750s had become one of the largest English-speaking cities outside the British Isles. Additionally, the reinstallation will offer a nuanced picture of the many different cultural and economic forces—not only from Great Britain and Europe, but also from the Caribbean, Central and South America, Asia, and Africa—that shaped artistic development in the Atlantic seaboard colonies. The reinstallation will examine issues related to the encounters between colonists and Indigenous peoples and the role of enslavement in the financing and production of art. It will also highlight lesser-known or overlooked stories of the work of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and women artists, presenting visitors with fresh thinking about how different cultures intersected with each other in a new environment from which emerged the diverse art forms that we define today as uniquely American.

American Encounters

This first of the museum’s new galleries of American art will encourage visitors to think broadly about art, history, and geography as it presents the work of the many groups—Indigenous, European, and African—that came into contact and often conflict with each other in North, Central, and South America, creating new cultures that developed through colonization, often by force. The interpretive perspectives presented in this installation are grounded in the Philadelphia area, which was known as Lenapehoking, the ancestral home of the Lenape people. Lenape artists will be represented by works on loan from the Board of Trustees of the Atwater Kent Museum (Philadelphia History Museum), the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection, and the City of Philadelphia. Works include a legendary wampum belt said to have been presented as a gift to William Penn in 1682 at the Treaty of Shackamaxon to symbolize an ill-fated promise of peaceful coexistence. Portraits made a half-century later by the Swedish-born Gustavus Hesselius, also to be on loan from the city, depict Lapowinsa and Tishcohan, the Lenape leaders who met with Penn’s sons to resolve a land dispute and were subsequently betrayed by the infamous “Walking Treaty.” These dignified and sympathetic portraits are among the finest and earliest painted representations of Indigenous Americans to have been made by Europeans in the colonies. From the same period, fine furniture in the sober Quaker taste will express the plain but elegant aesthetics of Pennsylvania’s English Protestant community in the early 18^th century.

This gallery will also introduce the presence of Africans in North American colonies, represented by ironwork made with enslaved labor at local foundries, and silver from a workshop where a silversmith was enslaved. It will include an unusual portrait, today called Young Archer with Parrot, which conveys an especially provocative representation of an unknown African boy, probably enslaved, clad in European finery, with a Brazilian parrot and an Indigenous North American bow and arrow. Perhaps painted by a Dutch artist, the painting is a product of the complex transatlantic networks of European colonization.

Among the works created in Central and South America, which often reflect a Catholic drama and grandeur rarely seen in the Protestant northern colonies, will be a pair of “castas”, or caste paintings, documenting the elaborate system of racial categorization developed under Spanish rule. Examples of a genre that emerged in Mexico during in the mid-1700s, these paintings depict parents of different racial backgrounds (Spanish, African, Indigenous) with their children, labeled with a specific linguistic term (e.g., “mestizo”) to describe the child’s heritage. Intended to document the emerging multi-ethnic societies of this hemisphere, large sets of castas were produced for audiences in Spain concerned about defining and maintaining social hierarchies.

Global Connections

A network of global exchange connected the early American colonies with a wider world of luxury goods, materials, and stylistic innovation. In this gallery visitors will encounter works created in the European colonies that demonstrate patterns of trade and satisfied a growing demand for luxury goods. An opulent Japanned High Chest from Boston, made about 1733-37, will show how eighteenth-century Americans coveted Asian works of art, and how artists imitated their styles and materials for a local market.

Another section of this gallery will highlight the long journeys that raw materials and finished goods took to and from the colonies of British North America. A splendid silver tankard produced in New York, for example, made from coins minted in Europe that were in turn made from precious metal mined with forced labor in Spanish colonies in Mexico and South America, will serve to illustrate how people in the Americas imported and exported goods, materials, and ideas, as well as people. The section will note that enslaved people worked to procure valuable materials, such as mahogany and silver, and often cared for the fine objects made from them. The money with which the wealthy classes bought these goods was often intrinsically connected with the system of slavery. Even those who were not enslavers could profit through investment in the slave trade and its products, or by selling food and clothing for the enslaved.

Loyalty and Independence

Conflicting notions of dependence and independence in the era of the American Revolution were reflected by the artists working during this period. Many, especially those trained in European visual and craft traditions, were torn between the limited opportunities they faced in the colonies and the possibility of achieving greater success abroad. These include Benjamin West, who will be represented by the trend-setting neoclassical painting, Agrippina Returning with the Ashes of Germanicus, and John Singleton Copley, whose complex portrait of a revolutionary couple Thomas and Sarah Mifflin will greet visitors entering the gallery. Both painters would enjoy success in London, inspiring Benjamin Franklin to lament, “All our geniuses go to Europe.” Their paintings will be shown together with superb works by those who stayed in the colonies and backed the revolution, such as Paul Revere’s silver teapot, and Charles Willson Peale’s portrait of the Revolutionary War general John Cadwalader standing with his wife, Elizabeth Lloyd, the heiress of a wealthy planter, and their child, seated on elegant furniture made in Philadelphia in the highest rococo style. Together the works displayed in this section of the new installation will examine how, during a time when the pressure to take sides in the conflict between Great Britain and its North American colonies grew increasingly fierce, artists and artisans created fine original work while keeping a keen eye on popular styles overseas.

Pennsylvania Crossroads

A large gallery will highlight the sophisticated German and British immigrant cultures that developed side by side in Pennsylvania during the 1700s while speaking different languages and drawing upon dramatically different visual traditions. A monumental, sulfur-inlaid walnut wardrobe, or Kleiderschrank, of 1779 is one of finest examples of Pennsylvania German artistry. It also serves as a counterpoint to the Fox and the Grapes High Chest of Drawers, 1765-75, which is itself one of the greatest examples of carving and cabinetmaking in British North America during this period. Dishes of glazed earthenware in all different sizes, a glass wine bottle, an iron stove plate depicting a religious scene of Cain and Abel, miniatures, needlework, and metalwork will populate this gallery to convey the two distinct visual languages—one British and the other German—that gave rise to hybrid American forms as the communities mingled in southeastern Pennsylvania.

A Family of Artists

The museum’s collection of the work of Philadelphia’s Peale family—the most comprehensive in the country—includes a series of family portraits and representative works by generations of this one family, among whom were several of the new nation’s earliest professional women painters. Some of the highlights of this section are Portrait of Yarrow Mamout (Mamoud Yarrow), depicting a formerly enslaved Black Muslim, painted by Charles Willson Peale in 1819; the artist’s much beloved and newly-conserved double portrait of his sons in The Staircase Group (Portrait of Raphaelle Peale and Titian Ramsay Peale I), 1795; and Self-Portrait in the Museum, 1822. It will also examine the story of the Peale Museum, the country’s first public collection of art and natural history, through portraits and still-life paintings, and with cut silhouettes made by Moses Williams, an artist enslaved and then freed by the Peales. Women artists in the Peale family will be spotlighted as pioneers at a time when few women pursued careers in the arts; included will be still life paintings by Mary Jane and Margaretta, and a portrait by Sarah Miriam.

Splendor in the New Nation

In the decades following the American Revolution, Philadelphia led the country politically and artistically. The nation’s political capital from 1790 until 1800, the city was recognized as a center of an emerging artistic style in painting, sculpture, architecture, and the decorative arts inspired by Greek and Roman aesthetics, one that reflected its position as the “Athens of America.” An extraordinary set of furniture, which was designed for the William and Mary Wilcocks Waln residence at Seventh and Chestnut Streets in 1808 and has been recently conserved, will show how Mary Waln worked with the British-born architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe to create a masterful set of modern furniture in the Grecian style for her new home. This was a time when political figures from across the world would be drawn to the glamour of Philadelphia. Joseph Bonaparte, the King of Spain and elder brother of Napoleon, settled in at Second and Market Streets following his abdication in 1813, and his presence is represented by the elaborately appointed and newly-restored bedstead from Point Breeze, the grand villa that he built in nearby Bordentown, New Jersey, for his life in exile. Another resident in exile was the Empress of Mexico, who fled to Philadelphia in the 1830s following her husband’s execution. The Portrait of Anna Maria Iturbide, Empress of Mexico and the Portrait of Augustín de Iturbide, Emperor of Mexico (1822) represent the ill-fated couple during their moment in power. A recent restoration of these paintings has revealed earlier portraits of King Charles IV of Spain and his wife Maria Luisa of Parma in paint layers below the surface.

Presidential China

The most comprehensive collection of American Presidential China outside of Washington D.C. was given to the museum by Robert L. McNeil, Jr. It consists of more than 450 tablewares owned by the nation's First Families, from George and Martha Washington to Ronald and Nancy Reagan. National symbols including eagles, shields, and native flora and fauna embellish the plates used by presidents and visiting dignitaries. Notable examples will include Martha Washington’s caudle cup with cover and plates from Abraham Lincoln’s service. Large platters exuberantly decorated with turkeys, fish, and ducks from the Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes convey an unabashed spirit of Manifest Destiny. The installation will also feature an interactive digital guide to this remarkable collection, offering visitors an opportunity to learn more about the presidencies in Philadelphia and Washington, the roles of individuals who maintained and worked with these tablewares, and the changing role of the First Ladies in selecting presidential china.

Art & Ambition

Growth, rising ambitions, and the assertion of an emerging national identity were fully manifested in American art during the first half of the nineteenth century. The beauty, awe, and grandeur of the American landscape were depicted in the pioneering works of Thomas Doughty and Thomas Cole, who together shaped a new national appreciation for this genre, which now took on patriotic overtones. Doughty will be highlighted as the country’s first native-born landscape artist, and his rendering of the Delaware Water Gap combines on-the-spot observation with a romantic vision of harmony between humankind and nature. Nearby, a case displaying porcelains made locally at the Tucker Factory in the mid-1800s will illustrate the level of excellence seen in American manufacturing, as local entrepreneurs began to respond to the growing demand for luxury goods and sought to make them accessible to a wider market. The Philadelphia Waterworks, a marvel of modern engineering, was a popular subject, and often appeared on pitchers, teacups and saucers. The section will also include silver in the late Neoclassical style, with the striking, ornate Maxwell Vase by Thomas Fletcher serving as a masterpiece of Philadelphia silversmithing in the early 1800s.

Another section will focus on Philadelphia artists, makers, and entrepreneurs of African descent, a subject of scholarly interest that has yielded much new information and enabled us to identify individual makers. A Double Chest made of mahogany, tulip poplar and yellow pine created by Thomas Gross, Jr. around 1805-1810, will be on view, the only surviving piece of furniture that documents the city’s thriving community of free Black artists in this period; the artist’s signature appears on the underside of the bottom drawer. Nearby the Portraits of Hiram Charles Montier and Elizabeth Brown Montier, also members of the Philadelphia’s free Black community—the largest in the north—will call attention to a new and more democratic access to portraiture, showing that by 1850 the family portrait had come within reach of the growing middle class.

Traditions on the Move

The art and influence of Pennsylvania Germans in the early 1800s and the domestic traditions they established in the counties to the north and west of Philadelphia will be the focus of this gallery. Fraktur, from the Latin word for “fracture,” refers to a style of writing with separated letters that Pennsylvania Germans used to commemorate births, baptisms, and marriages. Colorful fraktur and needlework samplers will be placed on view along with earthenware by David Spinner (1758-1811) and others, demonstrating the transit of visual motifs across paper, textiles, and ceramics. A brief video on the making of such earthenware will be installed nearby. Iron hardware in the form of toasters, roasting forks, skillets, and spatulas will be on display, showing the artistry expressed in these staples of everyday life in Pennsylvania in the nineteenth century. This section will further document the role of enslaved and free African Americans in making iron goods, perhaps drawing upon their own ironmaking traditions from Western and West Central Africa and suggesting that Pennsylvania German culture reflects a larger story of hybridity and migration. Another highlight of this section will be a version of the much-loved series of paintings entitled Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks (1780-1849) that depicts Penn’s treaty with the Lenape on the banks of the Delaware River. Echoing the stories of peaceful coexistence and bitter betrayal in the first gallery, it will be placed near a beaded bag made by a Lenape artist, who had likely been displaced from Pennsylvania to the midwest in the early 1800s.

Kathleen A. Foster, Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Curator of American Art and Director, Center for American Art, notes the intensive work her curatorial team has done in preparation for this ambitious reinstallation: “We’ve spent the last decade thinking about all the ways we can understand the meaning and history of the works in this collection to tell a deeper and truer story about who participates in the creation of an ‘American’ culture. We hope that visitors will discover for themselves that there is no single, unified ‘American art’ but instead, it contains many changing traditions that are a source of endless discovery and fascination.”

Curatorial Team:

Kathleen A. Foster, The Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Senior Curator of American Art and Director, Center for American Art; David Barquist, The H. Richard Dietrich, Jr., Curator of American Decorative Arts; Alexandra Kirtley, The Montgomery-Garvan Curator of American Decorative Arts; Carol Soltis, Project Associate Curator; John Vick, Collections Project Manager; Rosalie Hooper, Interim Head of Interpretation and Project Curatorial Assistant.

Academic Advisors

The following individuals offered advice on the planning of the new Early American Art galleries, supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Zara Anishanslin, Associate Professor of History and Art History, Director, History of American Civilization Program, University of Delaware; Dennis Carr, Virginia Steele Scott Chief Curator of American Art, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens; Deirdre Cooper Owens, The Charles and Linda Wilson Professor in the History of Medicine, Director of the Humanities in Medicine Program, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Director, Program in African American History, The Library Company of Philadelphia; John Demos, Samuel Knight Professor Emeritus of History, Yale University; Leslie M. Harris, Professor of History, Northwestern University; Kelli Morgan, Ph.D., Independent Curator; Jami Powell, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Native American Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College; Daniel K. Richter, Richard S. Dunn Director of the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, University of Pennsylvania; Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, Class of 1940 Bicentennial Term Chair and Associate Professor, Department of the History of Art University of Pennsylvania; Page Talbott, Ph.D., Director of Museum Outreach, Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships, Drexel University; Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, 300th Anniversary University Professor, Emerita, Harvard University; Denise L. Valentine, Professional Storyteller, Educator, and Historian.

Support

The installation of the new Early American Art galleries has been made possible with lead support from the Henry Luce Foundation, and by The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, The Richard C. von Hess Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy Demands Wisdom, an anonymous donor, The Davenport Family Foundation, Edward and Gwen Asplundh, Dr. and Mrs. Robert E. Booth, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. James L. Alexandre, The Americana Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. S. Matthews V. Hamilton, Jr., The McLean Contributionship, Lyn M. and George M. Ross, Dr. Salvatore M. Valenti, the Wunsch Family, Donald and Gay Kimelman, Boo and Morris Stroud, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald C. Anderson, Matz Family Charitable Fund, Marsha and Richard Rothman, and other generous donors.

Additional support for the museum’s building project, including the construction of the new Early American Art galleries, was provided by Robert L. McNeil, Jr., Leslie Miller and Richard Worley, Laura and William C. Buck, Kathy and Ted Fernberger, Joan and Victor Johnson, John and Christel Nyheim, Lyn M. and George M. Ross, National Endowment for the Humanities, Marsha and Richard Rothman, and other generous donors.

Ongoing support for American Art initiatives and programs is provided by the Center for American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, established by Robert L. McNeil, Jr.

Social Media @philamuseum

We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A world-renowned collection. A landmark building. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

For additional information, contact the Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art by phone at 215-684-7860, by fax at 215-235-0050, or by e-mail at pressroom@philamuseum.org. The Museum is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call 215-763-8100.

Accompanied by a burst of confetti and a trumpet solo by Arnetta Johnson, today’s opening reactivated a grand entrance lobby with ceiling heights of more than 24 feet and a rich array of architectural features, as well as a section of the museum’s storied Vaulted Walkway—its arched ceiling clad in newly restored Guastavino tiles. Within these spaces the museum unveiled several new amenities: Gehry-designed admission and information desks, a coat check, a new museum store, an espresso bar, a seminar room, and a dedicated educational studio for children. In total, 22,000 square feet of space has been recovered for public use. By fall 2020*, when the Core Project—the present phase of the Facilities Master Plan—is completed, more than 90,000 square feet of renovated space will be open to visitors.

Mayor Kenney stated: “We are reclaiming part of Philadelphia’s history and one of Philadelphia’s most unforgettable interiors. The renovation we see today will be breathtaking for a new generation of Philadelphians, and our administration is proud to support this public-private partnership because a strong and vibrant art museum is not only a vital cultural and educational resource but also a productive investment in our city’s future. Today is truly a milestone, and a harbinger of exciting things to come.”

Leslie Anne Miller, Chair of the museum’s Board of Trustees, said: “When this great building was being planned, its North Entrance was intended to be used by the public, and yet it has been closed for decades. We thank the Mayor, the Commonwealth, and the many donors who have contributed generously to make its reopening possible. When visitors witness how Frank Gehry has rejuvenated the spaces inside, they will be even more excited about the work ahead. There is much more to do, but we have the momentum, and it starts here, with these beautiful school children.”

Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and CEO, stated: “The renewed use of this ground level space has been addressed by Frank Gehry and his team with understanding and a respect for the vision of the original architects but also made new through an elegant, contemporary touch. While much of the Core Project has focused—appropriately—on infrastructure, it is especially gratifying to be able to share these extraordinary spaces with our visitors. I believe that more than ever before they will feel the wonderful difference that our Core Project is making and appreciate the transformation that is taking place before our eyes.”

Gail Harrity, the museum’s President and Chief Operating Officer, said: “This part of the project reveals, perhaps more than anything else, Frank Gehry’s genius as a planner. The largest investment in this phase of the Facilities Master Plan is the upgrade and installation of new building systems, all of which are hidden from public view, and yet are vital to preserving the collections, for future generations to enjoy. Gehry Partners has gone to great lengths both to respect the architectural integrity of this landmark building and, at the same time, to adapt it to present and future needs. Bear in mind as you enter the new lobby that all of these spaces have been recreated with our visitors in mind. These investments set the stage for what will come next, as one day—hopefully not too far from now—the North Lobby will open onto the new auditorium and the Vaulted Walkway will provide access to new galleries under the East Terrace that will be dedicated to modern and contemporary art.”

As Bache-Martin students lined up to pass through the North Entrance, Dr. William Hite, School Superintendent, remarked: “This great museum is a vital learning resource that makes a difference for our school children every day, and these new spaces opening to the public just now rightly belong to them. Inside, the new classroom is a place for them to begin their journey, and a gateway to the museum’s 200- plus galleries. This entire museum is Philadelphia’s classroom, so what has been accomplished today is a gift to our schools, and our children’s future.”

The reopening of the North Entrance, and the rejuvenation of 22,000 square feet of space so far within it, is the latest step in the realization of the Core Project, which was officially launched in 2017. The project will ultimately open to the public a total 90,000 square feet of interior space, including 23,000 square feet of new gallery space. Today’s North Entrance reopening reflects significant progress on the key goals of the museum’s Facilities Master Plan: to free up as much possible interior space for public use; to restore and reopen architecturally significant spaces that have long been hidden from view; to enhance the visitor experience; and to upgrade infrastructure and systems.

The North Entrance was designated for public use in 1928 when the building first opened (it was also used for the delivery of goods and services). The ground-level spaces to which it led were designed to be public facing, but this use diminished over a period of decades before the entrance was officially re-purposed to serve as a dedicated loading dock in 1975 as the museum prepared for the nation’s Bicentennial. Under the Facilities Master Plan, moving the loading dock was identified as critical to the reorganization of a number of functions within the museum, and it was relocated to the south side of the building in 2012 during an enabling phase of the Core Project.

Gehry and his team, working closely with the museum, determined to respect the vision of the original architects, honoring the modernized Neoclassical style that Horace Trumbauer and his chief designer Julian Abele, along with the noted architectural firm of Zantzinger, Borie and Medary, had chosen for their design, and retaining even the hand-painted directional signage from a bygone era that once pointed visitors to elevators and bus routes. The aging structure also required significant attention to features the team wanted to let recede from public view, leading to the placement of extensive networks of piping under floors and planning to enable maximum ceiling heights. For its public-facing features, Gehry Partners paid close attention to the warm tones of the original Kasota stone, spotlighting historic doors and columns and matching existing features with complementary ones, creating subtle contemporary notes. The finishes, notably bronze, glass, wood, and stone, convey warmth and luminosity.

Lobby
Visitors will pass through two sets of bronze and glass doors to enter a voluminous lobby (3200 sf), with ceiling heights of more than 24 feet, to arrive at the new admissions desk, coat check, the Main Store, and the nearby Vaulted Walkway. Four sets of original wooden ornamental Tiffany doors, massive in scale, were restored and repositioned in entryways. Four imposing Doric columns, also original to the space, were cleaned and repositioned. The lobby contains three large, graceful arches built into the wall facing the entry doors, two of them historic to the building. Gehry added a third archway, which will one day lead to the Gehry-designed auditorium that is planned for a later phase. It currently contains the coat check.

The floors, also new, are of Kasota limestone, sourced from the Minnesota quarries that provided the building with its stone in 1928, and selected for the subtlety of its patterning and tone. The furniture designed by Gehry—including the extensive gently curving visitor services desk—was finished in Douglas fir and bronze. The new ceiling, finished in white plaster, is coffered and backlit, adding to the overall illumination of the space. Kasota stone walls have been cleaned and restored. Signage has been designed by Pentagram in collaboration with Gehry Partners.

Vaulted Walkway
The opening of the North Entrance invites visitors into a significant length of an impressive Vaulted Walkway; it was built into the original structure to span the entire width of the museum, from north to south. Nearly a third of this walkway has been reopened to the public today, leading visitors to the 1928 public elevators near the center of the building to galleries above. In what formerly served as a metal-grated lightwell, visitors will discover a skylit espresso bar along the way, complete with seating where they can enjoy coffee and pastries offered by Constellation Culinary Group. Twenty-four feet above, Gehry has designed the steel framing for the skylight, with graceful crossings that echo the walkway’s vault design. Looking up, visitors will notice that the long skylight frames an unexpected view—the east portico with its decorative polychromed roofline—while also casting daylight into the walkway where new bronze-encased LED lighting spotlights herringbone patterns of the ceiling tile. Original to the building, this tile was often used to decorate such public spaces as New York’s Grand Central Station. The remaining length of the Vaulted Walkway, extending through the Forum to the south side, will open next year.

Main Store
The new store (2600 sf) has been relocated from the first floor to make way for new galleries of American art, opening next year. From the North Lobby, visitors may now enter the Main Store at street level, passing through a pair of monumental Tiffany doors, historic to the museum and newly conserved; in a dramatic note, Gehry requested that they be placed at the threshold to the store. In a wall dividing the store from the walkway, the architect also created a bank of large rectilinear openings, capturing reflected daylight and increasing transparency within the interior. Other contemporary touches by the architect include selection of red oak flooring and finishes in Douglas fir and bronze on the cashier’s desk. These elements echo the treatment of the dining facilities, Stir and the Café, which opened on the first floor last year. Two additional store locations are planned for the first floor, adjacent to Lenfest Hall and opening next year.

North Wing
Gehry has also designed a studio/classroom for school children as well as restrooms and a nursing station in the wing. These spaces are entered from a hallway opposite the Main Store and accessed from the Vaulted Walkway. As the museum welcomes up to 65,000 school children every year, this new classroom, which will be expanded to two in several months, will serve as the starting point for school visits, with convenient bus drop-off just outside the North Entrance. The Bache-Martin students become the first users today. Eventually the museum’s Education offices will move to an upper floor of this wing.

Admission to the Philadelphia Museum of Art is Pay What You Wish all day today, from 10:00 a.m. until 8:45 p.m. Also beginning today, the West Entrance will close for renovations as part of the Core Project, reopening in 2020*.

*As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, completion of the Core Project, originally scheduled for Fall 2020, will be delayed. A new completion date will be announced.

Creative collaborations with locally based businesses and fine artisans reflect an important emphasis of the new Main Store. One example, the historic Shane Chocolate Works & Confectionery company, has created a one-of-a-kind Dark-Milk Chocolate with Salty Pretzels candy bar packaged in wrappers that illustrate the signature fluted columns of the museum’s neoclassical design. The bars are offered exclusively at the museum and at Shane’s in Old City, with Shane donating a portion of sales toward the museum’s mission. Additionally, the museum has partnered with Blackwing pencil makers to develop an exclusive and limited-edition set of gold-colored pencils inspired by the statue of Diana by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in the Great Stair Hall. It will be featured in The Pencil Bar, located in the center of the store where shoppers can try out over 50 pencils from around the world, as well as other high-quality artist tools, notebooks, and sketchbooks (prices vary).

As with The Pencil Bar, much of the merchandise is themed, and displayed in dedicated sections throughout the Main Store. One section, The Heritage Shop, celebrates the Philadelphia Museum of Art's past, present and future with items inspired by research in the museum’s archives. An image of the iconic griffin, a creature from classical mythology known to guard treasures, that figured in the museum’s logo circa 1938, now adorns t-shirts, mugs, and handbags (prices vary). Another vintage design includes soft cotton t-shirts that feature the “A” bus route signage that was hand-painted on walls of the Vaulted Walkway generations ago, and still remains.

Another section is called Philly Made and showcases the talent of Philadelphia’s vibrant arts community. Visitors can find decorative vases cast from vintage glass bottles by ceramic artist Melissa Koenig ($25-98), as well as handmade earrings, rings and necklaces by jewelry makers Anastasia Filanovich and Marcie McGoldrick (prices range from $39-$675). The store is also showcasing work by Kristin Buck, ceramicist; Sophy DiPinto, bookbinder; Peg & Awl, artisan product designers; Hemlock & Hyde, leather smiths; and As the Crow Flies & Co, jewelry makers, among others.

The new kids section includes children’s books specially selected by the museum’s Education team, plus a hands-on table where kids can try a wonderful variety of artmaking supplies and games from France, Germany, and Japan. Additionally, the Kids Cube features over 30 fun finds for the museum’s youngest visitors, all priced at $10 or below.

Bauhaus-inspired products are offered in celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the school. Geometric-shaped jewelry crafted from glass beads made in Germany in the 1920s nod to Bauhaus aesthetics, as well as products inspired by Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, including postcard reproductions of the original lithograph invitation sent out to announce the first Bauhaus exhibition of 1923. Nearby, other merchandise highlights Impressionism and East Asian Art, major strengths of the collection.

The store also offers Art on Demand, a digital kiosk that enables visitors to select high-quality digital reproductions of masterpieces and have them printed to order. Among the offerings are museum favorites by Mary Cassatt, Paul Cézanne, Thomas Eakins, Claude Monet, and Henri Rousseau, among others. Prints are available in a variety of sizes, paper, and frames ($25-375). At home, shop Art on Demand by visiting https://artondemand.philamuseum.org/

Christine Doobinin, the museum’s recently-appointed Director of Retail, said: “Whether visitors are looking for a simple memento to take home or want to browse a curated selection of unique designs crafted by Philadelphia artisans, we believe there is something here for everyone to discover. Not only will visitors find that the Main Store has a beautiful new look, but so too does most of our merchandise. Over 60 percent of the products have never been seen before in our store, and many are exclusive to the museum.”

The design of the new Main Store reflects Frank Gehry’s fine touch. Visitors may enter through the two monumental Tiffany doors, historic to the museum and newly conserved, that Gehry has placed at the threshold of the store. He has also opened a row of windows that invite views into the Vaulted Walkway and capture daylight. Other contemporary touches by the architect include red oak flooring and Douglas fir and bronze finishes on the cashier’s desk, which echo the architect’s finishes in the recently opened dining services Stir and the Café on the first floor. Shoppers may access the new Main Store via the North Entrance without paying museum admission, which is required for visits to the galleries. The previous space of the Main Store, on the first floor of the museum, is undergoing renovation to make way for new galleries dedicated to early American art that are scheduled to open when the Core Project is complete next year.

Other shopping locations at the museum include the Special Exhibition store, which features products inspired by temporary exhibitions, as well as the pop-up store on the East Balcony in the Main Building, and the stores in the Perelman Building and the Rodin Museum. In 2020*, the museum will also open two new locations on either side of Lenfest Hall as part of the Core Project. Visitors can shop online anytime by visiting: philamuseum.org/visit/shopping.

*As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, completion of the Core Project, originally scheduled for Fall 2020, will be delayed. A new completion date will be announced.

Social Media @philamuseum

We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A world-renowned collection. A landmark building. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

For additional information, contact the Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art by phone at 215-684-7860, by fax at 215-235-0050, or by e-mail at pressroom@philamuseum.org. The Museum is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call 215-763-8100.

August 7, 2019 (Philadelphia, PA): The Philadelphia Museum of Art has raised $455 million in support of It Starts Here: Campaign for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Leslie Anne Miller, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer, announced today. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has made a contribution to this civic effort and believe, as we do, that the museum is the cultural heart of a great city and one of the keys to its future. It is our collective responsibility to secure the resources this institution needs to fulfill its mission and to continue to serve the needs of our community,” said Rub.

This milestone marks a significant step toward achieving the museum’s ambitious goal of $525 million to advance its strategic priorities. It Starts Here is the largest fundraising effort ever undertaken by a cultural institution in Philadelphia and one of the most substantial museum capital campaigns currently in progress in this country. “We are thrilled to announce that we have made such great progress on our campaign, which will enhance our ability to address both the challenges and the opportunities facing the Philadelphia Museum of Art and, frankly, all arts institutions in the 21st century,” Miller said. “The continued success of this campaign is a direct result of Philadelphians’ commitment to our museum as a source of civic pride. Campaign donors understand that a great city cannot be great without a vibrant arts community. While there is still much work to be done over the next two years, a successful conclusion to our campaign is now within sight.”

It Starts Here is led by co-chairs and museum Trustees Barbara Aronson, David Haas, and Katherine Sachs, along with vice chair Bruce Toll. The campaign has surpassed the museum’s projections to date, and is scheduled to be completed in two years, with a major moment being the completion of the Core Project in fall 2020.

The philanthropic goals of It Starts Here have been informed by the museum’s strategic vision for the future, which is focused on:

• Attracting younger and more diverse audiences;

• Enhancing the visitor experience by making much-needed physical improvements to the museum;

• Activating the collection through gallery reinstallations and innovative programming; and

• Strengthening the museum’s commitment to civic engagement.

To date, the museum has achieved over 80% of the overall goals for each of the following funding priorities: $150 million for the museum’s endowment, which currently remains below many of its peer museums nationally, to strengthen the operating budget; $142 million to support strategic initiatives in technology, education, access and community engagement, audience development, and to fund ongoing operations; and $233 million to support capital improvements, most notably the Core Project.

“Our campaign and strategic plan are centered on one critical goal: empowering the museum to fulfill its promise as a great civic institution, one that reflects Philadelphia’s rich and diverse history and serves the city today as a vital cultural resource,” Rub said. “Today, the museum enjoys a visitorship that is younger and as diverse as our Philadelphia region, with a median age of 39 for adult visitors and the percentage of our audience who are first-time visitors continuing to rise. An investment in the campaign—and the transformative ideas that it supports—is an investment in the future of Philadelphia. We are deeply grateful to all of those who have supported it to date, and we encourage others to help as well since we still have a long way to go.”

It Starts Here has been generously supported by museum Trustees and other individuals including members of its Chairman’s Council and Associates groups, city, state, and federal governments, foundations, and corporations, locally, nationally, and internationally, including three extraordinary donors who have each contributed more than $25 million:

Marguerite and H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest

Marguerite and the late Gerry Lenfest’s giving to the It Starts Here campaign exceeds $33 million. Gerry Lenfest led the Board of Trustees from 2001 through 2010, overseeing a significant period of growth and planning that laid the groundwork for the museum’s current historic fundraising and renewal initiatives. The Lenfests’ giving is primarily designated for capital projects and building the museum’s endowment, specifically through The Lenfest Challenge, a matching gift initiative that ultimately established endowed funds for 29 staff positions named by 27 donors.

Gail Harrity, the museum’s President and Chief Operating Officer, said: “Gerry was drawn to the Philadelphia Museum of Art because of his passion for art and his recognition that the museum serves as an educational and economic driver for civic renewal and growth. Few individuals have given so graciously of their time and so freely of their resources, and fewer still have had such an enormous impact on the museum’s history. Gerry’s leadership contributed greatly to the museum’s efforts to strengthen its endowment and to renovate and expand its facilities, including the landmark main building of which we are so proud.”

Constance and Sankey Williams

Museum Trustee and Chair Emerita Constance Hess Williams and her husband Sankey have contributed more than $27 million to the It Starts Here campaign. The couple have also offered a challenge grant of an additional $25 million to support the construction of the museum’s future auditorium sooner than anticipated in the schedule for the implementation of its Facilities Master Plan.

Williams served as Board Chair from 2010 through 2016. The funds that she and her husband have contributed to the campaign are supporting the museum’s endowment, programming and operations, and capital projects, including a challenge gift (with David Haas) which, when matched by gifts from other board members, secured the funds necessary to break ground on the Core Project in March 2017. Through their participation in The Lenfest Challenge, they also established the endowment for the Constance Williams Curator of Education, School and Teacher Programs, a position currently held by Barbara Bassett.

“My work with the Philadelphia Museum of Art has been one of the great joys and honors of my life,” Williams said. “I am particularly proud of our ongoing work expanding educational programming so that the museum can better serve the youth of Philadelphia and expose more young people to the transformative power of art. The It Starts Here campaign is the key to ensuring these programs continue to grow and evolve with our city. This campaign matters.”

Robert L. McNeil, Jr.

The late Robert L. McNeil, Jr.’s contribution of more than $25 million to be used solely for the renovation and expansion of the museum’s galleries of American art has been utilized in part for this purpose during the It Starts Here campaign. This remarkable gift was made in addition to previous donations from McNeil to endow five curatorial positions in the American Art department and provide funding for acquisitions and the work of the department’s Center for American Art, as well as his gift to the collection of over 1,000 works of American paintings, prints, drawings, craft, and decorative arts including early American furniture, American silver, Presidential China, and art by the Peale family.

“The museum’s holdings of American art are among the greatest treasures of its collection,” said Vicki Le Vine, one of McNeil’s daughters and a museum Trustee. “My mother and father’s dedicated philanthropic engagement with the museum, and specifically its important work showcasing the creativity of American artists and artisans, particularly those from Philadelphia, is a tradition that I am proud to continue as a Trustee myself. It is up to us to ensure that the museum’s future is strong and secure.”

Donors of Gifts Totaling $10 Million or More

As of June 30, the end of the museum’s fiscal year, an additional six donors had contributed between $10 million and $25 million to the It Starts Here campaign. The Daniel W. Dietrich II Foundation’s generous support has been directed to the museum’s endowment and capital improvements in the area of contemporary art, building on Mr. Dietrich’s bequest of more than fifty works of American art to enhance our collection, announced in 2016. Campaign co-chair Katherine Sachs and the late Keith L. Sachs, who served for many years as a Trustee of the museum and chair of several committees, supported capital projects and the endowment of the Keith L. and Katherine Sachs Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, now held by Carlos Basualdo, among other priorities. In 2013 they also made an extraordinary promised gift of over 100 works of contemporary art from their own collection. Campaign co-chair David Haas’s contributions have primarily supported the Core Project and technology, including for a new endowment, and programming and operational support. Chair of the Board of Trustees Leslie Anne Miller along with her husband Richard Worley have given generously to many top priorities—most significantly to capital projects, including the Core Project and auditorium, and to initiatives such as the new galleries of American art to 1840 opening in 2020, an area in which the couple collects. The City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have both invested in capital projects, specifically the Core Project, through It Starts Here. The City has been a key partner throughout the museum’s history, as it not only owns the museum’s facilities, including the main building, but also provides generous annual operating support. It is also investing in an $11.3 million energy savings initiative, announced in 2017 by the City’s Office of Sustainability, that contributes to the museum’s capital improvements.

In total, 397 donors, both first-time and longstanding, have contributed to It Starts Here at the level of $50,000 and above, a number that will continue to grow as additional gifts of all sizes come in.

Looking Ahead

The transformative impact of It Starts Here can already be felt. In October 2018, the museum inaugurated Stir and Café, the new Gehry-designed dining spaces which represent the first completed public areas of the architect’s plan for the landmark building. The museum’s educational programs for individuals, families, and students and educators in Philadelphia’s public schools and beyond are reaching a wider audience than ever before, with support from It Starts Here. When the Core Project is completed in 2020, the many benefits of the renewal and expansion of the main building called for in the Facilities Master Plan will be abundantly clear to all who visit. So, too, will the potential of the new initiatives, gallery reinstallations, and range of programmatic offerings made possible by the generosity of the donors to this ambitious campaign. Considered together, they are providing the resources to enable the Philadelphia Museum of Art to fulfill its mission as effectively in the future as it has since it was founded in 1876.

To learn more about the It Starts Here campaign, please visit philamuseum.org/ourfuture.

PRESS CONTACTS

Norman Keyes
Director of Communications
nkeyes@philamuseum.org
215-684-7862

Joy Deibert
Senior Press Officer
joy.deibert@philamuseum.org
215.684.7864

View the Press Kit for Frank Gehry's Master Plan

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Social Media @philamuseum

We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A world-renowned collection. A landmark building. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

For additional information, contact the Communications department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art by phone at 215-684-7860, by fax at 215-235-0050, or by e-mail at pressroom@philamuseum.org. The museum is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call 215-763-8100.

Stir will offer the first visible note of Gehry’s distinctive architectural style in the Museum’s public spaces—a signature touch of the architect who is currently transforming much of the interior of the Museum’s 1928 building through the Core Project, scheduled to be completed in 2020. The restaurant’s centerpiece will be a striking sculptural element, shaped in Douglas fir and flowing in form, that extends across the ceiling above the main dining room.

Stir will offer guests a rich and varied dining experience with an emphasis on seasonality and local sourcing. It will serve as a culinary destination for museumgoers seeking not only to enjoy a fine meal in a beautiful contemporary setting but also extend their visit and enhance their experience of the Museum’s collections and programs.

With seating for 76 people, Stir will convey a warm, intimate, and inviting ambiance. In addition to its dramatic, undulating ceiling, it will contain comfortable seating and tables designed by Gehry Partners. Its walls and ceiling will be clad in Douglas fir and its floors in red oak. The ebullient Gehry touch will be seen in a palette of materials that includes frosted glass, felt, steel, leather, bronze, and onyx. Stir has also been designed to provide views into the kitchen, providing an opportunity to see the staff at work.

Adjacent to Stir will be a new cafeteria, much larger than the Museum’s previous cafeteria, that will seat 160 guests. The Café extends the entire width of the building, with windows offering views to the East Terrace and its garden on one side and across the Schuylkill River to West Philadelphia on the other. It will feature stations for artisanal sandwiches, a seasonal rotation of salads, brick oven pizza, and specialty coffee, enabling visitors to enjoy the convenience of quick service and casual dining with a wide variety of options. Another feature to anticipate, opening with the North Entrance at street level in early 2019, is a new espresso bar in the Vaulted Walkway that is being made accessible to the public once again, for the first time since the mid-1970s. There visitors may sip coffee and sample house-made pastries, relax, and chat, while catching unexpected views of the building’s monumental façades through the skylights above.

Gail Harrity, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, said: “As we envision the future visitor experience, we are delighted to be developing these exciting new dining options—for people who want a wonderful fine dining experience, for families with children looking for casual dining with lots of options, for people who are connecting with their friends over great coffee in an amazing space. We are delighted that in designing our dining facilities, Frank Gehry and his team have surpassed our expectations. We look forward to welcoming our visitors to these new spaces in just a few months.”

Mark Tropea, the newly-appointed Executive Chef, stated: “Here is the Stir menu in two words—local and inspired. Whether stopping in for brunch or lunch, we expect that our guests will be delighted with our curated culinary offerings—from small plates that include Roasted Jersey Peaches, Seared Barnegat Scallops, and a farm-fresh Corn Bisque, to main dishes like a Dry-Aged Farm Stand Burger topped with Lancaster cheddar, Kennett Square Wild Mushroom Frittata, and handmade torn pasta bursting with regional flavors. The beverage menu features a variety of signature mixed drinks, wines by the bottle and glass, and a refreshing selection of local beers.”

Stir will be open for lunch Tuesday through Friday, from 11:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Brunch will be offered on Sunday. Reservations can be made beginning October 16 via Open Table or by calling 215-684-7990.

About the Core Project

The Core Project is an ongoing physical transformation and renovation of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s historic main building led by Gehry. This phase of the master Plan will add 67,000 square feet of new public space, an additional 23,000 square feet of gallery space, with an equal amount devoted to the display of American art and for the presentation of contemporary art. Combining infrastructure improvements with a reorganization of circulation at the heart of the building, the Core Project will greatly improve the experience of the Museum for its visitors, dramatically enhance access for the community, and provide more room for the display of its renowned collection.

About Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry has built an architectural career that spans over six decades. Mr. Gehry received his B.A. in Architecture from the University of Southern California in 1954, and studied city planning at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Born in Toronto and based in Los Angeles since 1947, Mr. Gehry has produced public and private buildings across America, Europe, and Asia. Hallmarks of Mr. Gehry’s work include a particular concern that people exist comfortably within the spaces that he creates, and an insistence that his buildings address the context and culture of their sites.

About Constellation Culinary Group

Launched in 2008 and reimagined in 2018, Constellation Culinary Group is dedicated to providing best-in-class dining experiences for one-of-a-kind events, cultural centers, professional settings, restaurants and cafes. With over nineteen locations in eight cities, including internationally renowned cultural institutions Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the New York Botanical Garden, Clark Art Institute, and the Pérez Art Museum Miami, we bring culinary visions to life. We consistently create unforgettable experiences with the help of our skilled and thoughtful people, who believe in Constellation’s company mission and philosophy that good food connects us.

About the Philadelphia Museum of Art

We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A landmark building. A world-renowned collection. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

Social Media @philamuseum

For additional information, contact the Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art by phone at 215-684-7860, by fax at 215-235-0050, or by e-mail at pressroom@philamuseum.org. The Museum is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call 215-763-8100.

Biography

Raised in Toronto, Canada, Frank Gehry moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1947. Mr. Gehry received his bachelor of architecture degree from the University of Southern California in 1954, served in the US army in 1955, and then studied city planning at Harvard University Graduate School of Design under the GI Bill. In subsequent years, Mr. Gehry has built an architectural career that has spanned over six decades and produced public and private buildings throughout the world. Hallmarks of Mr. Gehry’s work include a particular concern that people exist comfortably within the spaces that he creates, and an insistence that his buildings address the context and culture of their sites and the budgets of his clients.

His work has earned Mr. Gehry several of the most significant awards in the architectural field. He was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1974, and his buildings have received over 100 national and regional AIA awards. In 1977, Mr. Gehry was named recipient of the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Mr. Gehry was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1987. In 1989, he was named a trustee of the American Academy in Rome and was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize, perhaps the premiere accolade of the field, honoring “significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.” In 1991, he was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1992, he received the Wolf Prize in Art (Architecture) from the Wolf Foundation. In the same year, he was the recipient of the Praemium Imperiale Award by the Japan Art Association to “honor outstanding contributions to the development, popularization, and progress of the arts.” In 1994, he became the first recipient of the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize for lifetime contribution to the arts and was bestowed with the title of Academician by the National Academy of Design. In 1998, Mr. Gehry received the National Medal of Arts, became the first recipient of the Friedrich Kiesler Prize and was named an Honorary Academician by the Royal Academy of Arts. In 1999, Mr. Gehry received the Lotos Medal of Merit from the Lotos Club; that same year, he received the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects. In 2000, Mr. Gehry received the Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects, and he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Americans for the Arts. In 2002, Mr. Gehry received the Gold Medal for Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2003, Mr. Gehry was inducted into the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and he was designated as a Companion to the Order of Canada. In 2006, Mr. Gehry was a first-year inductee into the California Hall of Fame, and he was awarded Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honor from the French government. Subsequently, in 2014, Mr. Gehry was elevated to the rank of Commandeur of the National Order of the Legion of Honor. In 2008, Mr. Gehry received the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Biennale. In 2010, Mr. Gehry received the John Singleton Copley Award from the American Associates of the Royal Academy Trust, and he received the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Award in New York. In 2014, Mr. Gehry received the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. The third annual Getty Medal was awarded to Mr. Gehry in 2015. In 2016, Mr. Gehry was awarded the Harvard Arts Medal and the Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award for Diplomacy through the Arts from the Foundation for Arts and Preservation in Embassies. In November 2016, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President Barack Obama.

Mr. Gehry has received honorary doctoral degrees from Occidental College; Whittier College; California College of Arts and Crafts; Technical University of Nova Scotia; Rhode Island School of Design; California Institute of Arts; Southern California Institute of Architecture; Otis Art Institute at Parsons School of Design; University of Toronto; University of Southern California; Yale University; Harvard University; University of Edinburgh; Case Western Reserve University; Princeton University; University of Technology in Sydney; and Juilliard School in New York City. In 2017, he will be awarded an honorary degree from the University of Oxford. Mr. Gehry has held teaching positions at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including Harvard University; University of Southern California; University of California–Los Angeles; Sci-Arc; University of Toronto; Columbia University; Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich; and Yale University, where he still teaches today.

Mr. Gehry continues to be actively committed to philanthropic work. He is currently engaged in a number of pro bono design projects. These include the Children’s Institute Inc., a headquarters for a children’s nonprofit located in the heart of the Watts area of Los Angeles; the Jazz Bakery, a nonprofit performance space dedicated to jazz music in Los Angeles; and the Pierre Boulez Concert Hall in Berlin, a performance space for the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, uniting young musicians with diverse backgrounds from around the Middle East. Mr. Gehry has also been working on a master plan for the Los Angeles River Revitalization project. Additionally, he continues to support a number of causes particularly close to him, including Turnaround Arts California, a program that works to build arts education in all schools. He is also active in the Hereditary Disease Foundation, which is working to find the cure for Huntington’s disease.

Mr. Gehry’s notable projects include the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain; Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota; Nationale-Nederlanden Building, Prague; DZ Bank Building, Berlin; Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York; Maggie’s Centre, a cancer patient care center in Dundee, Scotland; Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles; Jay Pritzker Pavilion and BP Pedestrian Bridge, Millennium Park, Chicago; Hotel Marqués de Riscal, Elciego, Spain; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Peter B. Lewis Science Library, Princeton, New Jersey; Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas; New Campus for New World Symphony, Miami; Eight Spruce Street Residential Tower, New York City; Opus Residential Tower, Hong Kong; Signature Theatre, New York City; House for the Make It Right Foundation, New Orleans; Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris; Biomuseo, Panama; Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building for the University of Technology, Sydney; West Campus for Facebook, Menlo Park, California; and Pierre Boulez Concert Hall, Berlin.

Current projects include residential projects in Atherton, Los Angeles, and Cabo San Lucas, California; House for an Artist, Los Angeles; King Street Development, Toronto; United Kingdom; Grand Avenue Development, Los Angeles; Los Angeles River Revitalization project; and Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, Washington, DC. Projects under construction include the LUMA/Parc des Ateliers, Arles, France; Philadelphia Museum of Art; and Battersea Power Station Development, London.

Gehry Partners, LLP

Background

Gehry Partners, LLP is a full-service architectural firm with extensive international experience in the design and construction of academic, museum, theater, performance, and commercial projects.

Founded in 1962 and located in Los Angeles, Gehry Partners currently has a staff of approximately 130 people. Every project undertaken by Gehry Partners is designed personally and directly by Frank Gehry. All of the broad resources of the firm and the extensive experience of the firm’s senior partners and staff are available to assist in the design effort and to carry this effort forward through technical development and construction administration.

At the heart of the firm’s approach to design is a method in which the client is brought fully into the design process as a member of the design team, making the design a true collaboration between architect and client. Gehry Partners begins work by conducting extensive meetings with the client, and, when necessary, with representatives of user groups, with community representatives, and with representatives of city and state governments, in order to determine and develop overall project goals and requirements. Programming options and site planning options are determined, developed, and presented for review using both written analyses and physical models that permit clear understanding of all options as depicted within the larger context of the site area. Discussions regarding project schedule, project budget, and requirements for specialty consultants are conducted concurrently and continue as work proceeds.

After programming and site planning issues are resolved, the focus of work shifts to architectural design. The architectural design process is based on extensive physical modeling at multiple scales, in which both the functional and formal aspects of a project are explored in detail. Every possible design option is developed using physical models and presented to the client for review. Actual building materials and large-scale mock-ups are employed to promote detailed understanding of the design among all involved parties. As work proceeds, the physical models developed during the early stages of design become more fully refined and as necessary are documented using Digital Project, a highly advanced three-dimensional surface modeling computer program developed by Gehry Technologies for use in the architectural, engineering, and construction industry. Digital Project permits detailed surface area and quantity calculations during the design process, and allows Gehry Partners to provide accurate construction cost calculations and consistent cost control as work proceeds. As the design approaches final development, a thoroughly detailed Digital Project model is produced to serve as the primary source of project information during the bidding, fabrication, and construction stages, rationalizing and permitting close control of the construction process.

At any given time the partnership has as many as twenty-five projects in various stages of development from design through construction. These projects vary in size from the very large-scale Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum to projects as small as the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum in Biloxi, Mississippi. The staff is carefully trained, and the firm hires many architects directly from school and retains them as the core of our design and technical teams.

The work of Gehry Partners has been featured widely in national and international newspapers and magazines, and has been exhibited in major museums throughout the world. Notable projects include the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain; Vitra International Furniture Museum and Factory, Weil am Rhein, Germany; Chiat/Day Office Building, Venice, California; Vila Olimpica Retail and Commercial Complex, Barcelona; University of Toledo Center for the Visual Arts; Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota; Vitra International Headquarters, Basel, Switzerland; EMR Communication and Technology Center, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany; Nationale-Nederlanden Building, Prague; Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, University of Cincinnati; Der Neue Zollhof, an office complex in Düsseldorf; Team Disneyland Administration Building, Anaheim, California; Experience Music Project, Seattle; DZ Bank Building, a mixed-use building adjacent to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; the Peter B. Lewis Campus of the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland; Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York; Maggie’s Centre, a cancer patient care center in Dundee, Scotland; Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles; Stata Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Jay Pritzker Pavilion and BP Pedestrian Bridge, Millennium Park, Chicago; Hotel Marqués de Riscal, Elciego, Spain; Transformation Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Peter B. Lewis Science Library, Princeton, New Jersey; Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas; New Campus for New World Symphony, Miami; Eight Spruce Street Residential Tower, New York City; Opus Residential Tower, Hong Kong; Signature Theatre, New York City; House for the Make It Right Foundation, New Orleans; Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris; Biomuseo, Panama; Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building for the University of Technology, Sydney; West Campus for Facebook, Menlo Park, California; and Pierre Boulez Concert Hall, Berlin. Current projects include residential projects in Atherton, Los Angeles, and Cabo San Lucas, California; House for an Artist, Los Angeles; King Street Development, Toronto; Grand Avenue Development, Los Angeles; Los Angeles River Revitalization project; and Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, Washington, DC. Projects under construction include the LUMA / Parc des Ateliers, Arles, France; Philadelphia Museum of Art; and Battersea Power Station Development, London.

Gehry Partners, LLP

12541 Beatrice Street

Los Angeles, California 90066

Phone 310-482-3000

Fax 310-482-3006

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Social Media @philamuseum

We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A landmark building. A world-renowned collection. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

For additional information, contact the Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art phone at 215-684-7860, by fax at 215-235-0050, or by e-mail at pressroom@philamuseum.org. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call (215) 763-8100.

The Facilities Master Plan was first envisioned in 2004, when the Museum’s staff and trustees recognized the need to renew and improve the several buildings that housed its collection and to plan for the expansion of the institution. In 2006, the Museum announced the selection of Frank Gehry as the architect of its new Facilities Master Plan, asking him to address a number of challenges: improving aging infrastructure, providing much-needed space for the display of a growing collection, reorganizing the building to address present and future programmatic needs, and enhancing the visitor experience.

Frank Gehry’s Facilities Master Plan provides a thoughtful blueprint for the renovation, reorganization, and expansion of the Museum’s landmark main building. It will be implemented in phases, as time and resources permit. When completed, the plan will add more than 169,000 square feet of space (inclusive of the Core Project). Gehry’s design will renovate the interior of one of Philadelphia’s most beloved buildings while respecting its distinctive character and architectural integrity. Many of the changes will be made within the building’s existing footprint. These include improved circulation and the relocation of key functions, the renovation of important public spaces, and the upgrading of building systems that are necessary for both the stewardship of the Museum’s collection and the enhancement of the visitor experience. The plan is comprehensive, informed by a vision in which every part has been considered in relation to the whole.

After Gehry Partners was selected in 2006, work began on the concept and schematic design of the Facilities Master Plan. Simultaneously, the Museum completed a number of major capital projects to address the Museum’s immediate facilities needs. These needs included the relocation of non-public functions (i.e., offices and art storage) to other facilities to create more room in the main building for programming and the display of the collection. In 2007, it opened the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, a historic Art Deco building renovated and expanded by Gluckman Mayner Architects. A thorough cleaning and repair of the exterior facade of the main building was completed in 2009. This included the restoration of the blue-tiled roof and metalwork and window grilles by Tiffany Studios, overseen by Vitetta. In 2012, the Museum opened a new 68,000-square-foot Art Handling Facility designed by Gehry Partners, providing much-needed improvements to back-of-house areas for the care, storage, and movement of the works of art in the collection.

What is the “Core Project”?

As its name suggests, the Core Project—the current phase in the implementation of the Facilities Master Plan—focuses on renovating the very heart of the building. Its impact will be transformative.

The Core Project will include:

• A total of 90,000 sq. ft. to open to visitors, including 23,000 gross sq. ft. of gallery space (10,000 sq. ft. for Contemporary art and 10,000 sq. ft. for American art) and 67,000 sq. ft. of public space (30,000 sq. ft. on Level C for the North and South Lobbies, the Vaulted Walkway, the Education Studios and coat check and 37,000 sq. ft. for the multilevel Forum, Lenfest Hall, restrooms, retail, corridors and coat check).

• Removal of the auditorium to open a west–east axis from Lenfest Hall to the East Entrance and to create a spectacular Forum, located just below the Great Stair Hall. The Forum will function as both a circulation hub and a public gathering place.

• A grand new staircase that will be a feature of the Forum that connects the historic 640-foot-long Vaulted Walkway to the floors above. Coupled with the provision of new and restored elevators, this will substantially improve circulation at the center of the main building.

• The reopening to the public and schoolchildren of the North Entrance, which faces Kelly Drive and the Perelman Building. This entrance includes a grand lobby and leads to the Vaulted Walkway, which runs through the heart of the building, creating a north–south axis through the Forum.

• New education classrooms and art studios equipped with digital projection capabilities.

• The addition of new gallery space within the existing building dedicated to American art and contemporary art, and the relocation of corridors to the perimeter, providing expansive views of the East Terrace, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and Philadelphia’s skyline.

• Major investments in infrastructure, including the comprehensive renewal or replacement of systems to increase energy efficiency and the implementation of enhanced information, security, and fire and life-safety building systems.

• Other sustainable, green features, including cost-effective LED lighting, improved insulation, double-glazed windows, environmentally responsible water management and treatment methods, and the use of recycled materials.

• The provision of ramps at key points inside and outside the building to ensure that the Museum is ADA compliant and more accessible to visitors with physical disabilities.

• Enhanced amenities to improve the visitor experience, including new food and dining options and restrooms.

What is the It Starts Here campaign?

It Starts Here: Campaign for the Philadelphia Museum of Art is a $525 million fundraising initiative intended to strengthen the Museum’s endowment, support strategic initiatives in programming and operations, and renew its landmark building. The campaign enables the Museum to move boldly forward, providing enhancements to attract new audiences while strengthening its core functions. This is the largest cultural fundraising campaign in Philadelphia’s history.

Why is the Philadelphia Museum of Art conducting the It Starts Here campaign now?

The Museum’s most recent campaign, The 2001 Fund, ended in 2004. In the fall of 2012, the Museum completed a comprehensive strategic plan. Approved by the Board of Trustees in December 2013, the strategic plan prepared the groundwork for the philanthropic goals of the It Starts Here campaign. The Museum seeks to secure additional financial resources in order to realize its strategic objectives and strengthen key activities such as the care and presentation of its collection and educational programming.

What are the top priorities of the It Starts Here campaign?

The campaign focuses on building the Museum’s endowment to a level commensurate with the quality of its collections and programming; funding the completion of the Core Project of its Facilities Master Plan; and providing significant operating support that will allow the Museum to realize its strategic objectives and maintain a balanced operating budget.

When will the It Starts Here campaign conclude?

The campaign has an ambitious timeline: we aim to complete it the next couple of years.

How will the visitor experience change during the construction process of the Core Project?

Throughout the Core Project, the Museum remains open to the public, with a series of exhibitions, programs, and operations continuing as usual. The Museum is the preeminent arts institution in Philadelphia. The Museum continues to connect and collaborate with over 100 organizations across the city, from the University of Pennsylvania and Project HOME to the Free Library and Taller Puertorriqueño. Some 65,000 schoolchildren and 4,000 teachers turn to the Museum for arts education. All Philadelphia public and charter school students receive free admission. The Museum audience is getting younger, with the median age visitor being in the 30s, down from age 45 in 2008.

Were other architects considered for the Core Project? Why was Frank Gehry selected as the architect?

As is standard practice, the Museum sent requests for proposal to a number of architectural firms. Gehry Partners was one of three finalists invited by the Architect Selection Committee to submit working proposals. The final selection of Gehry and his team was confirmed by the Board of Trustees in 2006.

Gehry is a brilliant planner with a sophisticated understanding of and deep appreciation for the architecture of the Museum’s main building and the collections it houses. His vision for the project is based on an appreciation of the original design of the 1928 building and is consistent with the character of its original plan and architectural language. While many people think of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, as most representative aspect of Gehry’s approach to museum design, his thoughtful renovation and expansion of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, most closely parallels the approach he took to this project. This is the first Gehry project in Philadelphia.

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Social Media @philamuseum

We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A landmark building. A world-renowned collection. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

For additional information, contact the Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art phone at 215-684-7860, by fax at 215-235-0050, or by e-mail at pressroom@philamuseum.org. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call (215) 763-8100.

• Each year, the Museum attracts an average of 800,000 visitors on-site and nearly 10 million page views on our website: philamuseum.org.

• The endowment stood at $487 million in 2018 and the annual operating budget was $60 million. By 2020, the It Starts Here campaign aims to increase the Museum’s total endowment to over $500 million.

• The Museum has 455 full-time employees and 400 volunteers.

• As a city-owned building, the City of Philadelphia pays the museum’s utilities. As part of Philadelphia’s overall Energy master Plan, the City has also invested $11.3 million in an energy conservation project that is expected to reduce the museum’s utility costs by at least 22 percent, saving the City $750,000 in the first year.

• The campus consists of the main building, the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, the Rodin Museum, and Mount Pleasant and Cedar Grove Park Houses, totaling 1 million+ sq. ft. of property under our care. When the Museum’s main building first opened in 1928, many galleries remained empty, but they were filled over the next three decades.

• Frank Gehry was selected in 2006 to design the new Facilities Master Plan. The Art Handling Facility was completed in 2012 and the Core Project is currently underway.

• The Core Project will open a total of gross 90,000 sq. ft. to the public, including 23,000 sq. ft. of new gallery space. After the full Gehry Plan is completed, the galleries will have grown by an additional 55,000 sq. ft. under the East Terrace, for a total of 78,000 sq. ft.

The Collections

• Exceptional American painting, sculpture, furniture, silver and ceramics—including the remarkable creations of the Shakers and Pennsylvania Germans—reflect Philadelphia’s central role in American history. Among the highlights are the collections of works by Thomas Eakins and Charles Willson Peale and his family of painters.

• The Museum’s Modern and Contemporary Art galleries house the world’s most extensive display of the works of Marcel Duchamp. Regularly on display are many of the paintings that the artist made early in his career, including Nude Descending the Staircase No 2 (1912), The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass), in the exact location where the artist placed it in 1954, and his enigmatic last work, Etant donnés. The museum’s collection of works by Constantin Brancusi is the most significant outside Europe.

• The European Painting and Sculpture galleries consist of works by old masters, as well as by major artists of the 19th century including Cézanne and Manet, and Impressionists Monet, Renoir, and Degas. The Rodin Museum houses the most important public collection of Rodin’s work outside Paris and includes the first bronze cast of The Gates of Hell.

• Anchoring European Decorative Arts is the arms and armor collection of Carl Otto Kretzschmar von Kienbusch. Holdings total 20,000 objects, from Renaissance maiolica to Zaha Hadid’s concept car.

• Prints, Drawings, and Photographs is the largest of the Museum’s curatorial collections, with more than 100,000 objects. Costume and Textiles is the second largest, with 30,000+ objects. Works in both departments are light-sensitive and must be rotated frequently, and therefore are a priority for cataloguing online.

• East Asian Art numbers 9,000 objects from China, Japan, Korea, and across East Asia: lacquerware, furniture, ceramics, scrolls, paintings, and carpets and other decorative arts. The Museum has collected in this area since our founding in 1876. All three curatorial positions are endowed, and the Museum was the first in the United States to endow a curator of Korean art.

• South Asian Art includes work from India, Nepal, Tibet, and across South Asia. Philadelphia is the only place outside India where visitors can see an Indian temple, complete with architecture and sculpture.

• On average, 375 works of art travel across the world to exhibitions at 100+ peer institutions each year, making the Museum one of the most generous lenders. Exhibitions organized by the Museum frequently travel to international venues; recent examples include Paul Strand: Master of Modern Photography, Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel and the New Painting , Modern Times: American Art, 1910–1950, and The Essential Duchamp.

• Each year, Conservation examines hundreds of objects, undertaking both major and minor treatments. Major recent projects include Augustus Saint Gaudens’s towering figure Diana, Thomas Eakins’s The Gross Clinic, and Diego Rivera’s frescoes Liberation of the Peon and Sugar Cane, and most recently, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Large Bathers. Every day, objects are cleaned, assessed, preserved, and imaged. Our conservators have even been called upon to help conserve the sculpture of Alexander Stirling Calder atop Philadelphia City Hall, including the figure of William Penn, and to consult on the care of the Liberty Bell.

• Over 142,000 objects can now be viewed online, and the Museum has over 960,000 followers on social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Snapchat.

• Approximately 200,000 people, including 65,000 schoolchildren, participate annually in educational programs, including tours, lectures, concerts, workshops, and art history courses. One hundred percent of visiting School District of Philadelphia students receive free admission. Admission is always free for children 12 and under. We have a long-standing commitment to early childhood education.

• After field trips to the Museum, Philadelphia School District students are given Family Return Museum Passes, which allow them to bring up to 8 family members and friends back to visit for free.

• Four thousand teachers are served with resources and training opportunities each year, including 20 one-day events, the annual summer Visual Arts as Sources for Teaching program, and in-classroom workshops. For every teacher served, hundreds, if not thousands, of students’ lives are touched.

Return to Press Kit

Social Media @philamuseum

We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A landmark building. A world-renowned collection. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

For additional information, contact the Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art phone at 215-684-7860, by fax at 215-235-0050, or by e-mail at pressroom@philamuseum.org. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call (215) 763-8100.

Now Open
Temporary food services

October 2018

Now Open
New food services

Under Construction
Balcony Café

Spring 2019

Now Open
Newly renovated galleries of Chinese art

Under Construction
Renovation of galleries devoted to 19th century painting and sculpture, through winter

September 2019

Now Open
North Entrance
North Vaulted Walkway
Retail space inside North Entrance
New education classrooms and art studios
New espresso bar adjacent to Vaulted Walkway

Under Construction
Renovation of galleries devoted to 19th century painting and sculpture, through winter
South Vaulted Walkway
West Entrance
Lenfest Hall
Balcony Shop
New galleries of American art and Contemporary art

Spring 2020

Now Open
Newly renovated galleries devoted to 19th century painting and sculpture

Under Construction
Forum
South Vaulted Walkway
West Entrance
Lenfest Hall
Balcony Shop
New galleries of American art and Contemporary art

Spring 2021*

Now Open
Forum
South Vaulted Walkway
West Entrance
Lenfest Hall
Balcony Shop
New galleries of American art
New galleries of Contemporary art

Core Project construction ends
 

*As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, completion of the Core Project, originally scheduled for Fall 2020, will be delayed. A new completion date will be announced.

Return to Press Kit

Social Media @philamuseum

We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A landmark building. A world-renowned collection. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

For additional information, contact the Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art phone at 215-684-7860, by fax at 215-235-0050, or by e-mail at pressroom@philamuseum.org. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call (215) 763-8100.

Gehry Partners, LLP
Magnusson Klemencic Associates (Structural)
AltieriSeborWieber LLC (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing)
Jensen Hughes, Inc. (Life Safety)
Olin Partnership (Landscape Architects)
L’Observatoire International (Lighting)
Keast & Hood Co. (Structural)
Shen Milsom & Wilke LLC (Telecom/AV)
Ross & Baruzzini Inc. (Security)
Auerbach Pollock Friedlander (Audio Visual - Theatrical)
Cerami & Associates, Inc. (Acoustics)
Atelier Ten LLC (Sustainability)
Henshell & Buccellato, Consulting Architects (Building Envelope)
Lerch Bates, Inc. (Elevator, Vertical Transportation)
Finish Hardware Technology (Door Hardware Consultant)
Singer (Food Services Consultant)
Kelly/Maiello Inc. (Architects & Planners)

Other Consultants

Aegis Property Group (Owner Rep)
Magnusson Klemencic Associates (Civil)
Haley & Aldrich, Inc. (Geotech)
Urban Affairs Coalition (Minority Participation Consultants)
Horizon Engineering Associates LLP (Commissioning)
Vibra- Tech (Vibration Monitoring Consultans)
Criterion Laboratories (Inspectors)
Middle Departments Inspection Agency Inc. (Electrical Inspection)
KAKS & Company, LLC (Inspection)
Atkin Olshin Schade Architects
Pennoni Associates, Inc. (Survey)
MGA Partners, Architects
Atelier Art Services (Art Movement)
Multivista (Photography)
Vitetta (Architects)
Studio Agoos Lovera (Architects)

Construction Managers

LF Driscoll Company, LLC (Construction Managers)

Subcontractors

Dougherty Electric, Inc. (Electrical)
Tracey Mechanical, Inc. (Mechanical)
Eaton Corporation, Electrical Group (Switchgear)
Turtle & Hughes, Inc. (Switchgear)
JPC Group Inc. (Earthwork)
Chadwick Service Company (Mechanical)
Dan Lepore & Sons Company (Masonry)
Hope’s Windows, Inc. (Windows)
Siemens Industry Inc (Temperature Control, Fire Alarm, Security)
Central Metals, Inc. (Misc. Metals)
Dale Construction, LLC (Carpentry)
D’Andrea Bros. Concrete Co., Inc. (Concrete/Earthwork/Sitework))
Oliver Sprinkler Company, Inc. (Fire Protection)
Hayes Sheet Metal, Inc. (Sheet metal)
ATC Group Services, LLC (Lab Data)
L&R Construction Co., Inc. (Rebar)
Delta BJDS, Inc. (Abatement)
HB Frazer Co. (Electrical - Telecom)
Raff Electric Inc. (Electrical)
Hispanic Ventures, Inc. (Painting)
Torrado Construction Co., Inc. (Masonry)
Unified Door & Hardware Group (Doors/Frame/Hardware)
United States Roofing Corp. (Waterproofing)
Singer (Food Services Equipment)
Copeland Surveying, Inc. (Survey)
Southampton Services (Final Cleaning)

Return to Press Kit

Social Media @philamuseum

We are Philadelphia’s art museum. A landmark building. A world-renowned collection. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

For additional information, contact the Communications Department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art phone at 215-684-7860, by fax at 215-235-0050, or by e-mail at pressroom@philamuseum.org. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For general information, call (215) 763-8100.