PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART

Programs:

Showcasing more than 2,000 years of human creativity, the Museum's encyclopedic collections, ranked in the top five nationally and which currently contain more than 227,000 objects, are continually enhanced through an active acquisition program. The collection of Asian art includes ceramics, sculpture, paintings, and decorative objects as well as a Japanese ceremonial teahouse, a Chinese palace hall, a temple hall from Southern India, and a celebrated collection of Oriental carpets. The European collections include medieval sculpture, stained glass, and a 13th-century French cloister; masterpieces of Renaissance painting; a suite of 18th-century French interiors; and superb Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. The American collections include extensive holdings of refined furniture and silver by early Philadelphia craftsmen; Pennsylvania German art; and the most important collection in the world of works by Philadelphia artist Thomas Eakins. Modern and Contemporary Art can be traced from the early innovations of Picasso, Braque, Matisse, and Duchamp to great works of abstract expressionism, pop art, color field painting, and contemporary work in many media. A vibrant and wide-ranging roster of lectures, gallery talks, courses, symposia, performances and programs for teachers and students reaches visitors of all ages, abilities, and levels of interest. The Conservation Department is dedicated to the examination and treatment of works of art, materials research, education, and preservation activities throughout the Museum. As one of the major art reference libraries in the United States, the Museum Library houses approximately 200,000 books, auction catalogues, and periodicals dating from the sixteenth century to the present. The Philadelphia Museum of Art administers the Rodin Museum and two historic houses in Fairmount Park.