The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts recently announced some of the newest acquisitions headed for its permanent collection. Who are the big names included?
The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts announced this week that it has recently acquired a number of outstanding works for its permanent collection. Ranging in date from 1856 to 2015, the recent additions are eclectic in style and media. All told, over 40 paintings, sculptures, mixed media, and works on paper are included.
David Johnson’s exquisite panoramic landscape “The Hudson River from Fort Montgomery” of 1870 is a magnificent piece and a highlight of the additions. Johnson skipped no detail, and the painting appears as fresh today as it did nearly 150 years ago. Harriet Hosmer’s neoclassical marble sculpture “Puck on a Toadstool” from 1856 is also a feature.
Via the academy’s press release: “Expanding and diversifying its permanent collection — in particular its holdings of women and African-American artists, and Hudson River School painters – through gifts and purchases is a key focus of PAFA’s mission. The purchases are being made through collections endowments and dedicated collections funds.”
PAFA president and CEO David R. Brigham said, “PAFA is a living institution in which connections between the past, present and future are visible in all aspects of our identity. These latest acquisitions reflect this continuum and reinforce our continued mission to telling the full history of American art.”
PAVA curator of historical American art Anna Marley states that the newly acquired David Johnson is among the Hudson River School painter’s finest works. Marley said, “Given the excellent quality and condition of the painting, the fact that Johnson is only known to have painted six paintings at this scale, and the classic Hudson River scene with wonderful details like a train and steam and sail ships, we are thrilled to bring this work into PAFA’s permanent collection.’”
To learn more, visit the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
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Pennsylvania Acquisitions
