The Decorative Arts Society (DAS) has invited members on exciting day of decorative arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We will begin with a tour of Workshop of the World: Arts and Crafts in Philadelphia, led by co-curators David Barquist, the H. Richard Dietrich, Jr., Curator of American Decorative Arts, and Colin Fanning, the Louis C. Madeira IV Assistant Curator of European Decorative Arts. After lunch at the museum cafe, Alexandra Kirtley, the Montgomery-Garvan Curator of American Decorative Arts, will lead us on a tour of A Nation of Artists. Participants will be able to enjoy the museum on their own following the tours.
Workshop of the World marks the 150th anniversary of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, one of several local institutions founded following the 1876 Centennial Exposition. It celebrates the creative innovations that emerged from a network of Philadelphia artists, architects, and manufacturers in response to the problems of urban industrialization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Inspired by the ideals of the British Arts and Crafts movement, these artists sought to beautify everyday life through simple designs and hand craftsmanship.
Highlighting the richness and diversity of American art, A Nation of Artiststraces the evolving story of American creativity across three centuries, featuring works of fine and decorative arts from the Philadelphia Museum of Art collected over the past 150 years and the Middleton Family Collection, one of the country’s most significant private holdings of American art. Presented chronologically around distinctive themes, the exhibition explores art making of all types, from ceramics to wood carving and painting to fashion, and includes works by Indigenous, African American, and historically underrepresented artists who have shaped the nation’s visual culture.
Time: Please arrive by 10:15am. The tour will begin promptly at 10:30am. The PMA will be open until 8:45pm.
Location: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia
Cost: Adults, $28; Seniors (65+), $26; Students (19+ with student ID), $12. Please note that transportation is not included.