Construction of Early American Art Galleries

FAIN: CHA-261860-19

Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, PA 19101-7646)
Gail Harrity (Project Director: March 2018 to July 2022)
Jane Lawson-Bell (Project Director: July 2022 to present)

The renovation of the historic 1928 main building of the Philadelphia Museum of Art leading to increase gallery space to display its permanent collection of early American Art, which encompasses nearly 12,000 objects ranging in date from the colonial period through the mid-1800s.

The proposed Challenge Grant will support the first expansion of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s American art galleries since 1977. Ten new galleries will open in fall 2020, increasing the exhibition space for this nationally significant collection by 61%, by renovating 11,500 square feet within the main building. The new galleries will feature American art from the colonial period to the mid-1800s. The project will establish the capacity for the Museum to fully activate this collection for humanities learning by accommodating more than 200 objects with richer interpretation. It will help the Museum achieve a milestone in its Facilities Master Plan and complete the first major renovation of its main building since it opened in 1928. Proposed support represents the first federal investment in a $525 million comprehensive campaign designed to strengthen the institution. It will benefit 800,000 to one million visitors each year, from every state in the nation, for decades to come.