The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts are collaborating for the first time in their histories to present "A Nation of Artists: 250 Years of American Creativity," a landmark joint exhibition running through summer and fall of 2026. The show features over 1,000 works spanning American painting, sculpture, photography, craft, and design from the colonial era to today, drawn from both institutions' permanent collections and loans from across the country. It is split across two venues in Philadelphia, connected by public transit, and includes works by women, Black American, Indigenous, immigrant, and regional artists often overlooked in traditional art history.
This exhibition matters because it represents an unprecedented institutional partnership between two of America's oldest and most prestigious art museums, offering a comprehensive and inclusive survey of American creativity during the nation's 250th anniversary celebration. By presenting multiple narratives rather than a single linear story, it challenges the traditional canon and highlights contributions from historically marginalized artists, making it one of the largest and most ambitious exhibitions of American art ever assembled.