Making American Artists

Reinterprets American art through one institution’s iconic collection, spotlighting contributions by Black, women, and LGBTQ+ artists.

Making American Artists delves into the extensive historical and modern collections of the first art school and museum in the United States, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, to reconsider what it means to be an American artist. Essays by leading scholars focus on the significant contributions made by Black, women, and LGBTQ+ artists whose careers were nurtured at PAFA. Brimming with illustrations of more than one hundred significant works, this catalog commemorates a traveling exhibition with several venues, including the Wichita Art Museum in Kansas; the Albuquerque Museum of Art in New Mexico; the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.