Trove of Ellsworth Kelly works given to Philadelphia Museum of Art

Ellsworth Kelly, ‘Study for Curve I,’ 1968, found crushed wax paper cup. © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Photo courtesy of the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, in honor of the Ellsworth Kelly Centennial.
Ellsworth Kelly, ‘Study for Curve I,’ 1968, found crushed wax paper cup. © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Photo courtesy of the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, in honor of the Ellsworth Kelly Centennial.
Ellsworth Kelly, ‘Study for Curve I,’ 1968, found crushed wax paper cup. © Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Photo courtesy of the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, in honor of the Ellsworth Kelly Centennial.

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Museum of Art is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Ellsworth Kelly’s birth with a new exhibition highlighting an extraordinary group of drawings that Jack Shear, the artist’s longtime partner and husband, has generously offered along with a related painting and sculpture as gifts to the museum. They come just as the museum has dedicated Gallery 275 as the newly endowed Jennifer Rice and Michael Forman Gallery, which has long showcased the early work of Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) and will be devoted to artist’s work and legacy.

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Eakins painting ‘sails’ to Nelson-Atkins to settle Super Bowl bet

Thomas Eakins (American, 1844–1916), ‘Sailing,’ circa 1875, oil on canvas. The Alex Simpson, Jr., Collection, 1928. 1928-63-6
Thomas Eakins (American, 1844–1916), ‘Sailing,’ circa 1875, oil on canvas. The Alex Simpson, Jr., Collection, 1928. 1928-63-6
Thomas Eakins (American, 1844–1916), ‘Sailing,’ circa 1875, oil on canvas. The Alex Simpson, Jr., Collection, 1928. 1928-63-6. Image courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City Chiefs victory in a hard-fought Super Bowl brings a winning painting to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Thomas Eakins’ Sailing is the trophy following #MuseumBowl23. Had the game ended differently, the Nelson-Atkins would have packed one of its own treasures to send to Philadelphia.

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Philadelphia Museum of Art devotes center to African and African diasporic art

Announcing the creation of the Brind Center for African and African Diasporic Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (from left): Carlos Basualdo, Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud deputy director and chief curator; Museum Trustee Ira Brind; Sasha Suda, George D. Widener director and CEO; and Alphonso Atkins, Miller Worley director of diversity equity, inclusion, and access. Image courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Announcing the creation of the Brind Center for African and African Diasporic Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (from left): Carlos Basualdo, Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud deputy director and chief curator; Museum Trustee Ira Brind; Sasha Suda, George D. Widener director and CEO; and Alphonso Atkins, Miller Worley director of diversity equity, inclusion, and access. Image courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Announcing the creation of the Brind Center for African and African Diasporic Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (from left): Carlos Basualdo, Marion Boulton “Kippy” Stroud deputy director and chief curator; Museum Trustee Ira Brind; Sasha Suda, George D. Widener director and CEO; and Alphonso Atkins, Miller Worley director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. Image courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

PHILADELPHIA – Sasha Suda, the George D. Widener director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, announced on February 23 that the museum will create a new center to be endowed by Trustee Ira Brind that will be dedicated to the study, acquisition, and care of art from continental Africa and the African Diaspora. This transformational investment in the curatorial future of the museum will establish the Brind Center for African and African Diasporic Art, with the specific goal of expanding the scope and reach of the collection, a key objective of the newly published PMA Equity Agenda.

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Leading Philadelphia, Kansas City museums make art-related Super Bowl bet

The Philadelphia Museum of Art displaying a Philadelpia Eagles banner on its exterior. It and the Nekson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo., which is cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs, have placed a friendly Super Bowl bet: The loser has to loan the winner a choice work of art from its collection. Images courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Left, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo.; Right, the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia. The museums are cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles in the upcoming Super Bowl and marking it with a friendly bet: The loser has to loan the winner a choice work of art from its collection. Images courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Left, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo.; Right, the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia. The museums are cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles in the upcoming Super Bowl and agreed to a friendly bet: The loser has to loan the winner a choice work of art from its collection. Images courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art

PHILADELPHIA and KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It’s the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection versus the BBQ Capital of the World. As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 12, a battle for the masterpieces will also be at play, accompanied by a pigskin scramble on social media as two major art museums stake a precious work of art on the likelihood of their city’s Super Bowl victory.

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Philadelphia Museum of Art workers ratify pact, end strike

The Philadelphia Museum of Art, photographed in May. On October 16, the museum’s union announced a successful end to its strike, which lasted almost three weeks. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit David Saddler. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, photographed in May. On October 16, the museum’s union announced a successful end to its strike, which lasted almost three weeks. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit David Saddler. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art are returning to work after reaching agreement on a contract that ended a strike of almost three weeks. The Philadelphia Museum of Art Union announced on October 16 that members had “voted 99 percent in favor” of ratifying what it called “our hard-won first contract.”

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Workers at Philadelphia Museum of Art begin walkout

The Philadelphia Museum of Art, photographed in May 2022. On September 26, unionized workers at the institution staged a walkout. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit David Saddler. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, photographed in May 2022. On September 26, unionized workers at the institution staged a walkout. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit David Saddler. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, photographed in May 2022. On September 26, unionized workers at the institution staged a walkout. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, photo credit David Saddler. Shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art began a strike September 26, citing wage and health care issues as the institution said it would remain open during the walkout.

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Philly museum hosts medieval treasures from Glencairn Museum

Artist/maker unknown, French. The Flight into Egypt, from the Infancy of Christ Window, from the Abbey Church of St. Denis, France. Stained glass, circa 1145. 20 1/2 by 19 3/4in (52.1 by 50.2cm). On loan from Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
Artist/maker unknown, French. The Flight into Egypt, from the Infancy of Christ Window, from the Abbey Church of St. Denis, France. Stained glass, circa 1145. 20 1/2 by 19 3/4in (52.1 by 50.2cm). On loan from Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
Artist/maker unknown, French. The Flight into Egypt, from the Infancy of Christ Window, from the Abbey Church of St. Denis, France. Stained glass, circa 1145. 20 1/2 by 19 3/4in (52.1 by 50.2cm). On loan from Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Museum of Art is currently hosting Medieval Treasures from the Glencairn Museum, a rich display of 18 works of French Romanesque and Gothic art on loan from the museum in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, which is renowned for one of the world’s finest collections of medieval sculpture and stained glass from 12th-century France. Glencairn Museum is currently closed to the public for extensive infrastructure renewal, presenting the opportunity to display highlights from its collection in context in the medieval galleries of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The exhibit will continue through Fall 2023.

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Sean Scully exhibition in Philadelphia through July 31

‘Landline Pink,’ 2013, by Sean Scully. Oil on linen, 47 by 42in. Collection of the artist. Image courtesy of the artist. Photographer: Christoph Knoch. © Sean Scully.
‘Landline Pink,’ 2013, by Sean Scully. Oil on linen, 47 by 42in. Collection of the artist. Image courtesy of the artist. Photographer: Christoph Knoch. © Sean Scully.
‘Landline Pink,’ 2013, by Sean Scully. Oil on linen, 47 by 42in. Collection of the artist. Image courtesy of the artist. Photographer: Christoph Knoch. © Sean Scully.

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Museum of Art will present a major survey of Irish-born American artist Sean Scully, featuring paintings and works on paper from the early 1970s to the present. Sean Scully: The Shape of Ideas will chart the artist’s significant contributions to the American and European history of abstract painting as it has developed during the last half-century, while emphasizing the integral relationship between Scully’s paintings, drawings, watercolors and prints, which are rarely exhibited together. The exhibition will be on view from April 11 to July 31.

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Important Jasper Johns retrospective runs through Feb. 13 in NY and Philly

‘Flag,’ 1954-55, by Jasper Johns. Encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric mounted on wood (3 panels), 41.25 X 60.75 in. (104.8 x 154.3 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Gift of Philip Johnson in honor of Alfred H. Barr, Jr. © Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY.
‘Flag,’ 1954-55, by Jasper Johns. Encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric mounted on wood (3 panels), 41.25 X 60.75 in. (104.8 x 154.3 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Gift of Philip Johnson in honor of Alfred H. Barr, Jr. © Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY.
‘Flag,’ 1954-55, by Jasper Johns. Encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric mounted on wood (3 panels), 41.25 X 60.75 in. (104.8 x 154.3 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Gift of Philip Johnson in honor of Alfred H. Barr, Jr. © Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY.

NEW YORK and PHILADELPHIA — The most comprehensive retrospective to date of the work of Jasper Johns, organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, will remain on view concurrently in the two cities through February 13, 2022.

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