Exhibition Tours: A Nation of Artists

A guided in-gallery tour of PAFA’s newly restored Historic Landmark Building, the exhibition explores the diverse stories of American art and identity. Experienced docents examine the international influences and global exchanges that shaped American art, while highlighting artists’ responses to changing social conditions from the 18th century through the present.

Organized in connection with America’s 250th anniversary, *A Nation of Artists* considers how creativity, exchange, expansion, conflict, and innovation have influenced artistic production in the United States. The exhibition presents more than 1,000 paintings, photographs, sculptures, decorative-arts objects, and other works arranged around themes including westward expansion, industrial growth, and international exchange. More than 120 rarely exhibited works from the Middleton Family Collection, one of the country’s significant private collections of American art, are being shown publicly for the first time across PAFA and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

When: October 31, 2026

Showtime: 1:00 PM

Venue: PAFA Museum, Historic Landmark Building, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Tickets: General admission is free with museum admission, which is $25. Admission is free for PAFA members.

Registration: Advance registration is available through the event’s “Register Now” option.

Tour format: Guided in-gallery tour led by experienced PAFA docents.

Exhibition period covered: The tour discusses American art from the late 18th century to the modern day, with the exhibition tracing the nation’s artistic history from 1700 to the present.

Contact: Center for Art Education, arteducation@pafa.edu