Horizons: American Landscapes from Tradition to Tomorrow
“Horizons: American Landscapes from Tradition to Tomorrow” is a conversation between curators from PAFA and the Brandywine Museum of Art, presented as part of PAFA’s landmark exhibition *A Nation of Artists*. Dr. Lea Stephenson and Kerry Bickford will consider how American artists have represented the landscape, from the sublime scenery of the Hudson River School and the intimate terrain associated with the Brandywine tradition to contemporary artists’ changing visions of place and environment.
The discussion will explore the role of landscape art in shaping American cultural identity, including evolving ideas about the land, ecology, belonging, and national mythology. It also marks PAFA’s reopening of its Historic Landmark Building and the broader national context of America’s 250th anniversary. Examples from the institutions’ collections include landscapes by Sanford Robinson Gifford, Jasper Francis Cropsey, and Frederic Edwin Church.
When: November 6, 2026
Showtimes: 6:00 PM–8:00 PM
Run time: 2 hours
Venue: Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Speakers: Dr. Lea Stephenson, Kenneth R. Woodcock Curator of Historical American Art at PAFA, and Kerry Bickford, Associate Curator at the Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art
Tickets: General admission is $25; student admission is $10; member admission is free.
Registration: Advance registration is available through the event page.
About the speakers: Stephenson oversees PAFA’s collection of American art from the eighteenth through the early twentieth century and co-curates *A Nation of Artists*. Her scholarship focuses particularly on nineteenth-century American art and artists working internationally. Bickford is a Philadelphia-based curator whose work addresses site-responsive public art, local ecology, and contemporary artistic practice. Before joining Brandywine, she held curatorial and program leadership roles with Monument Lab and Philadelphia Contemporary.
Contact: Center for Art Education, arteducation@pafa.edu