#PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts
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“A Real Allegory of Her Studio” by Mequitta Ahuja (American) – Oil on canvas / 2015 – Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia) #WomenInArt #art #artText #WomensArt #WomenArtists #WomanArtist #MequittaAhuja #Ahuja #PAFA #Symbolism #allegory #SelfPortrait #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts
In this self-portrait, artist Mequitta Ahuja brings her African American and Indian American heritage, and the long history of studio painting, into a single, layered scene. The title nods to Gustave Courbet’s nineteenth-century “The Painter’s Studio: A Real Allegory,” yet Ahuja replaces his crowded, male-centered drama with a quiet, solitary woman-of-color artist absorbed in her own sources. A woman with medium-brown skin sits cross-legged on a pale blue mat, her back and rounded shoulders turned toward us as she studies an image held low in her right hand. Her dark hair is gathered into a loose knot with muscles, spine, and fingers are carefully modeled, emphasizing a working artist’s body at rest. Around her are open books including one displaying a richly robed, cross-legged figure in orange and another showing architectural sketches and prints as their white pages fan out across the floor. A yellowed sheet of paper slips from the stack like a bookmark of ideas. The room recedes in angled planes of dark floorboards, speckled green walls, and doorways edged in yellow that frame deep shadows. On the right, a vertical panel divides the space, revealing a curling sheet on which a silhouetted profile of the artist appears, arm bent, brush in hand, as if she is both subject and shadow on the wall, page, and canvas at once. The devotional card suggests Indian spiritual traditions while the art books likely echo a Euro-American canon that has often sidelined artists like her. By turning her back to us, Ahuja refuses spectacle and instead invites us to witness the thinking, researching, and world-building that underlie painting. The silhouette on the curling page becomes a second self like a future, remembered, or imagined as she insists that women-of-color are not just represented in images but are the authors, historians, and, in this beautiful painting, allegorists of the studio itself.
December 10, 2025 at 4:44 PM
mdstamper.bsky.social
“Self-Portrait” by Anne Harris (American) - Acrylic on canvas / 1998 - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia) #WomenInArt #AnneHarris #artText #arte #PAFA #selfportrait #WomensArt #WomanArtist #WomenArtists #BlueskyArt #AmericanArtist #art #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts #ArtByWomen
A softly lit face floats at the center of a nearly colorless field, emerging from a veil of pale creams, blush pinks, and muted browns. The figure’s light, warm-toned skin and bare shoulders dissolve into a misty atmosphere so that body, neck, and background almost merge. Curly, reddish-brown hair radiates outward like a halo of loose coils, edges blurred as if seen through fog. Golden, glassy eyes meet ours directly, their small points of brightness the sharpest notes in the painting. The eyelids and mouth are gently modeled but never fully crisp. Her lips part to reveal teeth, yet contours soften into haze. Cracks and fine lines at the chest suggest delicate vulnerability, while the square canvas holds this solitary, frontal figure suspended in an ambiguous, quiet space. In this self-portrait, American artist Anne Harris uses near-monochrome color and atmospheric brushwork to explore how a self can feel both exposed and unknowable. Known for portraits of women that deliberately unsettle ideals of beauty, she paints herself as neither flattering nor fixed, hovering between realism and abstraction. The dissolving edges and eerie luminosity convey anxiety and introspection, as if the artist is simultaneously coming into focus and fading away. Created in the late 1990s, when Harris was gaining recognition, fellowships, and teaching appointments, the work reflects her sustained inquiry into perception, self-scrutiny, and the psychological pressures placed on women’s faces and bodies. Collected in PAFA’s Linda Lee Alter Collection of Art by Women, the painting stands as a quiet yet intense challenge to conventional portraiture, insisting that identity is fragile, shifting, and deeply felt rather than neatly defined.
December 4, 2025 at 8:22 AM
mdstamper.bsky.social
“Self-Portrait” by Diane Edison (American) - Oil on panel / 1996 - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia) #WomenInArt #DianeEdison #Edison #WomensArt #WomanArtist #WomenArtists #PAFA #selfportrait #AfricanAmericanArt #art #artText #BlueskyArt #BlackArt #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts
This close-up self-portrait shows American artist Diane Edison, a Black woman, filling the vertical panel with her face and long dark hair. Her warm brown skin is modelled in careful layers of light and shadow, so that the ridge of her brow, nose, and cheekbones feel almost sculpted. She looks slightly past us toward our left, eyes wide and alert, one eyebrow subtly tensed. Her lips are closed, neither smiling nor frowning, suggesting guarded attention. Thick, dark free-hanging locs frame her face against a deep black background, making her gaze and skin the brightest elements in the painting. A narrow bit of her neck at the bottom hints at the rest of her body, but the composition keeps our focus on her expression. In 1996, Edison was in mid-career, teaching in Georgia and increasingly recognized for psychologically charged portraits of herself, family, and friends. Trained at the School of Visual Arts in New York and the University of Pennsylvania, she builds her images slowly, translating the close looking of drawing into paint. Here, she turns that scrutiny on herself, insisting on the presence of a middle-aged Black woman artist at a time when museum walls and syllabi still centered others. The tight crop denies any decorative context. Instead, the painting reads like a confrontation with viewers and with history. Her locs, which in later works she treats as a symbol of time and change, tumble around her face, signalling a hard-won self-definition. Gifted to PAFA in the Linda Lee Alter Collection of Art by Women, this work helps rewrite who is seen as the face of American portraiture.
November 29, 2025 at 6:08 PM
mdstamper.bsky.social
“Self-Portrait” by Priscilla Warren Roberts (American) - Oil on canvas board / 1937 - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia) #WomenInArt #PriscillaWarrenRoberts #PriscillaRoberts #PAFA #SelfPortrait #artText #art #WomensArt #WomanArtist #WomenArtists #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts
Painted in 1937, when American artist Priscilla Warren Roberts was about 21 and beginning serious study in New York, this portrait reads as a clear statement of intent. She presents herself not as a polished society woman but as a working artist with her hair askew, no jewelry, and a practical collared-shirt standing in for a studio smock. It’s a vertical, close-up self-portrait showing the light-skinned young woman centered against a dark forest green background. Her dusty brown hair is pulled back but escapes in loose wisps, especially at the right edge, as if caught mid-motion. Large round amber glasses frame wide green-brown eyes that look directly at us, giving her an alert, almost startled focus. Light hits her forehead, nose, and long neck, leaving soft shadows around the eyes and jaw. Her mouth is parted and painted a brick red, as if she might of just inhaled to speak. She wears a dark navy shirt with bright cobalt stripes and pale piping around an open collar and the shoulders cropped close to the edges. Her tilted gaze and tight mouth suggest uncertainty as well as resolve, catching a moment of self-questioning. Roberts would later be praised for painstaking “magic-realist” still lifes that juxtapose everyday objects with near-photographic precision. In this self-portrait, that exacting attention is turned inward, tracing each flare of light on skin and glasses. In PAFA’s collection, the painting marks an early, uncompromising self-image of a woman determined to build a lifelong, quietly unconventional career in art.
November 24, 2025 at 6:54 AM
mdstamper.bsky.social
Self-Portrait by Elizabeth Catlett (American-Mexican) - Silver pencil on black paper / 1999 - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia) #womeninart #art #womensart #femaleartist #womanartist #drawing #pafa #ElizabethCatlett #Catlett #portraitofawoman #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts
This close-up monochromatic drawing depicts artist Elizabeth Catlett later in life. The artist adds visible wrinkles and lines on her own face, suggesting a life lived. Her hair is short, curly, and slightly disheveled, adding to a sense of casualness. She wears glasses with a distinct, somewhat angular frame. Her expression is calm and contemplative, not overtly happy or sad; however, it’s her eyes with a glimmer of determination that conveys Catlett’s resolve. Born as Alice Elizabeth Catlett, also known as Elizabeth Catlett Mora, she was an American and Mexican sculptor and graphic artist best known for her depictions of the Black-American experience in the 20th century, which often focused on the female experience. She was born and raised in Washington, D.C., to parents working in education, and was the grandchild of formerly enslaved people. It was difficult for a black woman then to pursue a career as a working artist. Catlett devoted much of her career to teaching. However, a 1946 fellowship awarded allowed her to travel to Mexico City, where she settled and worked with the Taller de Gráfica Popular for twenty years and became head of the sculpture department for the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas. Her activism regarding a railroad strike in Mexico City led to an arrest in 1949 and being barred from entering the United States as an "undesirable alien." She was unable to return home to visit her ill mother before she died. In 1962, Catlett renounced her American citizenship and became a Mexican citizen. In 1971, after a letter-writing campaign to the U.S. State Department by colleagues and friends, she was issued a special permit to attend an exhibition of her work at the Studio Museum in Harlem. During her lifetime, Catlett received numerous awards and recognitions including First Prize at the 1940 American Negro Exposition in Chicago and a NAACP Image Award in 2009.
April 26, 2025 at 5:27 PM
mdstamper.bsky.social
Ruth St. Denis in the Peacock Dance by Robert Henri (American) - Oil on canvas / 1919 - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia) #womeninart #art #oilpainting #portraitofawoman #RobertHenri #Henri #AmericanArt #womensart #artwork #peacock #dancer #PAFA #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts
As with many of his compatriots among the Ashcan painters, American artist Robert Henri had an avid interest in the theater, evidenced by this striking full-length portrait of the celebrated modern dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis. Captivated by St. Denis's soon-to-be-legendary performance at New York's Palace vaudeville house, Henri asked the dancer to pose for what he called "a mighty propaganda." St. Denis's choreography was frequently inspired by non-Western sources, and she based this role on an Indian legend of a woman who is turned into a peacock because of her extreme vanity. Henri painted St. Denis in her colorful exotic costume of shimmering violet and green, her sinuous pose reflective of the dance's graceful movement. Henri painted St. Denis as the radiant, arrogant personification of a peacock. She wears a brief blue-green choli (bodice), with wide gold bracelets on her upper arms. The middle of her body is bare. A broad gold-mesh belt covers her skirt from waist to hips. This skirt of green lamé fans out behind her in a circular train embroidered with peacock-colored “eyes” made of synthetic jewels. The dancer’s smooth black wig is covered by a golden net snood which supports a crest of feathers. Expressing the music’s mood in birdlike movements, The Legend of the Peacock was one of the oldest St. Denis solo dances. It was such a favorite with audiences that it remained in her repertoire for most of her life. A program note for the performance read: “The peacock wandering in the moonlit Kashmir garden remembers the tragic ending of its human incarnation. As a dancing girl of a powerful rajah, she schemed to be made first wife. At the moment of her success, while putting on the great ring of the ranee, she dies from the poison secreted in the ring by the deposed queen. Because of her cold and cruel vanity, the dancer is doomed to inhabit the body of a peacock.”
March 16, 2025 at 2:20 AM
suzywriter.bsky.social
A 19th century woman finds her way in the 20th century. For buy links, go to:
suanneschaferauthor.com/passion-and-...
#ArtistsInFiction
#ArtInFiction
#FemaleArtistsInFiction
#StrongFemaleProtagonists
#WestTexasInFiction
#FictionSetInPhiladelphia
#LGBTQIFiction
#PennsylvaniaAcademyOfTheFineArts
February 2, 2025 at 8:53 PM
archtourist.bsky.social
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1876), designed by Frank Furness and George Wattson Hewitt. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. #architecturaltourist #thearchitecturaltourist #frankfurness #philadelphiaarchitecture #phillyarchitecture #pafa #pennsylvaniaacademyofthefinearts #artmuseum
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1876), designed by Frank Furness and George Wattson Hewitt.
January 5, 2025 at 1:49 AM
uridev.urieldana.com
Highly acclaimed American painter #JamieAdams (b.1961) received his BFA from #CarnegieMellonUniversity in Pittsburgh, where he obtained a BFA his MFA from the #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts in Philadelphia.He lives in Missouri with his wife and kids.
December 11, 2024 at 8:31 AM
uridev.urieldana.com
New York artist @VincentDesiderio (b.1955)is a critic at the #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts
June 17, 2024 at 4:34 AM
uridev.urieldana.com
Highly acclaimed American painter #JamieAdams (b.1961)received his BFA from #CarnegieMellonUniversity in Pittsburgh, where he obtained a BFA and his MFA from the #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts in Philadelphia. He lives in Missouri with his wife and kids. #contemporarypainting#uridev #urieldana
April 30, 2024 at 11:48 PM
uridev.urieldana.com
Philadelphia-based artist #PatrickLyonsNeilson earned his MFA from #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts. he also studied painting at #StudioIncamminati (Philadelphia) and #GrandCentralAtelier in New York. He also taught painting and drawing for many years before working at his art full time.
March 6, 2024 at 9:01 PM
nowbreezing.ntw.app
Here's the Top 10 Trending Words over the Past 10 Minutes:
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February 9, 2024 at 8:21 PM
uridev.urieldana.com
New York artist @VincentDesiderio (b.1955) is a critic at the #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts.
February 9, 2024 at 8:11 PM
uridev.urieldana.com
Noah Buchanan (1976) was an artistic prodigy and began his artistic studies at the #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts studying classical drawing and painting. He earned his BA from #UniversityofCalifornia, Santa Cruz, CA and his MFA from #NewYorkAcademyofArt
January 30, 2024 at 1:58 AM
uridev.urieldana.com
#NoahBuchanan (1976) was an artistic prodigy and began his artistic studies at the #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts studying classical drawing and painting. He earned his BA from #UniversityofCalifornia, Santa Cruz, CA, and his MFA from #NewYorkAcademyofArt.
January 27, 2024 at 7:54 PM
uridev.urieldana.com
New York artist #VincentDesiderio (b.1955)is a critic at the #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts. This oil painting translates from the Italian to "The Freed".
January 14, 2024 at 7:23 AM
uridev.urieldana.com
New York artist #VincentDesiderio (b.1955 )is a critic at the #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts. #FineArts #oilpainting #figurative
December 1, 2023 at 12:10 AM
uridev.urieldana.com
#nudity alert, not porn, just classic art training
New York artist #VincentDesiderio (b.1955) is a critic at the #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts #VincentDesiderio. #fineart #figurative #oilpainting #censorship
November 9, 2023 at 6:20 AM
uridev.urieldana.com
Russian-born painter #AlexKanevsky (b.1963) studied mathematics at #vilniusuniversity in Lithuania before coming to the United States in the early 1990s to study at #pennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts. He tries to capture the constant flow of time. He is now based in New Hampshire.
October 8, 2023 at 4:03 PM
uridev.urieldana.com
New York artist #VincentDesiderio (b.1955) is currently a senior critic at the #PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts & #NewYorkAcademyofArt. #oilpainting #art #livingartists #urieldana #uridev
September 7, 2023 at 5:23 AM