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On March 12, The Philadelphia Museum of Art will present the first major American exhibition of phulkari textiles, exquisite embroideries made in Punjab, a region that comprises northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. This vibrant tradition, shaped by women and passed down through generations, has become a powerful symbol of Punjabi cultural identity. Phulkari: The Embroidered Textiles of Punjab from the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection celebrates the promised gift of their collection of these rare embroideries. Exhibited together with other examples from the Museum’s collection, these works span a period from the mid-nineteenth century until the Partition of India in 1947. The exhibition also includes contemporary fashion in which the creative use of phulkari embroideries s...
The Philadelphia Museum of Art will present the most comprehensive loan exhibition in over forty years devoted to the most important chapter in the history of watercolor painting in this country. American Watercolor in the Age of Homer and Sargent will bring together more than 170 works—many of them acknowledged masterpieces of this difficult, yet rewarding medium—drawn from public and private collections throughout the country. Tracing the development of the watercolor movement from its passionate embrace by a small, but dedicated group of painters in the1860s to the flowering of Modernism, this sweeping survey will examine the remarkable transformation of the medium that occurred in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and is cent...
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Rodin100
1917-2017
In 2017 several major North American art museums are celebrating the centenary of Auguste Rodin’s (1840–1917) death with traveling exhibitions, permanent collection installations, and a robust program of educational activities. Unified under #Rodin100 and joining a worldwide series of major Rodin projects, these public programs and exhibitions are bringing together new information about the groundbreaking French sculptor. Please refer to each museum's website for more detailed information.
In France and Europe
The centenary is being commemorated at the Musée Rodin in Paris as well as other European institutions. More information is at www.Rodin100.org
On Friday, January 27 at 6:00 p.m., the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Bearded Ladies will honor Color Me Barbra, Barbra Streisand’s celebrated CBS television special, filmed at the Museum more than 50 years ago. The cabaret troupe will pay homage to Streisand in a premiere of Color Me Bearded, a spirited performance that echoes and updates Streisand’s original in a musically-inspired, queer-themed walking tour through the galleries.
Visitors will follow a “Bearded Barbra” into the European galleries, encountering a variety of performers along the way. They will stop at some of the same works of art which had captivated Streisand in the special, including The Large Bathers (1918...
Starting this month, the Philadelphia Museum of Art will embark on a new lineup for Friday evening programs. The first three Fridays of the month will be dedicated to live music and the last Friday of every month will be a louder and livelier night of themed activities and performances throughout the Museum, still starting at 5:00 p.m. and ending at 8:45 p.m.
Friday, January 27 is themed “Divas & Queens.” Visitors can experience a “de-tour” led by burlesque performer Kate Nyx, who will guide them through the collection focusing on the history of burlesque and the representation of the body in art. Two in-gallery performances by The Bearded Ladies, Philadelphia’s premiere cabaret troupe will pay tribute to Barbra Streisand and the fiftieth anniversary of her memorable performan...
