Art History

Six people standing in a parking lot looking at a colorful mural on the wall of a building.

Art history on foot: A class tour of public murals

A summer course in history of art took students to the streets of Philadelphia to view and discuss murals, sculptures, and other public artworks.

Louisa Shepard ・ August 20, 2019

Student standing in front of a stand of forsythia.

Photo finish

Graduating senior Wilson Fisher will use a Fulbright Award to study photographers and other artists in Ukraine.

Louisa Shepard ・ May 16, 2019

Seven students gathered together looking at a painted Chinese scroll unrolled on a table.

Rare Chinese scroll unfurled at Penn Museum

Students in a history of art course taught by Professor Nancy Steinhardt had the chance to closely examine a rare 200-year-old painted Chinese scroll at the Penn Museum.

Louisa Shepard ・ April 23, 2019

Four people standing in front of a painting, clapping and looking at each other.

Cuban horizons

Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw’s art history classcurates a new Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition of paintings by Roger Toledo after visiting his Havana studio.

Louisa Shepard ・ April 10, 2019

Five events to watch for in March

Happening around campus this March: the world premiere of ‘Vessels’ at the Annenberg Center, a lecture on trees from China, and a visit to Kelly Writers House from reporter Emily Jane Fox.

Brandon Baker ・ March 1, 2019

Susan Radov leads a tour of the China Gallery with sculptures in the background

A tour of the ancient world—in Mandarin

The Penn Museum offers tours of its exhibits in Mandarin, increasing cross-cultural access to its invaluable assemblage of objects on display, the only known museum in Philadelphia with regularly scheduled tours in the language.

Brandon Baker ・ February 27, 2019

Iconic preservation: A plan for the O’Keeffe home and studio

A balance of science and critical thinking, plus reverence for the artist’s work and devotion to her space, makes the conservation assessment by a PennDesign team especially meaningful.

Penn Today Staff ・ February 1, 2019

Wide view of art gallery showing many paintings on the walls and about ten people looking at them

Engaging citizen curators

An innovative exhibition at the Arthur Ross Gallery features 50 works from Penn’s art collection chosen by the public in a crowdsourced exhibition. More than 600 people voted for their favorite to be included in “Citizen Salon,” on display through March 24.

Louisa Shepard ・ December 14, 2018

closeup of student with paint brush painting red paint on small image on paper at a table

Pigment and parchment

Undergraduate and graduate students were paired with visiting scholars during a Penn Libraries workshop to paint illustrations like those in centuries-old illuminated manuscripts.

Louisa Shepard ・ December 12, 2018

Thom Collins teaching class at the Barnes

In this photography class, students become curators—at the Barnes

This year’s Spiegel-Wilks Curatorial Seminar has taken students inside the world of the Barnes Foundation, where they learn about the history of photography and get a hands-on look at museum operations.

Brandon Baker ・ November 27, 2018

Media Contact

Louisa Shepard News Officer
lshepard@upenn.edu

In the News

Associated Press

The European Art Scene Began With Neanderthals

Harold Dibble of the School of Arts and Sciences weighs in on new studies claiming cave paintings and decorated seashells found in Spain must have been created by Neanderthals 20,000 years prior to the arrival of Homo sapiens in Europe.

FULL STORY →

WHYY (Philadelphia)

The Montiers: An American Story

Gwnedolyn DuBois Shaw of the School of Arts and Sciences commented on the history of Philadelphia’s Montier family, who owned one of the earliest African-American homesteads and cemeteries in the U.S. (Video)