Art History

A digital image of Ursula Rucker standing at the base of the Philadelphia Art Museum steps with three people walking behind her.

Monument Lab app expands space and time at Art Museum steps

OverTime, a new augmented reality app that weds public art and history in a personal visual format gives users access to interactive, self-guided tours of public spaces, and invites users to add stories of their own.

From the Weitzman School of Design ・

julian abele and his architecture class

The unbridled brilliance of Julian Abele

The 1902 graduate of the architecture program is finally starting to receive credit for his vast and iconic portfolio, which includes the central branch of the Free Library, Penn’s President’s House, Harvard’s flagship library, and more than 30 spaces and places on Duke’s campus.

Greg Johnson ・

abele and magaziner at the art museum

A friendship born through marginalization

At the turn of the 20th century, Julian Abele and Louis Magaziner—a Black man and an immigrant Jew—were standouts in Penn’s School of Fine Arts about to launch distinguished careers in architecture. They were also beginning what would be a lifelong friendship. A Magaziner descendant and Abele admirer investigates what brought them together.

Amy Cohen ・

students gathered around a table looking at armor

A day in shining armor

Grad students get a close-up view of artwork and materials from museum collections—including a 500-year-old painting and two sets of armor from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Louisa Shepard ・

Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw speaking

A conversation with Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw

In the latest episode of “Office Hours,” a Penn Today podcast, Professor of History of Art Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw explains the curation process behind the Barnes Foundation’s “30 Americans” exhibit.

Brandon Baker ・



Media Contact


Louisa Shepard

Louisa Shepard News Officer
lshepard@upenn.edu

In the News


The New York Times

John Singer Sargent’s secret muse

Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw of the School of Arts and Sciences spoke about the practice of updating information about well-known artworks in museum wall labels and catalogs. “Curators and art historians have been interested in trying to reveal more—in part because there’s more interest in having a robust understanding of the past,” she said.

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The New York Times

One fateful night with Donny Hathaway

Guthrie Ramsey of the School of Arts and Sciences said that when evaluating artists with mental illnesses, “we should simply put it into context, like we do other aspects of their upbringing, rather than making it some mysterious gift that they seem to be bestowed.”

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The New York Times

How a businesswoman became a voice for art’s black models

Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw of the School of Arts and Sciences spoke about the importance of contextualizing “African-American art and visual culture and artistic production.” She went on to note that many black students may not pursue the field of art history due to poor representation in faculty and curriculum.

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6ABC.com

Video: Penn Museum’s Middle East gallery

The Penn Museum has unveiled its gallery of Middle Eastern art and antiquities. The new gallery, which covers nearly 10,000 years of history, is the first in a series to be installed at the Museum during the next several years.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Visit the Penn Museum’s Sphinx this Weekend, or Wait Another 4 to 6 Years

The Sphinx at the Penn Museum will be on display for a final weekend prior to a four- to six-year renovation.

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Associated Press

Iraqi, Syrian Guides Bring Views to Philadelphia Museum

The Penn Museum has welcomed four new participants to Global Guides, a program designed to help contextualize historic content from the Middle East. “People who come from these places, even in contemporary times, can find a connection with the objects,” said Ellen Owens, the museum’s director of learning programs.

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