Art History

Cuba libre

The complexities of Cuba’s history and the response by artists were the focus of the summer abroad course “Penn-in-Havana: Visual Culture and Public Art in Cuba,” taught by art historian Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, and funded by a Making a Difference in Diverse Communities grant.

Louisa Shepard

Philadelphia and Meiji Japan symposium marks 150 years of deep ties

Scholars from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia, and the Meiji Jingu Intercultural Research Institute celebrate the 150th anniversary of Japan’s Meiji Restoration, and the surprising links between Philadelphia and Japan during a political period that set the island nation on a fast track to modernization.

Brandon Baker

A chance to be an art curator

In a creative approach to curating its next art exhibition, the Arthur Ross Gallery is opening the choice of artworks to the public through its first-ever crowdsourcing effort. 

Louisa Shepard

Stains Alive

For Libraries fellow Erin Connelly, stains are some of the most exciting discoveries in her study of medieval manuscripts. She is part of a national team analyzing stains in medieval texts using modern multispectral imaging. An exhibition at Van Pelt-Dietrich Library displays the researchers’ discoveries.

Louisa Shepard , Louisa Shepard

Monumental project rethinks public art in Philadelphia

As part of Monument Lab, a Philadelphia public art and history project, three PennDesign Fine Arts professors joined artists and residents to answer the question, ‘What makes a monument in the 21st century?’

Jacquie Posey

The world on view

The world is on view at the Arthur Ross Gallery, interpreted by 13 students in André Dombrowski’s history of art curatorial class. They chose more than 100 objects from 14 institutions to represent World’s Fairs from 1851 to 1915.

Louisa Shepard

A Wish Tree for Peace grows on College Green

One of a series of art installations designed by Yoko Ono, the interactive exhibit had the public pause, reflect, and share their vision for harmony and unity with handwritten tags on young tree branches.



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In the News


Artnet News

Do these ancient seals unlock clues to the origins of writing?

Holly Pittman of the School of Arts & Sciences and Penn Museum helped contribute to a study arguing that ancient Sumerian seals used to brand products shaped the formation of cuneiform, humanity’s earliest known example of writing.

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The Washington Post

Doug Emhoff is all over the campaign trail. Melania Trump is not

Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw of the School of Arts & Sciences says that whatever candidates’ spouses choose to do during a campaign has the potential to influence voters.

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NBC Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin Parkway and how it was inspired by Paris’ Champs-Élysées

David Brownlee of the School of Arts & Sciences says the goal of the City Beautiful movement was to create a new American aesthetic, from industrial landscape to urban paradise.

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BBC

Gordion: A lost city of legends in central Turkey

Brian Rose of the School of Arts & Sciences and Penn Museum has led excavations at the ancient Turkish city of Gordion since 2007.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

The Paris-to-Philadelphia story of a rebel artist, a visionary dentist, and a treasure lost and found

Lynn Marsden-Atlass of the Arthur Ross Gallery discusses the rediscovery of a lost Gustave Courbet painting in the basement of the School of Dental Medicine. It is now the centerpiece of a new exhibition.

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Esquire

Raise a toast in honor of the world’s oldest known beerhall!

A team of researchers from Penn and the University of Pisa, led by Holly Pittman of the School of Arts & Sciences and the Penn Museum, have excavated a site in Iraq that could contain the oldest tavern ever discovered.

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