Philadelphia Museum of Art

Philadelphia Museum of Art

As one of the largest museums in the United States, the Philadelphia Museum of Art invites visitors from around the world to exp Photo Credit: Photo by Anthony Sinagoga for PHLCVB

As one of the largest museums in the United States, the Philadelphia Museum of Art invites visitors from around the world to exp Photo Credit: Photo by Anthony Sinagoga for PHLCVB

Beginning with a grand legacy during the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, the Philadelphia Museum of Art came about as a way to encapsulate for future generations the mission of artistic appreciation, conservation, and human achievement. Over the decades and generations of acquisitions and collections, the Museum of Art has grown to one of the nation's foremost premier art museums with a permanent collection boasting over 227,000 artistic artifacts from paintings to sculptures.

Not only does the Philadelphia Museum of Art value visual artistry, but the famous institution also values objects with a variety of intrinsic values. The museum holds over 200,000 manuscripts, books, and periodicals with an estimated 1.6 million other documents to round out their non-visual acquisitions.

Playing host to over 800,000 visitors annually, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has a wide variety of exhibits and galleries on a number of themes spanning all of human history. Start with a journey through the Renaissance masters of Europe as you observe the masterful works of Rembrandt, Titian, and Michelangelo before heading into later painters like Manet, Cezanne, and Picasso. Explore the Stella Kramrisch Collection of eighth to twelfth-century Indian art with paintings and sculptures from Tibet, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Tour modernist and contemporary galleries with 20-century artists, exhibitions on Scandinavian design, local Philadelphia artists, and follow the years through photographs.