Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), located in Center City Philadelphia, is the first and oldest art museum and art school in the United States, founded in 1805. The institution operates from two connected buildings: the Historic Landmark Building, a Victorian Gothic structure designed by Frank Furness in 1876, and the Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, a former automobile factory renovated in 2004. PAFA offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs focused exclusively on fine arts, with specialized training in painting, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking. The academy's museum houses a significant permanent collection of American art spanning from the 1760s to the present, with notable strengths in 19th and 20th-century American paintings and sculptures. As a specialized arts institution, PAFA maintains small class sizes and provides dedicated studio space for students, with all students required to take courses in traditional observational drawing and painting regardless of their concentration.