Philadelphia Art Galleries, Museums, Supplies & More
We hope everyone reading this is ready to take a deep dive into the Philadelphia art scene. Our opening section will fully cover the best art galleries and museums near you.
After that we will get into a variety of other topics like art supply stores, events, festivals, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, local sculptures and statues, art classes, studios for rent, and the top frame shops in your area.
If you are after any specific section you can jump straight to it using the table of contents on the left. We are also including a Philadelphia art map with all of the various places we mention throughout the post pinned on it, and anyone who is interested can read more of our posts on the Northeast at that link.
Best Art Galleries & Museums In Philadelphia
Many would agree that the best art galleries and museums in Philadelphia are:
At the Philadelphia Museum of Art you will find the world’s largest and most important collection of works by Marcel Duchamp, Auguste Rodin’s sculptures, and paintings by Paul Cézanne’s The Large Bathers, Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and important paintings by Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, and others. They have several monthly programs that include artist talks and monthly live performances while keeping regular hours of 10am to 5pm Thursday through Monday with the doors staying open until 8:45pm on Friday nights.
The Rodin Museum also has one of the most extensive collections of sculptor Auguste Rodin’s works outside of Paris. The museum is home to a collection of nearly 150 objects containing bronzes, marbles, and plasters by Rodin which you can check out from 10am to 5pm Friday through Monday.
The Barnes Foundation is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday with open hours from 11am to 5pm the rest of the week and they possess about 4,000 items including over 900 paintings. You will find the world’s biggest collection of Renoir and Cézanne paintings in addition notable pieces by Matisse, Picasso, Modigliani, Van Gogh, and other well-known artists. You might also be interested to know they offer some of the best art classes in your area with new courses curated monthly.
At The Woodmere Art Museum you will find some great outdoor sculptures by Harry Bertoia, Dina Wind, and Robinson Fredenthal along with the almost 8,000 works in their collection and nine galleries hosting exhibitions and events. Their hours are from 10am to 5pm Wednesday through Sunday but on Saturday they stay open an hour late and painting and watercolor courses are available.
Paradigm Gallery + Studio is glad to provide art consulting services for a wide range of projects, interests, and budgets in addition to numerous art classes.
Every year the Philadelphia Mausoleum of Contemporary Art offers over 300 events ranging from film premieres to art exhibitions to fashion shows.
Delaware Art Museum is always free on Sundays and from 4pm to 8pm on Thursdays from April to December providing workshops as well as weekly art courses plus a collection that contains over 12,000 works with notable holdings by John Sloan, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and Howard Pyle. Head over from 10am until 4pm Wednesday through Sunday and remember on Thursday they close the doors late.
The Mezzanine Gallery is always open to the public and free of charge from 8am to 4:30pm on weekdays while every first Friday of the month from 5pm to 7pm they host a great event. They also have an individual artist fellowships program with applications accepted in eighteen artistic fields and awards ranging from $3,000 for emerging artists to $6,000 for established artists to $10,000 for masters.
The Delaware Contemporary offers art lessons and they even rent out art studios while keeping normal hours of noon to 5pm Thursday through Sunday. They host an annual event called the West Street Art Festival in June which includes both indoor and outdoor creative-based activities in addition to a great event that goes down on the first Friday of each month.
Materials & Supplies Near You
Some of the best local stores to buy art supplies and materials would be:
The Delaware Contemporary hosts the West Street Art Festival in June which includes indoor and outdoor based activities, performances, vendors, food trucks, and refreshments.
Manayunk Arts Festival is one of the region’s largest outdoor arts events that attracts upwards of 200,000 people each year to Manayunk’s historic Main Street for a two-day festival of arts, crafts, music, food, and more.
Visit the Mezzanine Gallery or Delaware Contemporary on the first weekend of each month to check out their First Fridays which are always a good time.
Art Dealers & Appraisers
If you want to add a new piece to your collection or find out how much a piece is worth you can contact art dealers and appraisers near you like:
Hahn Gallery provides a variety of services including some of the best restorations, appraisals, framing, and art consulting in Philadelphia.
McCarty Fine Art and Antiques has been a local dealer since 1978 and can help with sales and restoration, collection consulting, licensed auction services for public or private sales, and insurance appraisals.
Gross McCleaf Gallery from the best museums list also sells art.
Walking Tours
If the weather is nice why not go on a Philly art walking tour at:
Mural Arts Philadelphia will take you to see the world’s largest outdoor art gallery and learn about the city’s beautiful mural collection.
The Association for Public Art provides a self-guided tour route to uncover an array of sculptures throughout the city.
Sculptures & Statues
You can also find some really creative sculptures and statues around your area like:
Government Of The People at 2-32 N Broad St
Clothespin Sculpture at Market St & S 15th St
Iroquois Sculpture at 552 N 24th St
Shakespeare Memorial at Logan Square
Playing Angels Sculpture at Kelly Dr
Lion Crushing a Serpent at 1848 Walnut St
Copeland Sculpture Garden at 2301 Kentmere Pkwy, Wilmington
The Clothespin Sculpture is located in City Center between the two office towers of Centre Square. Claes Oldenburg created it and it was erected in 1976.
Government of the People was sculpted by Jacques Lipchitz and installed at the Municipal Services Building Plaza in 1976.
Mark di Suvero made the Iroquois Sculpture between 1983 and 1999 and it was placed in its current location in 2007.
Alexander Stirling Calder created Philadelphia’s Shakespeare Memorial in 1926 and it was moved to its current spot in 1953.
The Playing Angels Sculpture was made in 1950 by Swedish-born artist Carl Milles and installed in 1972 hovering above the grass along Kelly Drive.
Lion Crushing a Serpent by Antoine-Louis Barye that was made nearly 200 years ago and installed in 1892.
The Copeland Sculpture Garden was dedicated in 2006 featuring over 20 sculptures by nationally recognized artists.
Philadelphia Art Classes
We aren’t all at the same skill level and sometimes a lesson or two can give us the boost that we need. Some of the best Philadelphia art schools and classes can be found at:
The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts was founded in 1805 and offers undergraduate and graduate fine arts education degree programs in Philadelphia.
The University City Arts League offers lessons to people of all ages and also puts on summer art camps and after-school programs.
Throughout the year the Manayunk Art Center has a variety of workshops for all ages taught by professional creators.
Art Sphere provides art classes for children and teenagers, after-school programs, and thematic workshops.
The Philly Art Center has a wide range of programs including after-school programs, art camps for kids, and parties plus they do night classes for adults.
Create – Sues Art Class specializes in unique small private classes, workshops, parties, and events for students of all ages with evening lessons, after-school programs, one-day workshops, and art camps all available.
Cab Calloway School of the Arts is a magnet public arts school in Wilmington that accepts students in grades 6–12 offering majors in dance, digital media and communication arts, instrumental music, piano, strings, technical theatre, theatre, visual arts, and vocal music.
The Barnes Foundation, Woodmere Art Museum, Paradigm Gallery + Studio, Delaware Art Museum, and The Delaware Contemporary from our initial best galleries near you list also offer art classes as does The Expressive Hand from the supply stores list.
Studios For Rent Near You
Those of you who are ready to start a big project can find art studios near you like:
Trinity Framing is only open by appointment so contact them before you head over.
Frameworks Studio & Gallery provides home and office consultations for their custom framing plus they have a large selection of distinctive original ready-made frames and handcrafted gifts manufactured by local artisans.
Vision Graphics Picture Frames provides a variety of services including custom framing, fine art scanning and printing, photo restorations, framed art packaging and shipping, and art installation.
American Picture Framing has over 500 moulding options and over 250 mat selections in store.
Plaza Artist Materials, Artist & Craftsman Supply, and Michaels from the art supplies list as well as Hahn Gallery also do framing in your area.
We should also mention that we also have posts on:
Well guys, we tried to cover the full art scene near you to the best of our abilities. We listed the best local galleries, museums, events, shows, supply stores, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures, classes, studios, and framers in your area.
If you made it all the way to the end then you probably love art as much as we do. You can let us know about any of your own tips and tricks in the comments at the end of the post, or please also mention if we got anything wrong or if anything we posted has become dated.
Have fun going to the galleries, museums, buying supplies or doing anything that has to do with art in Philadelphia!
