Museum Publications

In the wake of the 1910-20 Revolution, Mexico emerged as a center of modern art, closely watched around the world. This books highlights the achievements of the tres grandes (three greats), Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros,...

A new study of Mary Cassatt that explores the centrality of work to both her inventive technical practice and her distinctive approach to modern subjects.    In her sensitive depictions of the social, intellectual, and professional lives of...

Beginning with Cesar Ghiselin in 1681, Philadelphia has a long and storied history of silversmithing that includes notable artists such as Joseph Richardson Sr. and Jr., Philip Syng Jr., and Olaf Skoogfors. Celebrating this legacy and showcasing the...

With essays by Roberta Bernstein, Yve-Alain Bois, Jean-François Chevrier, John Elderfield, John Golding, Christopher Green, Jennie Hirsh, Joop M. Joosten, Anabelle Kienle, Albert Kostenevich, Carolyn Lanchner, Mark D. Mitchell, Joseph J. Rishel,...

Featuring over five hundred masterpieces from around the world, this revised and expanded guide is a beautifully illustrated introduction to the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This updated version of the museum's handbook presents more...

By Felice Fischer and Kyoko Kinoshita Art of Japan presents one hundred highlights of Japanese art from the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, dating from the Neolithic period to today. Among them are a temple and a teahouse, acquired in 1928,...

 By Rachel Arauz, Ann Temkin, Anne D'Hamoncourt, et al.Featuring pivotal works of twentieth-century painting and sculpture, this book handsomely illustrates a selection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s outstanding modern art collection,...

Hon’ami Kōetsu, calligrapher, potter, and lacquerware designer, was born into a merchant family specializing in the polishing and connoisseurship of swords. Known as one of the Three Brushes of the Kan’ei Era (1624–1643), Kōetsu began his study of...

This exhibition publication is available with 3 different covers. 2 of the 3 are exclusive to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Only the covers vary; the interior content for all 3 covers is the same.  A groundbreaking look at the drawings of Giuseppe...

The first in-depth examination of Matisse’s work in the 1930s, a key decade of creative innovation and renewal for this celebrated artist.In 1930, as Henri Matisse (1869–1954) embarked on The Dance, a monumental mural commissioned by the...

Taiga (1723–1776) and his wife, Tokuyama Gyokuran (1727–1784), were preeminent artists in eighteenth-century Japan. This landmark book—the only comprehensive survey available in English—focuses on the lives and times of these artists and accompanies the...

Storied Stone weaves together memories and scholarship to offer an illuminating  perspective on one of the most striking museum spaces. While visiting Madurai,  Tamil Nadu, in 1913, the Philadelphian Adeline Pepper Gibson purchased over sixty...

Edited by H. Richard Dietrich III and Deborah M. Rebuck with contributions by David L. Barquist, Edward S. Cooke Jr., Michael P. Dyer, Kathleen A. Foster, Morrison H. Heckscher, Philip C. Mead, Lisa Minardi, Deborah M. Rebuck, and William S. Reese This...

There's a rainbow of ways to think about colors. Colors pop and shine.  Cool colors make us shiver, while warm colors heat us up. They can even express our moods, from feeling blue to being tickled pink. What Can Colors Do? introduces children to...

Active from the late 1700s through the early twentieth century, the Peale family was America’s first artistic dynasty. This overview of the art of the Peales presents more than 160 works in a variety of media from the renowned collection of the...

This book accompanied an exhibition of the same name held at the  Philadelphia Museum of Art upon the completion of conservation of  Pontormo's famous portrait of Duke Alessandro de' Medici. Centering on that painting and Agnolo Bronzino's...

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s David Lebe (b. 1948) pushed the boundaries of photography, creating nuanced and visually complex images using innovative techniques. Often enhancing his prints with hand-coloring, Lebe made experimental pinhole photographs,...

This important publication offers the  first in-depth exploration of contemporary artist Bruce Nauman's  monumental works Contrapposto Studies, I through VII and Contrapposto  Studies, i through vii of 2015/2016. The book surveys Nauman's...

American Furniture, 1650–1840: Highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art is the first publication dedicated to one of the finest collections of its type in the country. Best known for furniture by artisans from Philadelphia and southeastern...

Through the exceptional permanent collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, this book looks at arms and armor as art—from warfare to war games, from hunting to the pursuit of glory. The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s holdings of arms and...

Edited by Dilys E. Blum with essays by Dilys E. Blum and Mary Schoeser, and a contribution by Julie Schafler Dale This is the first publication to consider art to wear, also known as wearable art, as a discrete American movement that mirrored the...

By Jennifer A. Thompson with contributions by Joseph J. Rishel and Eileen Owens Featuring ninety highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s stellar collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, this handsome volume includes iconic works...

By Hiromi Kinoshita This richly illustrated catalogue of highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s wide-ranging collection of Chinese art, spanning antiquity to the present day, includes such gems as Ming gold vessels and imperial court robes, a...

Matthew Affron (Author) With contributions by Cécile Debray, Alexander Kauffman, Michael R. Taylor, and John Vick This book offers an engaging and accessible introduction to one of the twentieth century’s greatest and most enigmatic artists, Marcel...

Edited by Carlos Basualdo with essays by Carlos Basualdo, Olena Chervonik, Richard Fletcher, Emily Greenwood, and Nicola Del Roscio This revelatory publication provides a comprehensive and multifaceted account of Cy Twombly’s masterpiece Fifty Days at...

Jessica Todd Smith (Author) With an emphasis on painting and sculpture made in the United States between 1910 and 1950, this gorgeously illustrated volume offers a rich introduction to American modernism through the world-class collection of the...

John Ittmann (Editor), Cordula Grewe (Editorial Consultant) From the 1770s through the 1840s, German, Austrian, and Swiss artists used the medium of printmaking to create works that synthesized poetry, literature, music, and the visual arts in new and...

Michael R. Taylor (Author) with essays by Andrew Lins, Melissa S. Meighan, and Beth A. Price, Ken Sutherland, Scott Homolka, and Elena Torok In his early thirties, Marcel Duchamp convinced everyone that he had abandoned making art in favor of playing...

Out of print for a number of years, this facsimile of Marcel Duchamp’s Manual of Instructions was prepared by the artist for the disassembly of Étant donnés in his New York studio and its reassembly at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. First published more...

Alexandra Alevizatos Kirtley (Author), Peggy A. Olley (Author) with an essay by Jeffrey A. Cohen This handsome book explores in depth a group of stunning painted and gilded furniture designed by the architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, best known for...

Carlos Basualdo (Editor, Contributor), Anna Mecugni (Editor, Contributor), Timothy Rub (Foreword), Katherine Sachs (Contributor), Joseph J. Rishel (Contributor), Peter Barberie (Contributor), Erica F. Battle (Contributor), Adrianne O. Bratis...

By Ainsley M. Cameron and Darielle Mason This publication presents the first in-depth survey of the Conley Harris and Howard Truelove Collection of Indian Drawings, which was recently acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This exceptional...

Kathleen A. Foster (Author) and Mark Tucker (Author) Thomas Eakins is acknowledged as one of the preeminent American painters of the 19th century. As a young artist in 1875 he prepared a monumental painting for the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia...

By Lisa Minardi, with an interview by Ann Percy Among the most beloved forms of American folk art, fraktur is a Germanic tradition of decorated manuscripts and printed documents noted for its use of bold colors and whimsical motifs. This publication...

Edited by Hyunsoo Woo; with essays by Insoo Cho, Hongkyung Kim, Woollim Kim, So-hyun Kwon, Dongsoo Moon, Unsok Song, and Hyunsoo Woo and a chronology by Rose E. Lee Treasures from Korea is the first major publication outside of Korea to survey the...

Jennifer A. Thompson (Author) The official guide to the Rodin Museum, complete with full-color photos, illustrations, and illuminating essays.

Pierre Terjanian (Author) This striking publication examines two masterful armors for man and horse recently acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Among the earliest complete European examples in existence, these German works demonstrate the...

By Dilys E. Blum Italian couturier Roberto Capucci (born 1930) is revered by contemporary fashion designers for his innovative silhouettes and masterful use of color and materials. Capucci refers to his creations as "studies in form" and draws...

By Katy Friedland and Marla K. Shoemaker An art museum is a magical place. What will you find inside? This playful primer features 37 full-color illustrations of paintings, sculpture, tapestries, prints, photographs, and installations from the...

By Susan Gray Detweiler, with an introduction by David L. Barquist The china used by First Families, both at the White House and in their private homes, reveals a fascinating story of culture and society as they have evolved in the United States since...

Jack Lindsey(Author) with essays by Edward C. Carter ll, Richard S. Dunn, and Richard Saunders Focusing on Philadelphia's prominent role in the history of Colonial America, this exhibition catalogue surveys the decorative and fine arts produced during...