PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Philadelphia Museum of Art is positioning 2026 as one of the most ambitious years in its history, unveiling a sweeping slate of exhibitions that range from global modern masters to deeply local cultural icons, all under one roof at 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130.
The year opens with a landmark exhibition devoted to Noah Davis, on view from January 24 through April 26, 2026, in the Morgan, Korman, and Field Galleries (150–155). A press preview will be held Thursday, January 22, 2026. The exhibition brings together more than 60 works spanning Davis’s career from 2007 until his death in 2015, presenting paintings, sculptures, and works on paper that trace his artistic, political, and community-driven vision. The Philadelphia presentation marks the final stop of an international tour following exhibitions in Potsdam, London, and Los Angeles.
In April, the museum turns toward the nation’s upcoming semiquincentennial with A Nation of Artists, opening April 12, 2026, and running through July 5, 2027, in the American Art Galleries. A press preview is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 2026. Developed in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Middleton Family Collection, the exhibition spans three centuries of American art and will extend beyond the Parkway, with portions also shown at PAFA’s Frank Furness building. The exhibition pairs iconic works, including a life-size portrait of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale, with furniture, decorative arts, paintings, and sculpture drawn from across the three collections.
Later in April, popular culture takes center stage with Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments, opening April 25 and running through August 2, 2026, in the Dorrance Galleries. A press preview is scheduled for Thursday, April 23, 2026. Timed to the 50th anniversary of the Rocky film franchise, the exhibition examines the iconic Rocky statue as both a movie prop and a global monument, presenting more than 150 works and artifacts by over 50 artists that span more than 2,000 years of monument history.
Summer brings a focused exploration of a single motif with Van Gogh’s Sunflowers: A Symphony in Blue and Yellow, on view from June 6 through October 11, 2026, in Colket Gallery 251. The exhibition reunites two sunflower paintings created in August 1888 and January 1889, offering a close look at Vincent van Gogh’s evolving use of color and brushwork during a pivotal period in his career.
Also opening July 5, Workshop of the World: Arts and Crafts in Philadelphia will run through October 18, 2026, in the Morgan, Korman, and Field Galleries (150–155). The exhibition examines how Philadelphia-area artists and makers responded to industrialization in the late nineteenth century, highlighting regional contributions to the Arts and Crafts movement through textiles, ceramics, furniture, and metalwork.
In the fall, the museum will debut the first North American retrospective of Marcel Duchamp in more than half a century. The exhibition opens October 10, 2026, and runs through January 31, 2027, in the Dorrance Galleries. Drawing from the museum’s extensive Duchamp holdings, the show spans six decades of the artist’s work across painting, sculpture, film, photography, drawings, and printed matter.
December 2026 brings El Anatsui: Prints in the Making to the Morgan, Korman, and Field Galleries (150–155). The exhibition marks the first comprehensive museum survey of prints by the Ghanaian artist, expanding public understanding of his practice beyond his large-scale sculptural works.
In addition to temporary exhibitions, the museum will open new permanent galleries for African and African Diasporic Art in Fall 2026. Located in Fox Hall (South Hall) and the South Vaulted Walkway, the reimagined spaces will house the Brind Center for African and African Diasporic Art, featuring works from the museum’s collection alongside loans and new acquisitions, with a focus on twentieth-century artists from Africa and the global African diaspora.
The Philadelphia Art Museum is open Sunday, Monday, Thursday, and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:45 p.m., and is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
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