Lecture Series 1876-1920
The Pennsylvania Academy presented occasional lectures and musical concerts in its second building on Chestnut Street, although few details about them are preserved. The practice was resumed soon after the new edifice at Broad and Cherry Streets opened in order to increase attendance, which had diminished after the centennial crowds of 1876. Within a few years a lively series of art lectures and musical concerts was underway. Documentation for the musical concerts presented by the Germania Orchestra from 1879 to 1899, and other series which followed it includes programs (rich with advertising of the day), items of printed ephemera, and correspondence
The Academy's well-attended events constituted an important part of Philadelphia's cultural life since the Academy was essentially the center of the city's art community until the 1920s. The list of lecture titles below is provided to document this little-known aspect of Philadelphia’s art world.
Lecture titles and dates are taken from several sources, including annual reports, minutes of the Committees on Instruction and Exhibitions, and surviving printed tickets.
Full texts of the papers presented are preserved in the few cases where noted. The general correspondence files frequently contain letters concerning arrangements for speakers.
In addition, the annual reports and printed matter of the Fellowship (the Academy's first alumni association, founded in 1897) are a rich source of information. Its many public lectures are included here, indicated with an asterisk, since they were held in the Academy lecture room and were almost always open to the public. Audiences of over one hundred were common. The printed announcements of its regular meetings often list informal talks, discussions and dramatic readings, however these are too numerous to list here.
The printed tickets and texts for lectures have been microfilmed by the Archives of American Art, in either the special events or Fellowship series. This revised and expanded lecture list supersedes that filmed by the Archives of American Art in 1989. Further research using newspaper clippings, correspondence, school catalogues, annual reports, and committee minutes may provide additional information about both lectures and concerts.
Written by Cheryl Leibold (PAFA's Archivist, 1985-2010)
Date | Lecturer | Title of Lecture |
10/30/1876 | Christopher Dresser | Art Industries |
11/2/1876 | Christopher Dresser | Art Museums |
11/6/1876 | Christopher Dresser | Art Schools |
10/3/1876 | Earl Shinn | The History of Aesthetics |
10/10/1876 | Earl Shinn | The History of Aesthetics |
10/17/1876 | Earl Shinn | The History of Aesthetics |
12/3/1878 | William H. Good Year | DiCesnola Collection (note 1) |
12/9/1878 | William H. Goodyear | Egyptian Art |
12/10/1878 | William H. Goodyear | Greek Temple Architecture |
12/16/1878 | William H. Goodyear | Roman Art |
12/17/1878 | William H. Goodyear | Cathedral Architecture |
12/28/1883 | F. Seymour Haden | Etchings and Etchers |
12/30/1883 | F. Seymour Haden | Etchings and Etchers |
2/12/1883 | Eadweard Muybridge | The Romance and Realities of Animal Locomotion |
2/14/1883 | Hubert Herkomer, R.A. | Talk on Art |
2/17/1885 | Felix Moscheles | Talk on Art with Portrait Painting Demonstration |
5/2/1885 | J. Liberty Tadd | Michael Angelo: Life and Work |
5/9/1885 | J. Liberty Tadd | Raphael: Life and Work |
5/15/1885 | George C. Lambdin | Invention and Development of Oil Painting |
5/22/1885 | Thomas Eakins | The Zoetrope with Illustrations of the Movement of a Horse |
1/1/1886 | Henry Blackburn | Six Lectures on Watercolor |
1/2/1886 | Henry Blackburn | Six Lectures on Watercolor |
1/3/1886 | Henry Blackburn | Six Lectures on Watercolor |
2/1/1886 | Henry Blackburn | Six Lectures on Watercolor |
2/2/1886 | Henry Blackburn | Six Lectures on Watercolor |
2/3/1886 | Henry Blackburn | Six Lectures on Watercolor |
12/1/1892 | Frank Miles Day | Four Lectures on Italian Renaissance Architecture |
12/2/1892 | Frank Miles Day | Four Lectures on Italian Renaissance Architecture |
12/3/1892 | Frank Miles Day | Four Lectures on Italian Renaissance Architecture |
12/4/1892 | Frank Miles Day | Four Lectures on Italian Renaissance Architecture |
10/13/1893 | Beisen Kubota | Japanese Art |
11/25/1893 | Herbert H. Gilchrist | Early English Painting |
1/8/1894 | Mrs. Cornelius Stevenson | Greco-Egyptian Painting |
1/24/1894 | Mrs. Cornelius Stevenson | The Portrait in Antiquity |
2/10/1894 | J. Wells Champney | Pastels and Pastellists |
2/10/1894 | W. Lewis Fraser | Pencil and Graver in American Books for Two Hundred Years |
2/17/1894 | W. Lewis Fraser | Illustration: What It Is and How to Draw for It |
3/1/1894 | Ernest F. Fenollosa | Four Talks on the Study of Japanese Art (note 2) |
4/3/1894 | Rev. Jacob Weidman | John Wiclif Lectures: Wat Tyler, Geoffrey Chaucer, John Wiclif, and John of Gaunt |
4/6/1894 | Rev. Jacob Weidman | John Wiclif Lectures: Wat Tyler, Geoffrey Chaucer, John Wiclif, and John of Gaunt |
4/10/1894 | Rev. Jacob Weidman | John Wiclif Lectures: Wat Tyler, Geoffrey Chaucer, John Wiclif, and John of Gaunt |
4/13/1894 | Rev. Jacob Weidman | John Wiclif Lectures: Wat Tyler, Geoffrey Chaucer, John Wiclif, and John of Gaunt |
1/15/1895 | John La Farge | Essential Divisions of the Work of Art |
1/18/1895 | John La Farge | Personality and Choice |
1/22/1895 | John La Farge | Suggestion and Intention |
1/25/1895 | John La Farge | Misapprehensions of Meaning |
1/29/1895 | John La Farge | Maia or Illusions |
2/1/1895 | John La Farge | Sincerity |
2/8/1895 | Thomas Hovenden | What Is the Purpose of Art? |
2/15/1895 | John Sartain | About Engravers and Engraving |
4/2/1895 | Jean-Francois Raffaelli | The French School of 1830 and the Impressionists |
4/5/1895 | Jean-Francois Raffaelli | Art from the Romans to the Nineteenth Century |
3/1/1896 | Miss Kingsley | Four Talks on French Art: Classics to Impressionists |
4/1/1896 | Miss Kingsley | Four Talks on French Art: Classics to Impressionists |
4/6/1896 | J. W. Fosdick | The Actual Use of the Hot Iron: A Talk on Fire-Etching |
4/6/1896 | Miss Kingsley | Shakespeare in Warwickshire |
4/21/1896 | Sir Henry Irving | [title unknown] |
4/21/1897 | Dr. H. M. Hiller | Borneo and Its Inhabitants |
1/1/1898 | W. Lewis Fraser | Six Practical Talks on Illustration |
1/2/1898 | W. Lewis Fraser | Six Practical Talks on Illustration |
1/3/1898 | W. Lewis Fraser | Six Practical Talks on Illustration |
4/1/1898 | W. Lewis Fraser | Six Practical Talks on Illustration |
4/2/1898 | W. Lewis Fraser | Six Practical Talks on Illustration |
4/3/1898 | W. Lewis Fraser | Six Practical Talks on Illustration |
1/28/1898 | Arthur J. Eddy Esq. | Days with Whistler |
4/18/1898 | Charles Henry Hart | Hints on Portraiture and How to Catalogue Them* (full text preserved) |
11/28/1898 | H. Kent Day | Monumental Brasses* |
1/1/1899 | W. Lewis Fraser | Six Practical Talks on Illustration (second season) |
1/2/1899 | W. Lewis Fraser | Six Practical Talks on Illustration (second season) |
1/3/1899 | W. Lewis Fraser | Six Practical Talks on Illustration (second season) |
4/1/1899 | W. Lewis Fraser | Six Practical Talks on Illustration (second season) |
4/2/1899 | W. Lewis Fraser | Six Practical Talks on Illustration (second season) |
4/3/1899 | W. Lewis Fraser | Six Practical Talks on Illustration (second season) |
1/24/1899 | Ripley Hitchcock | Antoine Louis Barye |
4/24/1899 | Cornelius Stevenson | Old Armor* |
5/18/1899 | William M. Chase | Velasquez and His Influence on the Art of Our Time* |
11/27/1899 | Stewart Culin | Primitive American Art* |
1/19/1900 | Arthur J. Eddy Esq. | Auguste Rodin, Sculptor |
2/12/1900 | Jean-Francois Raffaelli | Impressions and Recollections |
2/14/1900 | William B. Van Ingen | Japanese Perspective* |
4/16/1900 | Charles E. Dana | Le Puy France* |
2/21/1901 | Arthur J. Eddy Esq. | The Lost Sense of the Beautiful |
4/15/1901 | Mrs. Cornelius Stevenson | The Ancient Portrait* |
11/26/1901 | Henry C. Mercer | Tiles: Reproducing Ancient Processes* |
3/20/1902 | William M. Chase | Great Portrait Painters* |
4/24/1902 | Frank Miles Day | Intended Improvements to Washington D.C. |
12/1/1902 | John McLure Hamilton | Civil Costume* |
2/6/1903 | Dr. Denman W. Ross | Painting and the Principles of Design* |
3/24/1903 | Charles E. Dana | Talks on Armor* |
3/31/1903 | Charles E. Dana | Talks on Armor* |
12/1/1903 | William L. Price | The Value of an Art Education in the Handicraft Movement* |
1/25/1904 | William M. Chase | Pictures in the Seventy-Third Annual Exhibition |
1/27/1904 | Arthur J. Eddy Esq. | Whistler as a Colorist |
2/10/1904 | Carleton Noyes | The Personal Estimate in Art* |
2/19/1904 | John F. Lewis | Early History of Engraving |
4/15/1904 | John F. Lewis | Woodcuts and Wood Engravings: History and Technique |
11/25/1904 | J. Liberty Tadd | Elementary Art and Manual Training in Education |
11/28/1904 | Agnes Repplier | The Plague of Letters* |
2/11/1905 | Bolton Coit Brown | Old Japanese Prints* |
2/17/1905 | Dr. S. Weir Mitchell | François Villon and His Time* |
3/8/1905 | Henry C. Mercer | Pottery and Tiles* |
4/13/1905 | William M. Chase | Whistler the Man and His Art* |
2/16/1906 | Agnes Repplier | The Temptations of Eve* |
2/26/1906 | Bliss Carman | Art and Life |
3/23/1906 | Harvey M. Watts | Newspaper Illustration from the Editor's Viewpoint |
3/1/1906 | Charles H. Caffin | Eight Lectures on the History of Art |
3/2/1906 | Charles H. Caffin | Eight Lectures on the History of Art |
3/3/1906 | Charles H. Caffin | Eight Lectures on the History of Art |
3/4/1906 | Charles H. Caffin | Eight Lectures on the History of Art |
12/1/1906 | Charles H. Caffin | Eight Lectures on the History of Art |
12/2/1906 | Charles H. Caffin | Eight Lectures on the History of Art |
12/3/1906 | Charles H. Caffin | Eight Lectures on the History of Art |
12/4/1906 | Charles H. Caffin | Eight Lectures on the History of Art |
1/1/1907 | Charles H. Caffin | Nine Lectures on the History of Art [included one on James McNeil Whistler] |
1/2/1907 | Charles H. Caffin | Nine Lectures on the History of Art [included one on James McNeil Whistler] |
1/3/1907 | Charles H. Caffin | Nine Lectures on the History of Art [included one on James McNeil Whistler] |
2/1/1907 | Charles H. Caffin | Nine Lectures on the History of Art [included one on James McNeil Whistler] |
2/2/1907 | Charles H. Caffin | Nine Lectures on the History of Art [included one on James McNeil Whistler] |
2/3/1907 | Charles H. Caffin | Nine Lectures on the History of Art [included one on James McNeil Whistler] |
3/1/1907 | Charles H. Caffin | Nine Lectures on the History of Art [included one on James McNeil Whistler] |
3/2/1907 | Charles H. Caffin | Nine Lectures on the History of Art [included one on James McNeil Whistler] |
3/3/1907 | Charles H. Caffin | Nine Lectures on the History of Art [included one on James McNeil Whistler] |
2/8/1907 | Charles H. Caffin | The Pictures in the 102nd Annual Exhibition* |
2/12/1907 | Lorado Taft | Modern French Sculpture |
2/20/1907 | John F. Lewis | William Hogarth and His Engraving |
3/15/1907 | Dr. George McClellan | The Strolling of a Player's Head* (Note 3) |
4/18/1907 | William M. Chase | Velasquez* |
12/9/1907 | John F. Lewis | Line Engravings upon Copper and Steel* |
1/23/1908 | Charles E. Dana | Tapestry |
2/6/1908 | Morris Jastrow Jr. | Babylonian and Assyrian Art |
2/14/1908 | Charles H. Caffin | The Pictures in the 103rd Annual Exhibition* |
2/21/1908 | T. Louis Comparette | Medals of the Renaissance |
2/27/1908 | Mrs. Cornelius Stevenson | The Beginnings of Art |
3/13/1908 | Cecilia Beaux | The Public and Modern Art |
3/18/1908 | Cecilia Beaux | Portraiture |
3/27/1908 | John F. Lewis | Line Engravings upon Copper and Steel with some considerations on their History and Technique |
4/28/1908 | Henry R. Poore | The Reason of Design |
3/22/1909 | Charles E. Dana | A Talk about Heraldry |
3/31/1909 | Charles H. Caffin | Three Talks on Realism and Idealism in Painting (full text preserved) |
4/7/1909 | Charles H. Caffin | Three Talks on Realism and Idealism in Painting (full text preserved) |
4/14/1909 | Charles H. Caffin | Three Talks on Realism and Idealism in Painting (full text preserved) |
4/8/1909 | Emily Sartain | A Talk on Some Early Artists in Philadelphia |
4/29/1909 | John G. Rolfe | The Mirrors of the Ancient Greeks and Etruscans |
1/13/1910 | Henry R. Poore | Pictorial Form |
12/5/1910 | Violet Oakley | The Master Decorators* |
1/30/1911 | Katherine Cohen | Sculpture* |
3/10/1911 | Frank Miles Day | The American Academy in Rome |
4/5/1911 | T. Louis Comparette | Contemporary Metallic Work |
4/28/1911 | John E. D. Trask | A Visit to the South American Exposition* |
1/29/1912 | Paula B. Himmelsbach and Joanna Boericke | A Visit to Greece* |
3/1/1912 | William M. Chase | Contemporaneous Art* |
3/1/1912 | T. Louis Comparette | Five Lectures on Greek Sculpture |
3/2/1912 | T. Louis Comparette | Five Lectures on Greek Sculpture |
3/3/1912 | T. Louis Comparette | Five Lectures on Greek Sculpture |
3/4/1912 | T. Louis Comparette | Five Lectures on Greek Sculpture |
4/1/1912 | T. Louis Comparette | Five Lectures on Greek Sculpture |
5/9/1912 | Joseph Pennell | Illustration and Decoration |
2/17/1913 | William B. Van Ingen | Mural Painting* |
3/3/1913 | George M. Haushalter | Old Masters vs. Modern Painters, Comparison of Methods and Materials* |
12/12/1913 | Edward Hornor Coates | Art in the Eighteenth Century and William Rush |
1/23/1914 | Laurence B. Saint | Stained Glass* |
2/23/1914 | Mary G. Shearer | Ada Drake and Frank Applegate Three Talks on Pottery* |
3/27/1914 | Emil Carlsen | Mechanics of Painting* |
4/1/1914 | John F. Lewis | Mezzotints and the English Portrait Painters of the Eighteenth Century |
11/1/1915 | Herbert E. Everett | Lectures on the History of Art |
3/1/1916 | Herbert E. Everett | Lectures on the History of Art |
1/15/1915 | Georgiana King | Harvey Watts, William Price, Morton Schamberg, New Movements in Art* |
2/26/1915 | Arthur Hoeber | Fashions in Art* |
3/10/1915 | William Henry Goodyear | Architectural Asymmetries and Refinements* |
3/26/1915 | Walton Brooks McDaniel | Baiae: The Newport of Ancient Greece* |
1/13/1916 | Louis Edward Levy | The Development and Recent Advances in the Techno-Graphic Arts |
1/17/1916 | Arthur W. Dow | Art in Japanese Gardens* |
3/15/1916 | Henry McCarter | Ancient and Modern Art* |
3/29/1916 | Cecilia Beaux | What American Artists Owe to France* |
12/7/1916 | Edwin H. Blashfield | Preparedness in Art* |
2/2/1917 | Christian Brinton | Manet and Impressionism* |
12/7/1917 | Joseph Pennell | Illustration: Yesterday and Today* |
1/18/1918 | Dr. William C. Farabee | Primitive Art in South America* |
2/8/1918 | I. B. Stoughton Holborn | Art, Civilization, and War |
3/12/1918 | John McClure Hamilton | Art, a Necessity |
4/29/1918 | J. Henry Scattergood | Reconstruction Work in France* |
2/14/1919 | Ettore Cadorin | How Italy's Art Was Saved and Protected* |
3/13/1919 | Paul Bartlett | Violet Oakley, Joseph Pennell, and others, Talks on Art Memorials* |
4/9/1919 | Warren P. Laird | Placement of the Delaware River Bridge* |
4/22/1919 | Raymond Wyer | The British War Paintings and Drawings |
5/1/1919 | Harvey M. Watts | Art and the War |
5/8/1919 | Edward Biddle | Colonial Portraits of the Academy's Collection |
5/15/1919 | [Unknown speaker] | The French Pictures of the Gibson Collection |
5/22/1919 | Miss Curtis Wager-Smith | Sir Benjamin West |
11/17/1919 | Albert Kelsey | Environment as a Factor in Education* |
12/2/1919 | Charles Stinson | Reproducing Your Drawings* |
1/6/1920 | Langdon Warner | Origins of Painting in the Far East* |
1/25/1920 | Nicola D'Ascenzo | The Evolution of Stained Glass Windows from Drawings to Completion* |
2/3/1920 | Capt. George Harding | A War Artist at the Front* |
2/26/1920 | Margaretta Hinchman | Helping France* |
3/18/1920 | Philip L. Hale | Opinion in Art* |
3/24/1920 | Joseph Pennell, et al. | Billboards: An Artistic Disgrace* |
4/29/1920 | Frederick H. Shelton | Adolph Ulrich Wertmuller: Noted Artist of Sweden, France, and the U.S. |
4/30/1920 | Timothy Cole, N.A. | Art by the Way* |
12/6/1920 | Charles Vezin | Old-Hat-O-Phobia, Two Eras of Bad Taste: The Mid-Victorian and the Mid-Victrolian* |