Inside of the Pennsylvania Art Conservatory’s simple white brick and sienna trimmed facade is an array of exhibitions ranging from American impressionist paintings to various forms of European art.  One collection currently on display features a variety of Philadelphia female artists from the 19th and 20th centuries.   Here are some of my featured favorites:

Ethel V. Ashton’s (1896 – 1975) Men on a Park Bench.

So many of Ashton’s pieces portray people sitting on benches in parks, at train stations, or having a picnic.  Men on a Park Bench, Sunday Aftertoon, and Alone on the Park Bench (not part of the PA Art Conservatory exhibit) all share this commonality.  Each portrays various groups of people, seemingly unconnected, yet all finding a quiet place to rest together.  The idea of an “accidental community” comes to mind, in which people from different backgrounds and stages of life unknowingly take part in an interaction greater than themselves.

Quita Brodhead’s (1901 – 2002) Nude Painted in Paris, 1950.

Brodhead’s work can be found in twenty museums world wide ranging from right here in Philadelphia to Tenerife, Spain.  Her oil paintings use bold, expressive colors, soft strokes, and large geometric shapes.  Vibrancy, texture, and expressionistic abstraction have become synonomous with Brodhead pieces.  I chose to feature Nude Painted in Paris because it’s a great representation of the type of medium produced and technique consistently utilized by Brodhead throughout her career.

The PA Art Conservatory is located at 636 Lancaster Ave.  Click here for more information on the Art Conservatory’s exhibits, restorations, and custom  framings.

– Jennifer Burrini, ’10