A Big Story

Curated by PAFA faculty member Al Gury, A Big Story is a personal sampling of images drawn from PAFA's collection, works by PAFA alumni and faculty, Philadelphia illustrators associated with PAFA and objects from Gury's collection. PAFA has trained some of America’s finest illustrators, including Maxfield Parrish, members of the Ashcan School and Violet Oakley, and continues to train contemporary students as a leader in the practice of fine 21st-century illustration. Through its high standards of skill-based training, leading to creativity and personal vision, PAFA prepares its students and alums to contribute to the world of storytelling, social witness and visual engagement through a diverse range of aesthetics and content. PAFA’s extensive museum collection of illustrative and narrative works contains examples of every major trend and aesthetic that has informed illustration in America.
Illustration is many things. Rooted in storytelling and human experience, contemporary illustration at PAFA incorporates painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and mixed media.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website