The collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Library and Archives have many notable associations with Arshile Gorky, ranging from books bequeathed to the Library by Alfred E. Gallatin (founder of New York University’s Gallery of Living Art, which Gorky frequently visited) to the papers of Julien Levy (Gorky’s New York art dealer). These documents, along with Library books and journals from other sources, provide a snapshot of what informed and inspired Arshile Gorky during his brief career and life.

The first exhibition of Sommer’s work in Philadelphia since 1968, Frederick Sommer Photographs presents some forty images spanning the artist’s career, along with a small number of drawings and collages. Included is a rare suite of macabre yet poignant photographs the artist made in 1939 using chicken parts collected from his local butcher.

Members of India’s elite have long been great patrons of both music and the visual arts. This exhibition explores some of the ways court artists have sought to create a bridge between these two rich artistic traditions, by translating the aural qualities of music into a visible form.

Today, Philadelphia is home to many emerging and established metalsmiths who teach, create, and exhibit their work here and elsewhere. On display in this gallery are pieces by several significant Philadelphians—Olaf Skoogfors, Stanley Lechtzin, Jan Yager, Bruce Metcalf, and Sharon Church, to name just a few—as well as recognized artists from around the country.