President George W. Bush announced on November 9 the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a recipient of a 2005 National Medal of Arts. The medal, the highest arts award given to artists, arts organizations and patrons by the United States government, is awarded annually by the president to individuals or groups who, in his judgment, “are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States.”

“It is truly an honor to receive this recognition and stand among such an outstanding list of vital contributors to the arts in America,” said Derek Gillman, president and Edna S. Tuttleman Director of the academy. “As an institution, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is profoundly linked to the history of the United States, having trained so many of its great artists. I’m delighted to note that as the first visual arts organization to receive the medal, the academy now joins National Medal of Art recipients Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler and Louise Bourgeois, who have all received the academy’s Gold Medal of Honor.”

“These individuals and organization have all made significant and enduring contributions to the artistic life of our nation,” said Dana Gioia, chairman, National Endowment for the Arts. “Whether through pioneering film animation, writing memorable novels, championing jazz or creating new dance styles, their work has transformed the ways we experience and appreciate the world.”

Celebrating its 200th anniversary this year, the academy is the oldest museum and school of fine arts in America. Since its founding in 1805 by Charles Willson Peale, the academy has made tremendous contributions to the American artistic landscape. Among America’s great artists who have studied and taught at the academy are Thomas Sully, Thomas Eakins, Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, Robert Henri, John Marin, Charles Sheeler and Irving Petlin.

Currently, the academy is closing its anniversary celebration with an exhibition surveying 200 years of American painting. “In Private Hands” brings together for the first time 100 paintings from 54 private collections, many of which have never before been seen in public. The exhibition spans two centuries and both buildings of the academy’s campus (the Frank Furness-designed historic landmark building and the recently opened Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building) and includes works by Albert Bierstadt, Frederick Remington, Georgia O’Keeffe, Charles Demuth, Jackson Pollock, Jean-Michel Basquiat and many others by Americas most notable artists. “In Private Hands” will remain on view till January 8.

Academy hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm. The academy is at 118-128 North Broad Street. Admission is $15 adults, $12 seniors and students with ID, $10 children/youth ages 5-18. For information, 215-972-7600 or www.pafa.org.