Dear Friends,

It is a great honor to have recently begun my tenure as the George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer of this extraordinary museum. With incredible collections, dedicated staff, and devoted visitors like you, the museum holds a special place in our city and as an American cultural treasure. I am profoundly grateful to begin this journey.

We have an exciting year ahead as we celebrate both the nation’s 250th birthday as well as the museum’s 150th anniversary. I hope you will join us for the many offerings planned. We’ll soon open A Nation of Artists — the most expansive American art show Philadelphia has ever seen. This is in addition to a full slate of exhibitions including Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments, Van Gogh's Sunflowers: A Symphony in Blue and Yellow, as well as a major retrospective of Marcel Duchamp.

On the institutional front, as you likely know, in the fall the museum introduced a new look and a new name. When I began this winter, I asked our team to gather feedback from our communities — and we heard two important things. First, the public is responding favorably to the use of the museum’s iconic griffin in our logo (it had been a part of our identity a century ago). Second, many preferred the name “Philadelphia Museum of Art” to the shortened “Philadelphia Art Museum” name that was introduced in the fall. We’ve taken this feedback to heart, and to this end, in the coming days you’ll see a refreshed logo with the griffin and a return to the Philadelphia Museum of Art name.

And, as I know many of you are veritable museum insiders and will always call us PMA, this update works for that too!

Most importantly, I and the entire team are ever committed to providing the exceptional exhibitions and programming that people of all ages in our communities rely upon.

I look forward to seeing you in the galleries and sharing this new chapter ahead.



Sincerely,

Dan Weiss