Image: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
Eleanor Nairne, the Keith L. and Katherine Sachs Curator and Head of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, will lead a lunchtime discussion on Lee Krasner at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia on September 10, 2026. The one-hour program, titled ‘Curator Talk with Eleanor Nairne,’ will take place from noon to 1 p.m. in PAFA’s Historic Landmark Building.
Presented as part of PAFA’s ‘Art At Noon’ series, the talk will examine Krasner’s life, 50-year career, working process and later paintings. Nairne will focus particularly on the transformative final decades of the artist’s life, a period that includes ‘Untitled’ (1968–1983), an oil painting currently on view in PAFA’s exhibition ‘A Nation of Artists.’
Krasner (1908–1984) is represented in the exhibition by the 68-by-68-inch canvas, which was given to PAFA by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. According to the museum, Nairne will use the work to discuss Krasner’s artistic tenacity and to demystify the processes behind her practice. The event description identifies Krasner as one of the 20th century’s most significant artists and emphasizes the importance of her later works to the discussion.
Nairne’s previous curatorial work includes ‘Lee Krasner: Living Colour,’ presented at London’s Barbican Art Gallery in 2019. Her other Barbican exhibitions included shows devoted to Jean Dubuffet, Soheila Sokhanvari, Alice Neel and Julianknxx. She previously served as curator of the Artangel Collection at Tate from 2011 to 2015, organizing more than 30 exhibitions and displays across the United Kingdom, according to PAFA.
The Krasner program is connected to ‘A Nation of Artists,’ a large-scale presentation installed throughout PAFA’s recently restored Historic Landmark Building. The exhibition brings together more than 1,000 paintings, photographs, sculptures, decorative arts and other works spanning the 18th century to the present. Its themes include American identity, global exchange, expansion, conflict and innovation. More than 120 works from the Middleton Family Collection are also being shown publicly for the first time across PAFA and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Founded in 1805, PAFA describes itself as the first school and museum of fine arts in the United States. Its museum is known for a collection of American art, while its public programs and exhibitions address both historical and contemporary practices. The institution’s alumni include Mary Cassatt, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, William Glackens, Barkley L. Hendricks, Violet Oakley, Louis Kahn, David Lynch and Henry Ossawa Tanner.
Admission to the September 10 talk is free with general museum admission, listed by PAFA as $25; members may attend free. Registration is required, and the museum’s September newsletter noted that only limited spots remained. The program will be held at PAFA’s Historic Landmark Building in Philadelphia.
