Penn has a long tradition of supporting graduate study in the arts of the United States between the eighteenth century and the present. Several members of the faculty collaborate in teaching and advising students in this field.
Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw focuses on the art of the United States, its territories, and its geographical neighbors, from the 1500s to the present day.
Penn and the city of Philadelphia hold tremendous resources for students of the art and architecture of the United States. The collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Library Company, Free Library, and numerous other institutions are unsurpassed. At Penn, the McNeil Center for Early American Studies conducts an active program fostering interdisciplinary study.