Resources
Sources
- Smithsonian Institution Research
Information System has an extensive searchable public art catalog
for the whole country, including entries from the next item. Be careful
of duplicate and conflicting entries.
- The Free Library of
Philadelphia's Main Branch has an extensive text listing from the Fairmount
Park Art Association of sculptures and murals
indexed by artist and title. There is only one copy, and it cannot leave
the room. There are also some difficulties with artist's names, most
notably Gerd Hessness, who for some reason is listed as a Frudakis.
-
Public Art in Philadelphia
by Penny Balkin Bach, Temple
University Press, 1992, discusses
207 murals and sculptures. The book is illustrated
with small black and white photos and is written as a history
of the concept of public art.
- The Fairmount Park Art Association
web site, which went live in July of 2003,
includes an online and updated version of
Public Art in Philadelphia, a guide to the many agencies that
deal with public art in Philadelphia, and several other very useful
features.
- Black and White Photos, structural details and extensive
histories of most of the pieces from City Hall along the Parkway,
to the Art Museum and behind the museum
can be found in the book
Philadelphia's Outdoor Art, A Walking Tour
by Roslyn F. Brenner. The first edition ( Camino Books, 1987)
was used as a reference for this site. Several editions have been published since.
- Sculpture and Art Galleries on PENN Campus (with map)
- Art at Penn
- Temple
University's Paley Library has a collection of clippings related to
art at Temple; advance permission is required for on-site access
- Gerry Wilkinson's
Temple University:
Some History includes a great deal of information about the
construction of the buildings.
- The City of Philadelphia's
Public Art Program site has pages for
pieces from approximately 50 artists (as of January 2007) including quite a few from inside the airport, the Justice Center,
and several libraries and recreation centers that are not listed here because of their limited accessibility.
- phillyhistory.org is a mapping website that allows users to search for,
view by location, and purchase thousands of historic photographs dating back to the late nineteenth century. Individual pictures
linked from this site were found through location searches as well as searches for keywords such as "statue," "fountain," "memorial,"
and "monument." This site is recommended for its photographic value, and not as a primary source
for titles or artists of the pieces pictured.
- Louis N. Ferrero of the American Catholic Historical Society provided information on
the statues at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.
-
Philadelphia Then and Now
by Kenneth Finkel and
Susan Oyama, Dover, 1988, has two large black and white pictures each of 60
Philadelphia sites, and includes pictures of
Sagg Main Street, Welcome Park and
Mail Delivery.
- philadelphiabuildings.org has pictures and information.
-
Places in Time:
Historical Documentation of Place in Greater Philadelphia
is a useful ressource for dating sculptures on buildings
- Another useful source of information about some of the newer, taller
buildings is emporis.com
- Gargoyles of Philadelphia
has pictures and information from more than a dozen buildings.
- askart.com has proved very useful for checking the names of American artists.
- wikipedia.org is an increasingly valuable source for biographies
- Additional resources for artists, artworks,
landmarks
and people are listed at the bottom of each listing page on this site under See Also.
More Philadelphia Pictures
More Philadelphia Information
- Philadelphia Sculptors is
an organization of Philadelphia area sculptors
- phila.gov has all kinds of interesting information, including articles about the parks.
- ushistory.org, maintained by
the Independence Hall Association, includes extensive references to
many of the sites and historical individuals referenced here.
- Philadelphia : A 300-Year History,
edited by Russell F. Weigley, Norton, 1982, will tell you more than you
ever wanted to know about this incredible city.
- In the midst of the tours, if you should happen to wonder where the
street names came from, you may well find the answer in
Mermaids, Monasteries, Cherokees and Custer: The Stories Behind Philadelphia Street Names, by Robert I Alotta
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Rodin Museum
- University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology
General Public Art Resources
The pictures on this site (but not the
artworks in the pictures) are Copyright 1998-2007
Chris Purdom, unless
otherwise noted, and are not to be used for commercial purposes, but are
free for non-commercial use, provided appropriate credit is given.
Information about artists, dates, titles and subjects was gathered from
a variety of sources, including those listed on the
resources page, plus personal inspection of the pieces and, in
some cases, email or telephone conversations with the artists,
representatives of the artists, representatives of the artists' estates,
or personnel at the organizations that purchased or approved the
purchase of the pieces. Chris Purdom believes
that the information provided is as accurate as he can make it, but claims
no ownership of facts. Please contact
Chris with corrections, additions, and/or technical difficulties
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