For all the world to see

The joy of rediscovery has been praised for centuries. In everyday life, everyone marvels at the waterlogged $5 found in washed laundry.

Often, artworks find their way into private collections and are thus taken out of museum circulation. Once in the private sector, the works are given over for public display only at the discretion of the owner.

But when they are seen again or "rediscovered" by the public they are a sight to behold.

The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts is continuing its yearlong 200th birthday bash with a huge and diverse exhibition titled "In Private Hands: 200 Years of American Painting."

Billed as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the 100 paintings on display through Jan. 6 represent 55 collectors with "some of the finest works of American art held in private collections across the country."

According to academy President Derek A. Gillman, "This is a truly magical exhibition representing America’s huge achievement in the visual arts. ‘In Private Hands’ offers a really unique opportunity to see 100 extraordinary works of art that remain in private hands.

"We are awed by the generosity of the collectors, when we conceived of this show as the final exhibition in our 200th anniversary celebration, we hadn’t fully anticipated the great enthusiasm that this [exhibition] would generate from major collectors across the country and just how many important works would be so generously lent."

The show is spread around two buildings, the main building designed by Frank Furness and the new exhibition space across the street in the huge first-floor gallery of the Samuel Hamilton Building. The range of artists represented spans from the early 19th to the late 20th century. Some of the major artists shown are Frederick Remington, Winslow Homer, Albert Bierstadt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Charles Demuth, Jacob Lawrence, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning and Romare Bearden.

In addition, there are a number of personal favorites such as Cecilia Beaux, George Bellows, Thomas Cole, Arthur Dove, Philadelphia’s own Sidney Goodman, John La Farge, William Glackens, George Luks, John Marin, Horace Pippin, John Sloan and James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

As one might expect, the show is inconsistent in quality. How can anyone expect collectors, even those with expert advice, to come up with sterling pictures every time? Still, there are some remarkable pieces, such as Thomas Cole’s "Falls of Kaaterskill." There have been many images painted of the falls, but this is superb. It comes from a collection in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The Jacob Lawrence "Christmas In Harlem" is also an impressive piece and fans will be delighted. It comes to the show from the collection of Rachel Skolnick and Joshua Skolnick.

Also, it is always interesting to see what an artist, for whatever reason, has kept for themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Wyeth have lent two Wyeths from the mid-1960s, "The Drifter," a watercolor and dry brush on paper, and "Outpost," tempera on panel.

The styles of the paintings in the exhibit run the range of art movements over the course of several centuries. Given the variety and diversity, there should be something for everyone in this show. The academy itself gains as it continues to demonstrate it is not your father’s art museum anymore. By showing the diversity that is American art and by proclaiming itself to be at, or at the very least, very close to the center of American art, the academy is positioning itself for the next 200 years.

It also has developed a great wish list from some of the country’s top collectors. Should any of them happen to be considering the benefits of bequeathing art, the academy would seem a hospitable home.

The show was curated by Nicolai Cikovsky of the National Gallery of Art and Lynn Marsden-Atlass of the academy, both of whom have worked for the better part of two years on this show. They, along with Robert Rosenblum of New York University, have produced a scholarly catalog to go along with it. The book is handsome enough to show collectors what fine care their artworks will have at the academy.

"In Private Hands: 200 Years of American Painting"
Through Jan. 6
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
118-128 N. Broad St.
www.pafa.org
Admission: $10-15