PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, home to America抯 artists, celebrates its 200th Anniversary in 2005 with a yearlong series of exhibitions, events, family activities and more. Opening the year of major exhibitions is In Full View: American Painting and Sculpture (1720-2005), through April 10, 2005.

The most extensive exhibition of the Academy抯 collection ever presented, In Full View takes the viewer on a journey through the history of American art. Set in new contemporary spaces of the Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building and in the Victorian Gothic architecture of the historic landmark building, In Full View includes painting and sculpture from every era of American art from its birth in the 18th century to today.

The Pennsylvania Academy梕stablished by artist Charles Willson Peale and now opening the new Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building that more than doubles the Academy抯 gallery space梚s the oldest institution for fine art education and exhibition in the nation. In Full View reveals the Academy抯 pivotal role in fine arts exhibition and education. Nearly every major American artist has studied, taught or exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy. With the founding of the Academy at Independence Hall in 1805, fine arts became an integral part of American culture and a defining aspect of the city of Philadelphia.

The ornate historic landmark building, designed by Frank Furness and George Hewitt, reveals a chronological display of American paintings from 1720 to 1945. Included are iconic works such as co-founder Charles Willson Peale抯 The Artist in His Museum (1822), Jasper Cropsey抯 Mount Washington from Lake Sebago, Maine (1867) and Winslow Homer抯 Fox Hunt (1893). Work by many artists who studied or taught at the Academy is represented in the exhibition. Among them are graduate Henry O. Tanner抯 Nicodemus (1899), alumna Cecilia Beaux抯 New England Woman (1895), instructor Thomas Eakins� The Cello Player (1896), alumnus Maxfield Parrish抯 Princess Parizade Bringing Home the Singing Tree (1906) and graduate William Glackens� The Soda Fountain (1935).

Several works in the exhibition depict key events in American history, such as David Martin抯 famous portrait Benjamin Franklin (1767), Benjamin West抯 Penn抯 Treaty with the Indians (1771-72), Charles Willson Peale抯 George Washington at Princeton (1779), Xanthus Smith抯 Final Assault Upon Fort Fisher, North Carolina (1872-73) and Horace Pippin抯 John Brown Going to His Hanging (1942).

The Vivian O. and Meyer P. Potamkin Gallery includes 10 masterpieces given to the Academy by the Potamkin family. The collection includes works by Georgia O扠eeffe, Frederick Childe Hassam, Mary Cassatt, Maurice Prendergast and others. Two works from the collection桵arsden Hartley抯 Flower Abstraction (1914) and Arthur Dove抯 Naples Yellow Morning (1935)梬ere included in the list �100 Top Treasures� of 2003 selected by Art & Antiques Magazine.

Sculptures as well as post-1945 paintings are arranged in the contemporary spaces of the new Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building梠pening to the public on Jan. 11, 2005. Included in the second-floor Tuttleman Sculpture Gallery overlooking the Avenue of the Arts are Isamu Noguchi抯 Girl Torso (1958) and David Smith抯 V.B. XXII (1963). Works by Nancy Graves and Louise Nevelson also are featured, and Alexander Calder抯 mobile Route Barree (1962) hangs above the grand stair leading to the second floor.

Among modern and contemporary paintings are Leon Golub抯 Seated Boxer II (1960), Mark Rothko抯 Untitled (Maroon Over Red) (1968), Red Grooms� A Room in Connecticut (1984), Betye Saar抯 Blackbird (2002) and Pantocrator (2002) by Vincent Desiderio, Academy faculty member and Alumni Association president.

The Hamilton Building also houses a Sculpture Study Center, the first resource of its kind in Philadelphia. The center includes changing freestanding arrangements of original sculptures from the Academy抯 renowned collections, selected by instructors to complement current lessons in sculpture and drawing. Glass-enclosed display cases contain scores of original sculptures previously stored in Academy vaults, and floor-to-ceiling windows provide natural daylight. Comfortable chairs and tables are available for the public to sit and view the sculptures, while Academy students can sketch and discuss masterworks from the sculpture collection.