The Philadelphia Show Celebrates its 60th Anniversary

For the first time since its inception, The Philadelphia Show will take place on the grounds of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the institution’s East Terrace. This shift represents a significant step in the fair’s evolution and growth and marks a return to in-person after two years of a virtual event format. Since  2018, The Women's Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Show Committee have organized the fair for the purposes of supporting the museum. The new location offers the fair an opportunity better serve its distinguished audience of collectors, designers, industry experts, and tastemakers.

“Overlooking Philadelphia from the museum’s East Terrace is a perfect way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Philadelphia Show,” says Eleanore H. Gadsden, Chair of The Philadelphia Show. “The Show offers the best of antiques, art, and design on the market today and its location evokes the 300-year history of the city as well as a tradition of excellence.”

Throughout its six decades, The Philadelphia Show has become a mainstay of the city’s flourishing culture, art, and design scene, serving as the go-to destination to experience, discuss, and exhibit fine art, antiques, and collectible design in the Greater Philadelphia Area and US at large. The fair will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a diversified exhibitor list and a special line-up of programming leading up to and during the fair that includes a virtual lecture series titled New Conversations with The Philadelphia Show. The series will feature three, discussion-style lectures on antiques, fine art, and design moderated by curators from the Philadelphia Museum of Art in conversation with distinguished guests.

This April, The Philadelphia Show welcomes back many of its principal exhibitors who have enjoyed success as regular participants of the fair including Olde Hope, Kentshire, Lillian Nassau LLC, Moderne Gallery, and Spencer Marks.

“With the new venue and approach, we look at the 60th anniversary of The Philadelphia Show as a  celebration of its continuing strength and growth,” says Robert Aibel, founder of Moderne Gallery. “When  Moderne Gallery first exhibited at the show in 1997, we were the first gallery to be invited to exclusively show twentieth-century material. The Philadelphia Show was evolving, and continues to evolve, as will be clear  in its 2022 iteration.”

Several of the 2022 exhibitors have exhibited with The Philadelphia Show from as early as 1969, attesting to the fair’s longevity and relevance to its dealers and audiences throughout its tenure. These galleries include Cooley Gallery, Jeffrey Tillou Antiques, Ralph M. Chait Galleries, and S. J. Shrubsole.

“We have been exhibitors at the Show for 20 years and cherish the wonderful relationships we have forged in this time with clients, fellow dealers, show committee members and the always very interested public who attend,” says Steven J. Chait and Andrew H. Chait, President and Vice President of Ralph M. Chait  Galleries. “The Philadelphia Show is one of the most important antique fairs in the country. It is a classic in its own right. We commend the Show on its 60 years and look forward to remaining a part of it for many  years to come!”

All proceeds from The Philadelphia Show this year support the Division of Digital Resources and Content  Strategy at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Division creates programs for virtual visitors from the local community and around the world, who find personal relevance and create new meaning through the exploration of rich and integrated collections information, museum programming, and original research. The team coordinates the museum’s website, digital and print communications platforms, and social media presence, with a particular emphasis on making available research and programming related to the collection to a broad audience.

The 2022 Philadelphia Show is made possible by Principal Sponsor Justi Group, Inc. Additional support has been provided by Christie’s, Chubb, CSI International, LLC, Firstrust Bank, Freedom Mortgage  Corporation, Freeman’s, LAGOS, Morgan Lewis, Pook & Pook, Inc., Auctioneers and Appraisers,  Sotheby’s and Treadwell.