Philadelphia is celebrating one of its most beloved art teachers this fall. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) has opened Al Gury: Painting and Purpose, on view from October 23, 2026, through April 26, 2027, in the Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building.
The exhibition honors Albert “Al” Gury, a PAFA alumnus and Cresson Traveling Scholarship recipient who shaped the life of the Academy for more than 38 years. As Chair of Painting from 2000 to 2022, he guided generations of artists through painting, drawing, figure drawing, anatomy and art history, teaching technique as a way for students to discover who they were becoming.
Visitors will find a wide range of Gury’s own paintings alongside color studies, figure sketches and the teaching tools he used in the studio. A selection of student work completes the tribute, showing how his patience, humor, discipline and generosity live on in the artists he mentored. His work explored harmony, color and composition, what PAFA has called visual poetry.
Gury’s influence reached far beyond PAFA’s classrooms. He founded and directed the Academy’s free After-School Studio Arts Program for Philadelphia-area high school students, wrote three books on painting and drawing, and quietly helped students who struggled to afford supplies. Happy City News invites art lovers to experience this warm celebration of a painter who believed in artists before they fully believed in themselves.
Photo: PAFA
