The Philadelphia Art Alliance offers several rental space options that blend intimacy and aesthetics with just the right touch of historic ambiance.

Set in a historic mansion on Rittenhouse Square, the Art Alliance could be the ideal location for your next business or private function.

HISTORY OF THE PHILADELPHIA ART ALLIANCE

Established in 1915 by Christine Wetherill Stevenson, a visionary local philanthropist joined in signing the founding charter by such luminaries as Leopold Stokowski, Violet Oakley, Robert Logan, and Eva Stotesbury, the Philadelphia Art Alliance is one of the oldest arts centers in the United States and is devoted to presenting emerging and established artists from the visual, literary, and performing arts.

From the outset, the Art Alliance attracted notice for its role in the cultural life of Philadelphia.  Dorothy Grafly, a celebrated critic of the day, observed that “when the Art Alliance opened its doors there was no good central city art gallery in Philadelphia. The Art Alliance provided not one but several, and as a result Very Important Persons in the art world who had bypassed the town for lack of facilities began to make their work available for display. There had been no central home for the arts, and many homeless organizations shopped around for meeting places. The Art Alliance became their headquarters, and under its roof other art bodies were born.”

Subsequent events vindicated this early assessment.  Andrew Wyeth held his first-ever solo exhibition at the Alliance in 1936; Paul Klee was featured in 1944; Merce Cunningham and John Cage performed together at the Alliance 1950; Robert Venturi exhibited in 1969.  And this is just the start of a long list.  In fact, with almost 100 years behind it, the Philadelphia Art Alliance is an institution with a history that dwarfs museums several times its size.

At least some of the success of the Art Alliance may be attributed to its distinguished facilities and location. Since 1926, the Alliance has been located in the Italian Renaissance-style palazzo on Rittenhouse Square that once belonged to the Wetherill family.  A jewel of Philadelphia residential architecture, the building was designed in 1906 by Charles Klauder of Frank Miles Day and Brother Architects.

Today, the Wetherill mansion is one of the few grand houses remaining on the Square and an ideal location for an encounter with the arts. Three to four exhibitions and more than sixty performances are presented each year in seven Alliance galleries, totaling 4,063 square feet. A bar and restaurant are also available on-site. Consistent with its rich history, the Alliance is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Rittenhouse Square Historic District.

RENTALS AT THE PHILADELPHIA ART ALLIANCE

For information on rental of the Philadelphia Art Alliance for your next event, please contact Jenn Mikos of Restaurant Associates at 215.499.9851.