Mary Cassatt, Baby on Mother’s Arm, (ca. 1891), Oil on canvas. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Bequest of Peter Borie. Photograph by Barbara Katus.
The American Federation of Arts (AFA), the leader in traveling exhibitions worldwide since its founding in 1909, has announced the new season for the fall of 2025 through 2027. So far, museums in over 11 cities will host several art exhibitions created by the AFA and its partners, with more cities to come. Throughout its celebrated 116-year history, the nonprofit institution has helped to spearhead the course of art for generations by enriching the public’s experience and understanding of the visual arts.
“The AFA’s expansive panorama of new exhibitions demonstrates the importance of listening to the input of visual arts leaders nationwide, focusing on what audiences want to see, and continuing our legacy of shining a light on new artists and trends,” says Pauline Forlenza, the Director and CEO of the American Federation of Arts. “Our longstanding commitment to touring art exhibitions, publishing exhibition catalogues with scholarly research, and developing educational programs is vital – now more than ever.”
Take a look at some of the featured shows below, and see the full lineup here.
Stove, by Pat Passlof (1959). Oil on linen. © The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation. Courtesy of Eric Firestone Gallery, the Levett Collection, and FAMM. Photo: Fraser Marr.
Abstract Expressionists: The Women
Explores the vital, under-acknowledged innovation of women artists in the Abstract Expressionist movement, the first internationally renowned artistic movement to originate in the U.S. Featuring 47 works from The Levett Collection, by more than 30 women artists who worked in New York, California, and Paris from the early 1940s through the 1970s.
The Osteology Lesson of Dr. Sebastiaen Egbertsz, artist unknown (1619). Oil.
Civic Virtue in Rembrandt’s Amsterdam: 17th-Century Group Portraits from the Amsterdam Museum
The large group portraits in this exhibition have rarely left Amsterdam since they were commissioned in the 1600s, and have never traveled in the U.S. as a group. The show traces how life in the largest and most important city of Holland was based on the collective responsibility of the burghers, who combined their mercantile wealth with political power.
Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith, New York, by Norman Seeff (1969). Archival pigment print. Portland Museum of Art, promised gift from the Judy Glickman Lauder Collection.
Presence: The Photography Collection of Judy Glickman Lauder
100 photographs by 70 artists exploring the concept of presence through the tenderness of portraits, the awe within landscapes, the clarity of reportage, and the spontaneity of cityscapes.
J. S. B. III, by Barkley L. Hendricks (1968). Oil on canvas. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richardson Dilworth. © Barkley L. Hendricks. Courtesy of the Estate of Barkley L. Hendricks and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.
Making American Artists: Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1776–1976
Presenting more than 100 of the most acclaimed and recognizable works of American art. New narratives of the history of American art, embracing stories about women artists, LGBTQ+ artists, and artists of color, alongside iconic works traditionally associated with PAFA.
Paul Taylor Dance Company’s Sunset, with set design by Alex Katz (1983). Photo by Johan Elbers. © 2025 Alex Katz/Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society. Courtesy of the Paul Taylor Archives and American Federation of Arts.
Alex Katz: Theater and Dance
The first comprehensive museum presentation of Katzʼs highly collaborative and playful work with choreographers, dancers, and members of avant-garde theater ensembles over six decades.
Uptown Memories (A Day in the Life of the Magnolia Project), by Willie Birch (1995). New Orleans Museum of Art, Gift of Frederick R. Weisman. Photo by Roman Alokhin.
Willie Birch: Stories to Tell
Chronicles Birch’s unique vision of the Black American experience and examines the interconnected nature of global art forms. The first-ever career retrospective brings together groundbreaking works from the early 1970s to the present.
Crisscross, by Sarah Sze (2021). Oil, acrylic, acrylic polymer, and ink on composite aluminum panel, with wood support. Collection of the Shah Garg Foundation.
Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection
Reveals the intergenerational relationships fostered among women artists over the last eight decades, assembling over 70 works made by 60 women artists between 1946 and today.
Kaleidoscopic Organism, by Fred Becker (1946). Softground etching. Courtesy of O’Brien Art Project Foundation.
Experimental Ground: Modernist Printmaking in Paris & New York at Atelier 17
The first large-scale survey of original prints made at Atelier 17 to tour the U.S. in 50 years. This revolutionary printmaking workshop (1927 to 1988) was famous for its impact on the development of modern art.
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