In 1905, Britain had ruled the country for more than 50 years, and westernization had largely pushed indigenous artistic traditions aside. In response, many artists looked toward the past for new ideas inspired by a sense of independent nationhood. By the time the region obtained its freedom from Britain in 1947, new forms of urban contemporary art had forcefully emerged.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art announced that it has completed the funding of its share in the joint acquisition of Thomas Eakins's heroic 1875 masterpiece, The Gross Clinic, through deaccessioning Eakins's Cowboy Singing, which has been jointly acquired by the Denver Art Museum and the Denver-based Anschutz Collection, as well as two oil sketches for Eakins's Cowboys in the Badlands, which have been acquired by the Denver Art Museum.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art will present a special installation devoted to the work of the English artists Gilbert & George who have created all their work in collaboration since the late 1960s and are known for their dramatic, large-scale photographic art. Drawn from the Museum collection and supplemented by additional loans, Gilbert & George (through November 2, 2008) includes 13 pictures indicative of the major phases of their art from the 1970s and 1980s.

A magical machine transforms imperfect husbands into ideal spouses. A natural disaster competes with miraculous apparitions and serial murders to astonish the eye. A two-and-a-half-foot-tall souvenir poster produced in the year of the Eiffel Tower's construction serves as both a game board and a celebration of the world-famous landmark.

Live Cinema/ Carlos Amorales: Four Animations, Five Drawings, and a Plague focuses on the work of Carlos Amorales, one of Mexico's leading contemporary artists. This exhibition includes a selection of video animations in Gallery 179, along with a group of new drawings, and a cloud of black paper moths that swirl along a staircase and spread across the walls and ceiling of Gallery 178.

The kimono, the national dress of Japan, is celebrated worldwide for its elegant, distinctive silhouette. Though quintessentially Japanese, the kimono form has influenced fashion designers around the globe. The Philadelphia Museum of Art will present an exhibition featuring approximately 80 kimono created in the early-to-mid-twentieth century – one of the most dynamic periods in the history of this dress form.

What better way to put the swing in spring than catching a live jazz or world music performance at Art After 5? Each Friday evening the Great Stair Hall at the Philadelphia Museum of Art becomes a lively cabaret, with table service, cocktails, elegant cafe-style appetizers, and desserts.

From the time porcelain arrived in the West from China during the 15th century, Europeans fervently sought the expensive Asian ceramic, and even attempted to fashion their own versions in different, less expensive mediums. In England, these attempts quickly evolved to ceramic production on an industrial scale, supplying markets throughout Europe and the Americas.

The Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial presents the fourth exhibition in the 30th season of the four-part Wind Challenge Exhibitions at Fleisher—the Delaware Valley’s premier juried artist exhibition program. This season’s twelve Challenge artists were selected from a field of 273 applicants to exhibit in one of four three-person exhibitions. Challenge #4 features photography by Judy Gelles, installations by Erica Zoe Loustau, and Shelley Spector.

Between 1770 and 1772, Philadelphia was home to an ambitious, complex commercial and artistic undertaking that mirrored the spirit of independence taking shape throughout the city and the American colonies.

There may be no better way to beat the winter blues than to catch a live performance at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Art After 5, where the blues is jazz and the scope is international. The winter 2008 program schedule includes acclaimed favorite performers as well as innovative emerging artists.