Philadelphia Art Alliance at University of the Arts

The Philadelphia Art Alliance occupies the Wetherill Mansion, a brownstone wearing a striking, rounded bay that curves directly onto the sidewalk of Rittenhouse Square. Christine Wetherill Stevenson commissioned the house in nineteen oh six to serve as a center for the arts, not a private residence. She insisted that Philadelphia needed a space where artists could live, exhibit, and interact with the public. During the First World War, the building hosted performances and gallery shows that launched careers for hundreds of local painters.