Philly Art School To Sell Off Its Collection

“The Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial, a tuition-free art school and an active part of Philadelphia’s cultural community, will auction nearly all its remaining artwork [this weekend],” raising as much as $100,000 for the school’s endowment. But the school is stressing that the sale, which will include 50 Russian religious icons and a treasure trove of works by local artists, was not precipitated by budget problems, but by a desire to find a home for the works where they can be seen by the public. The school has no exhibition space of its own, and in fact, the existence of its collection came as a surprise to many in the art world.