3c Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts stamp

A 3-cent stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts was issued on January 15, 1955, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The stamp was issued in connection with the opening of a special exhibition of the Sesquicentennial Celebration of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the oldest art museum and school in the US, was founded in 1805. Artist and scientist Charles Willson Peale, who took the lead in building the institution, is honored in the stamp design. The original painting entitled "The Artist in His Museum" is a self-portrait by Charles Willson Peale, and it is now in the possession of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

The stamp is 0.84 by 1.44 inches in dimensions, arranged vertically in a double outline shaded frame, printed by the rotary process, electric-eye perforated, and issued in sheets of fifty. The color of the stamp is brown. The printing of 115,000,000 stamps was authorized.

Reference: Postal Bulletin (December 21, 1954)

Scott Catalogue USA: 1064

Museum ID: 1980.2493.5149