Art: From Civil War sites to Silk Road

The second half of the art season is already upon us, with an exhibition of N.C. Wyeth's Civil War illustrations just opened at the Brandywine River Museum and "Anatomy/Academy" opening this weekend at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Right on their heels comes a landmark show of art and artifacts from Silk Road sites in Central Asia; a photographic tribute to two American cultural heroes, Muhammad Ali and Elvis Presley; and another slice from the Philadelphia Museum of Art's extraordinary modernist collection, this time focused on Marc Chagall and his contemporaries in Paris.

One of America's most renowned fiber artists, Sheila Hicks, will have her first major retrospective at the Institute of Contemporary Art, while fans of 19th-century landscape painting can delight in an extensive selection of Hudson River paintings opening in mid-February at the Reading Public Museum.

Art serving medicine. Since the 18th century, Philadelphia has seen considerable interplay between art and science. The exhibition "Anatomy/Academy," now at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, reveals how artists such as Thomas Eakins, Thomas Anshutz, and Charles Grafly contributed to knowledge of the human body. Through April 17. (215-972-7600 or www.pafa.org)

New American Voices II. This show, opening Friday at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, presents work by four artists who have collaborated with artisans at the atelier. Works range from knitted sculptures by Jim Drain to Robert Pruitt's explorations of black culture and visual traditions. (215-561-8888 or www.fabricworkshopandmuseum.org)

Rare treasures from China. Beginning Saturday, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology will exhibit a group of more than 100 objects excavated in far western China. Besides textiles, coins, jewelry, and gold vessels, "Secrets of the Silk Road" will feature two remarkably preserved mummies. Through June 5. (215-898-4000 or http://penn.museum)

A photographic legacy. Fred Comegys has photographed life in and around Wilmington for the city's News Journal for more than 50 years. A retrospective opening Feb. 12 at the Delaware Art Museum reveals his vision's exceptional range, from local subjects to international celebrities. Through May 1. (302-571-9590 or www.delart.org)

Visions of grandeur. The Hudson River painters created idyllic American landcapes during the mid-19th century. A traveling show of 116 such works by 72 artists, all from a private collection, represents all the major artists of the movement. It runs at the Reading Public Museum Feb. 19 to June 5. (610-371-5850 or www.readingpublicmuseum.org)

Ali and Elvis: American Icons. Two groups of photographs documenting the lives of these giants will be exhibited at the James A. Michener Art Museum from Feb. 19 to May 15. Presley appears in 40 large-format prints by Alfred Wertheimer, Muhammad Ali in more than 50 by several photographers, including Annie Leibovitz and Gordon Parks. (215-340-9800 or www.michenerartmuseum.org)

Chagall and his circle. Paris was a magnet for avant-garde European artists in the early years of the 20th century. Marc Chagall was among the most prominent of the emigres, many of them Jewish. "Paris Through the Window," March 1-July 10 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, presents about 40 paintings and sculptures by these artists. (215-763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org)

Battle of the Sexes. The Philadelphia Chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art wants to know if you can distinguish between art made by men and art made by women. At this Delaware Art Museum exhibition, visitors can vote on works presented without names. The "participatory experience" runs March 5 through May 22. (302-571-9590 or www.delart.org)

Doyenne of fiber. The remarkable career of Sheila Hicks, known for massive fiber sculptures, is the subject of an Institute of Contemporary Art retrospective March 24 through Aug. 7. Her work also includes painting, interior architecture, weaving, and fabric and book design. (215-898-7108 or www.icaphila.org)

Demuth in Paris. Lancaster-born Charles Demuth, a pioneering modernist, made his first trip to Paris in 1907 and saw a Cezanne retrospective that strongly influenced his development. Woodmere Art Museum will examine Demuth's work side by side with that of artists he encountered. April 2-June 26. (215-247-0476 or www.woodmereartmuseum.org)

Perception/Deception. A trend in contemporary art uses shadow play, lights, mirrors, and complex mathematical equations to question perceptions of the world around us. Artists who use such tactics will exhibit at the Delaware Art Museum, exploring the tension between appearance and reality May 21-Sept. 25. (302-571-9590 or www.delart.org)

Urban sensibilities. Philadelphia, with its abundance of art schools, has long been an incubator for new art. Many younger artists are producing work directly influenced by the urban environment. "Urbanism," which will open at the Pennsylvania Acdemy of the Fine Arts this summer, will introduce some of them. (215-972-7600 or www.pafa.org.)

Out of the shadows. A century after his death, the story of American history painter William T. Trego will finally be told. On June 4, the James A. Michener Art Museum open a show about this once-famous Pennsylvania artist.

Inness in Italy. George Inness was a landscapist known for his soft "tonalist" effects. On Feb. 19, the Philadelphia Museum of Art will open an exhibition that examines how traveling in Italy influenced his style. 215-763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.

Pennsylvania Folk Arts. This show, opening at the James A. Michener Art Museum May 14, presents work by 30 master artists from every corner of the state in a wide array of traditions and media. (215-340-9800 or www.michenerartmuseum.org)

Joined at the hip. A show at the Institute of Contemporary Art will focus on artists who work primarily as a pair. April 21-Aug. 7. (215-898-7108 or www.icaphila.org)

Seeing red. This show of 18th- and 19-century red earthenware from Winterthur is at the Brandywine River Museum May 28-July 24. (610-388-2700 or www.brandywinemuseum.org)

Romancing the West. This exhibition of Western paintings by Alfred Jacob Miller is at the Philadelphia Museum of Art June 4-Sept. 16. (215-763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org)

Portraits in situ. Mel Leipzig portrays his subjects in their detail-rich environments. At the Noyes Museum of Art through May 29. (609-652-8848 or www.noyesmuseum.org)