It was like we had won the Super Bowl: 20 years ago, Philadelphians raised $68 million in 45 days to keep an iconic painting from being sold
- Posted on August 22, 2026
- By Bing News
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It was like we had won the Super Bowl: 20 years ago, Philadelphians raised $68 million in 45 days to keep an iconic painting from being sold
One painting stands out among the stately portraits, vast landscapes, and elaborate tableaux of figures in the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s early American art galleries. And not just for its size. In the 8-by-6.5-foot oil painting, a stern-looking man with fluffy gray hair stands next to an operating table. A crowded amphitheater watches him and a group of doctors operate on a boy’s leg. The ...