The Penn Museum will open a new exhibition, “Ancient Egypt in Watercolors: Paintings and Artifacts from Dra Abu el-Naga.” The exhibition will showcase century-old watercolor works by Egyptian artist Ahmed Yousef beginning Saturday, Feb. 28.
According to See Great Art, the eight-month exhibit will focus on New Kingdom tomb chapels from Dra Abu el-Naga, Thebes. Watercolors will capture daily life and funerary imagery, offering deep insight into ancient Egyptian culture.
Between 1921 and 1923, Penn Museum archaeologist Clarence Fisher excavated at Dra Abu el-Naga. Fisher took photographs and commissioned the watercolor paintings. Yousef was among the 200 local workers who helped with the excavation.
The new exhibition is designed to highlight the collaboration between archaeologists and artists in documenting and preserving sites, and to contextualize the Theban Necropolis and Dra Abu el-Naga’s role in Egyptology.
Nearly 60 artifacts will accompany the watercolors. They include bread loaves, statuary, funerary items, canopic jars, and shabti figurines.
“Archaeology requires more than digging. There is a value of collaboration in archaeological research and the role an artist can play alongside the archaeologist in documenting and preserving ancient sites. Art, both ancient and modern, has an important role in maintaining memory and interpreting the past,” said Penn Museum Egyptologist Dr. Josef Wegner, lead curator of “Ancient Egypt in Watercolors.” “We are still learning more about the people of the New Kingdom by studying these watercolor paintings, the Penn Museum’s extensive collections, and field notes that archaeologists left behind.”
This exhibition will feature two rotations of watercolors: The first will be held through June 2026. A second rotation will start July 1 and conclude in November ahead of the “Egypt Galleries: Life and Afterlife” grand opening on Dec. 12.
Watch the video to learn more about the planned Ancient Egypt and Nubia Galleries at the Penn Museum.