Fall is a busy season for Woodmere. In addition to the Moe Brooker exhibition that opened in late September and the one-year birthday party for Maguire Hall in early November, the museum has also recently opened a photography-based exhibit and a lending library full of garments and accessories from the fashion designer Mary McFadden.

The Photo Review: Best in Show 2026

On view through Jan. 3, 2027, The Photo Review: Best in Show 2026 is in the newly established Works on Paper Gallery in Maguire Hall. The exhibit brings together prize-winning photographs from the 2026 International Photography Competition, organized annually by The Photo Review, a critical photography journal.

This is the 41st year of the competition, and the fifth year that the winners are being displayed at Woodmere.

“This annual exhibition is a wonderful celebration of the power and diversity of photography, bringing together exceptional artists whose work challenges us to look more closely and see the world in new ways,” William Valerio, Woodmere’s director and CEO, said in a press release. “We are proud to continue our partnership with The Photo Review and look forward to sharing this year’s remarkable photographs with our visitors and the broader Philadelphia community.”

The 2026 competition was juried by Sarah Kennel, a leading photography scholar who has curated, published, and lectured extensively on the history of the medium. Kennel selected the top 20 photographs based on submissions from around the world.

“This year, there were 43 entrants from 21 different foreign countries, from Australia and Asia to South America and a wide range of European countries,” said Stephen Perloff, editor of The Photo Review. “This year we set a record, as five different non-U.S. photographers were chosen by our juror, Sarah Kennel, representing the Philippines, Switzerland, Vietnam, plus two from Japan. Photography is certainly a universal language.”

The first-place winner of the competition was Marcus DeSieno, whose photograph, “Unknown Migrant, Female, COD — Exposure, Their Body Was Found One Week After Death, New Mexico,” was taken near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Mary McFadden collection

Woodmere recently acquired more than 200 pieces by Mary McFadden (1938-2024), a celebrated American designer known as the “High Priestess of Fashion.” The collection reveals the breadth of McFadden’s designs, from evening gowns to distinctive daywear.

McFadden approached clothing as an art form, drawing inspiration from ancient civilizations, architecture, mythology, textiles, jewelry, and her own travels. She patented her own pleating process, called Marii, which set permanent, finely detailed pleats into a synthetic fabric through a heat-transfer process. McFadden described the material as “liquid gold.”

Woodmere acquired the collection through the help of John McFadden (Mary’s brother) and Joan Olden, who served as president of Mary McFadden, Inc. for many years. The McFadden family has longtime ties to the arts and cultural life of Philadelphia.

“Mary was always much more than a fashion designer,” John McFadden said. “She was an artist, a collector, a traveler, and a storyteller who saw the world in extraordinary ways and brought all of those experiences into her work. These garments capture that distilled imagination, from the simplest silk pieces to the most elaborate gowns and embellishments. I am very pleased that they will now have a home at Woodmere, where people can study them, experience them, and discover the many dimensions of Mary’s creative life.”

The collection is stored in the jewelry vault of Maguire Hall, which was specially re-envisioned to house and showcase the pieces. The space includes gold stenciling, ornate mirrors, decorative rugs, and bright lighting.

To make this collection a living experience and a research resource, Woodmere is planning to set up a lending library, allowing members to peruse and borrow authentic garments from McFadden’s fashion line to wear to special events. The lending library is set to be available to members in the next few weeks.

“We are especially excited to make the collection accessible through a members’ borrowing program, called The Lending Library, a very special way to experience McFadden’s designs firsthand and to appreciate the remarkable artistry, materials, and techniques that define her work,” Valerio said.

Woodmere also created the Mary McFadden Experience, a webpage allowing visitors to explore the collection, providing an entry point for anyone interested in McFadden’s work. Visitors to the site can filter through the collection based on object type, size, color, and more. Beginning last month, Woodmere also started offering in-person tours of the collection for members.

Woodmere’s Maguire Hall is located at 9001 Germantown Ave. in Chestnut Hill. Learn more at woodmeremuseum.org.

Maggie Dougherty can be reached at Margaret@chestnuthilllocal.com.