PHILADELPHIA, PENN. — “Provocation: Portraiture by Women” will be the focus of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts’ Art-at-Lunch talk on American art and culture on Wednesday, March 12, from noon to 1 pm

Throughout the Twentieth Century, masterful female painters from Alice Neel to Faith Ringgold have been employing new approaches to the portrait and self-portrait, creating a canon of work by women that is both astonishing and challenging.

Joan Marter, professor of art history at Rutgers University and editor of Women’s Art Journal, discusses the role of these artists and others in creating the Twentieth Century’s provocative portrait collection.

The academy is at 118-128 North Broad Street. For information, 215-972-7600 or www.pafa.edu.