Ongo Gablogian Museum of Fine Arts

Ongo Gablogian Museum of Fine Arts Philadelphia’s favourite art critic Ongo Gablogian presents some of the world’s finest masterpieces.

With 40,000 pieces and growing displayed over three spacious floors, Ongo has personally assembled a mesmerizing collection sure to dazzle and inspire.

Jacob Jordaens, ‘Portrait of a Young Married Couple’ (1620)The first of eleven children born to a wealthy linen merchant...
05/09/2026

Jacob Jordaens, ‘Portrait of a Young Married Couple’ (1620)

The first of eleven children born to a wealthy linen merchant, this Flemish Baroque painter and draughtsmen studied under Rubens without wholeheartedly ascribing to his mentor’s more idealized style, infusing a level of realism into his work that sometimes bordered on the burlesque. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Jordaens never traveled outside of the Low Countries to study his craft, spending almost the entirety of his life in his native Antwerp. While most famed for his biblical and mythological compositions, he was equally drawn to the so-called ‘peasant genre’, an artistic movement devoted to common folk, rural settings and everyday life.

One of Jordaens’ earlier pieces expertly captures his appreciation for the less celebrated members of Flemish society. The subjects of his ‘Portrait of a Young Married Couple’ are Charles and Hera van Kaas: a lowly Ghent-based legal clerk who specialized in avian law, and his Irish bride. This engaging oil painting deviates from the staid portraiture of the era by conveying a heightened level of warmth and personality; the clerk’s raised eyebrows and stately posture project an aspirational desire to appear above his meager social rank, whereas his wife’s coquettish grin suggests self-awareness and more than a hint of mischief.

Believed to be a practitioner of Wicca, Hera was rumoured to have once cursed a merchant sailor who cheated her then-fiancé out of a substantial stake in a cheese import business. So enraged was she by the sailor’s betrayal that she allegedly called upon Cliodhna (i.e. the Celtic goddess of the sea, also known as the ‘Queen of the Banshees’) to follow him along his voyage to Southeast Asia, tormenting him and his crew for months with endless rain and bruising winds before eventually drowning them in a monstrous monsoon off the coast of Malaysia. “Hell hath no fury…”, indeed!

Come see this bewitching masterpiece and countless others at the ONGO - plan your visit today! FX Networks FXX Canada Jinkx Monsoon It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

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Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, ‘Portrait of a Lady with a Rabbit’ (1508)Born in Florence in 1483, this Italian Renaissance painter...
04/05/2026

Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, ‘Portrait of a Lady with a Rabbit’ (1508)

Born in Florence in 1483, this Italian Renaissance painter made his mark with his vivid frescoes, altarpieces and portraits. His style appears at least partly inspired by fellow Renaissance artist Raphael, who was a friend of Ghirlandaio’s. Choosing to stay in his hometown rather than follow his mentor to Rome, the Florentine painter established a thriving academy while also accumulating a healthy income from various commissions, enabling him to secure a handsome villa large enough to house his fifteen children.

In honour of Easter and the adorable secular bunnies long associated with this Christian holiday, the ONGO is highlighting one of Ghirlandaio’s lesser known works, which happens to be one of the oldest in our entire collection. This particular portrait was commissioned by a wealthy Venetian merchant who made his fortune importing cheap textiles from the Orient. His unmarried daughter, seen here cradling her pet rabbit (whom she named ‘Peter Peter Nickel Eater’ due to its penchant for chewing on coins), was allegedly several months pregnant when she sat for this painting(!)

Though no birth records exist confirming this scandalous rumour, it is believed that the woman (herself known to friends as ‘Dolce Deandra’) gave up the child for adoption in exchange for a sizeable payment in Florentine florins (i.e. the chief European currency of the day) and a chicken sandwich without the beak. Sadly, Peter Peter Nickel Eater was tragically whisked away by a passing vulture (and not a Pocono Swallow, as previously reported by locals) mere days after Dolce Deandra posed for this portrait.

Come celebrate Easter Sunday (yes, we’re open!) by seeing this enthralling painting and our other (ahem) hare-raising works up close at the ONGO. Plan your visit today! FX Networks It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Kaitlin Olson

Here’s another dazzling piece from our Valentines-themed ‘Cards Against Humanity…But Sexier!’ exhibit. If you’re the kin...
02/13/2026

Here’s another dazzling piece from our Valentines-themed ‘Cards Against Humanity…But Sexier!’ exhibit. If you’re the kind of guy who likes his ladies to pop, this is the Valentine you want to find in your mailbox! Plan your visit to the ONGO today! Kaitlin Olson It's Sunny in Philadelphia FX Networks

Who remembers giving out store-bought Valentine cards to their elementary school classmates back in the day (and hoping ...
02/11/2026

Who remembers giving out store-bought Valentine cards to their elementary school classmates back in the day (and hoping that their secret crush might give them one in return)? We here at the ONGO sure do, and we’re here to help you revisit those cherished childhood memories! In the days leading up to February 14th, come experience our temporary exhibit ‘Cards Against Humanity…Except Sexier!’, focused on our vast collection of vintage Valentines Day cards from across the 20th century.

Here’s just one of hundreds of such mass-produced love messages awaiting you at the ONGO. Admittedly, it’s a slightly sinister card from the 1970s that reflects a less-evolved era. Definitely some red flags here…but nothing a strong dose of romance can’t fix, right? Plan your visit today!

Glenn Howerton FX Networks

Wishing everyone a non-bullsh*t, non-derivative Valentines Day!! ❤️❤️❤️FX Networks Always Sunny Daily Glenn Howerton
02/10/2026

Wishing everyone a non-bullsh*t, non-derivative Valentines Day!! ❤️❤️❤️
FX Networks Always Sunny Daily Glenn Howerton

To our very small but loyal army of followers,We at the ONGO remain deeply grateful for your ongoing support. Your freq...
12/25/2025

To our very small but loyal army of followers,

We at the ONGO remain deeply grateful for your ongoing support. Your frequent visits to our beautiful gallery, your attendance at our past movie screenings and ‘Disco Night at the Museum’ events, your unusually high consumption of our zesty bagged spaghetti (available at our in-house Cafe Artemis)…your devotion to the arts has been nothing less than heartening.

Alas, our museum continues to face multiple challenges as the new year approaches. Legal woes. Financial woes. We remain under litigation due to the ongoing rights dispute between local artists Charlie Kelly and ‘Rickety Cricket’ over an exhibit here featuring their works. We are still desperately looking for a new corporate sponsor since being forced to sever ties with Frank’s Fluids, LCC over accusations of that company’s terrorist funding. We are still dealing with an infestation of ferrets since last winter. We were forced to reduce our hours of operation for most of 2025 and even had to shutter our doors altogether during this holiday season due to a staffing shortage.

All this and more have driven our namesake and fearless leader into a severe depression. For weeks, our beloved Ongo shuffles around his Chestnut Hill penthouse in a daze, refusing to eat, playing Liza Minelli records all day while labelling his kitchen appliances as being either “bullsh*t” or “derivative”. It’s all so sad…pray for him.

The futures of both the man and the gallery remain more uncertain than ever, but we choose to welcome the new year with renewed (albeit misguided) hope that the ONGO can rise from the ashes and make a comeback worthy of its name.

And if it all falls apart, we’ve got a dozen twenty-somethings on staff with useless Art majors desperately looking for work, so if you know anybody who’s hiring…

Wishing all a safe and fruitful 2026,

The staff of the Ongo Gablogian Museum of Fine Arts

Nicolas Régnier, ‘Self-Portrait with a Portrait on an Easel’ (1620-1625)Born in an area that now straddles the border be...
10/11/2025

Nicolas Régnier, ‘Self-Portrait with a Portrait on an Easel’ (1620-1625)

Born in an area that now straddles the border between France and Belgium, this painter, art dealer and collector applied his elegant, refined painting style to everything from genre and religious scenes to mythological subjects and portraits. After completing an apprenticeship in Antwerp, he eventually found his way to Rome. During one fateful day in 1619, Régnier attended a cricket match between the Padua Prestissimos and the Milanese Minstrels. The event was hosted by Padua captain Chassen van Utley, a Dutch nobleman who had spent several years in England learning the new sport and now sought to popularize it in his adopted country of Italy.

After the briefest of interactions post-match, the painter felt an immediate connection with van Utley and pursued a friendship with him over the next few years, usually in the form of lengthy, amorous letters that suggested an almost childlike worship of this virtual stranger. Despite his best efforts, these overtures went unreciprocated, inspiring Régnier to then devote a number of his paintings to adoring likenesses of the Dutchman.

The ONGO is proud to have amongst its permanent collection arguably the best known of these portraits (which features both men), along with one of those aforementioned letters; here, Régnier writes of his strained relationship with his father and invites van Utley to tutor him on how to play cricket. Come see these masterpieces and countless others up close at the ONGO. Plan your visit today! It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia FX Networks Chase Utley Always Sunny Daily

Workshop of Lucas Cranach The Elder, ‘Portrait Of Martin Luther Vandross’ (1532)Sure, everybody’s heard of German priest...
10/11/2025

Workshop of Lucas Cranach The Elder, ‘Portrait Of Martin Luther Vandross’ (1532)

Sure, everybody’s heard of German priest, theologian and author Martin Luther, regarded today as one of the greatest influencers of Western and Christian history. But have you ever heard of his Dutch cousin, Martin Luther Vandross?

Largely overlooked by modern historians, Vandross was considered a scoundrel back in his day, often seeking to exploit his German cousin’s accomplishments for his own criminal purposes. Arguably his most well-publicized caper involved selling what were advertised as newly-translated English Bibles to unsuspecting clergymen across Britain, only for them to discover upon delivery that they contained nothing more than b***y poems and sea shanties. Alas, his criminal career only deepened from there, resulting in his eventual capture and incarceration for the alleged decapitation of a fellow hoodlum with a wooden street sign.

Come see this masterpiece and countless more up close at the ONGO. Plan your visit today! It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia FX Networks Always Sunny Daily

James McNeill Whistler, ‘An Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1’, aka ‘Whistler’s Mother’ (1871)An American artist who w...
10/11/2025

James McNeill Whistler, ‘An Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1’, aka ‘Whistler’s Mother’ (1871)

An American artist who worked with oils and watercolor, Whistler made it his mission to eschew sentimentality or assign a moral component to his paintings, all in an attempt to create “art for art’s sake”. His compositions were known for their austerity and the use of a restrained palette, artistic choices that clashed with the more lavish tastes of the Victorian era.

He’d been living in London for years by the time he recruited his mother for his most famous piece. James had intended to paint her in a standing position, but his taciturn, ill-tempered mom flatly refused to comply and would only cooperate if painted while seated. Countless sessions were required to complete the painting, during which a lit cigarette never left her mouth. Although he considered omitting it from the finished work, he later decided to include it, in keeping with his mission to avoid embellishing or beautifying his subjects.

While Whistler and his mother shared a difficult, even tumultuous relationship, he often sang her praises to friends and clearly regarded her with much affection. Conversely, she paid him little attention and seemed largely indifferent to his adoring overtures. Still, he never regarded the finished painting as any sort of tribute to either her or motherhood in general, and though initial reactions to it were wildly mixed, the public eventually ascribed those very qualities to it, much to the artist’s dismay. Today, ‘Whistler’s Mother’ remains a cherished symbol of parental love and ‘family values’; it has transcended the art world and firmly planted its flag within the annals of pop culture.

After months of negotiations with the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the ONGO is thrilled to announce the temporary exhibition of one of the world’s most recognizable paintings. Come see this undisputed masterpiece up close while you can. Plan your visit today! It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia FX Networks Always Sunny Daily

Edgar Degas, ‘L’Absinthe’, aka ‘Dans Un Café’ (1875-1876)Among the ONGO’s most prized acquisitions are three stellar pie...
10/08/2025

Edgar Degas, ‘L’Absinthe’, aka ‘Dans Un Café’ (1875-1876)

Among the ONGO’s most prized acquisitions are three stellar pieces by this legendary French Impressionist artist: two bronze statues (i.e. ‘The Little Dancer of Fourteen Years’ and ‘Horse Standing’) and one of his most controversial paintings, ‘L’Absinthe’.

Its depiction of an uncouth, lower-class twosome seemingly drowning their sorrows at a neighborhood tavern drew mixed reactions from critics at its first showings. English critics were particularly harsh in their assessments, deeming the painting vulgar and an affront to their puritan Victorian sensibilities. Many felt the piece was an indictment of alcohol and French culture in general; Irish author George Moore went so far as to write about the woman depicted: “What a whore!” [He later expressed regret for assigning a moral component to the painting.]

The intervening years have been much kinder to this piece, with greater sympathy being directed at the featured couple. Little is known about the models; it is not believed that they were romantically attached but rather co-workers at the very tavern where this painting is set. Their starkly different facial expressions suggest conflicting feelings about their shared station in life: where he appears content and comfortable in his own skin, the look of dejection on her face speaks volumes about a lifetime of regret and missed opportunities.

Come see these breathtaking works and countless other masterpieces at the ONGO. Plan your visit today! It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia FX Networks Kaitlin Olson

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182 Queen Street
Philadelphia, PA

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Monday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

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