Philly Art Museum to unveil new Manet after Super Bowl bet with Kansas City

The Eagles won the Lombardi Trophy. The Philadelphia Museum of Art won a Manet (for now).

Thanks to a Super Bowl bet, the Art Museum is set to unveil Édouard Manet’s The Croquet Party on May 14 in Gallery 252. The 19th-century French oil painting is on loan from Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum after the Eagles defeated the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

The friendly wager dates back to the Eagles, Chiefs first Super Bowl matchup in 2022. Both museums made a similar bet, resulting in the PMA lending out Thomas Eakins’ 1875 oil painting Sailing. Fast-forward seven years, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum is shipping off one of its Manets to Philly.

“We are thrilled to continue the celebration of our champions with a victory of our own,” Sasha Suda, director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, said in a press release. “Julián [Zugazagoitia, director and CEO of the Nelson-Atkins Museum] was a great sport, and we’re delighted to welcome him and his team here to personally deliver Manet’s The Croquet Party to its new (temporary) home.”

The Croquet Party captures a croquet match between Manet’s friends and family in Boulogne-sur-Mer. The Art Museum will welcome the piece to Philly alongside Eagles’ cheerleaders and one of Philly’s favorite mascots, Swoop.

“We congratulate Philadelphia on an exciting Super Bowl win and look forward to seeing our treasured Manet in conversation with the incredible collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art,” said Zugazagoitia. “The Croquet Party will be in very good company, and we are delighted to continue our Museum Bowl friendship and rivalry.”

The Croquet Party will be on display at the Art Museum until Aug. 17.