Bio : Art Students League of New York

The Art Students League of New York is a legendary art school founded in 1875 by a group of artists who broke away from the National Academy of Design, determined to experiment with new techniques and forms of expression. Excluded from established galleries, the students decided to create a center that could be a home to radical artists and ideas. Funded by philanthropist George Washington Vanderbilt II and designed by architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, the League opened their doors at 215 West 57th Street on December 4, 1892. 

For over a century, the League has served as an incubator, school, creative haven, studio and gallery for artists, dedicated to fostering independence and non-conformity and providing accessible, affordable and high-quality education and instruction in the fine arts. 

Artists who have studied at the League include Georgia O'Keeffe, Norman Rockwell, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, James Rosenquist and Ai-Weiwei, among others. Today, thousands of aspiring and emerging artists study drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking and mixed media at the League.