American Academy of Arts & Letters – Helen O’Leary

2017 ART AWARD WINNERS

New York City, March 23, 2017 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the nine artists who will receive its 2017 awards in art. The awards will be presented in New York City in May at the Academy’s annual Ceremonial. The art prizes and purchases, totaling over $250,000, honor both established and emerging artists. The award winners were chosen from a group of 35 artists who had been invited to participate in the Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts, which opened on March 9, 2017. The exhibition continues through April 9, 2017, and features over 125 paintings, sculptures, installations, and works on paper. The members of this year’s award committee were: Judy Pfaff (Chairman), Lois Dodd, Mary Frank, Robert Gober, Yvonne Jacquette, Bill Jensen, Joan Jonas, Dorothea Rockburne, and Joel Shapiro.

TOP: Joe Fyfe, Rue Saint-Paul; Janice Caswell, Construction 81; Louise Despont, Sandglass; Walter Robinson, Macy’s 60% Off; Marilyn Lerner, What Goes Around Comes Around. CENTER: Hap Tivey, Enso; Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt, Venetian Glass: Multiple Orgasms and High Tide; Cornelia Foss, Little Red 7; David Hornung, Downstream; Joe Ballweg, Lonely Roller. BOTTOM: Marissa Bluestone, Stop Waffling; Joanna Pousette-Dart, 3 Part Variation #10; Kathy Muehlemann, The Hurley Burley #3 – Dante’s Fire; Greta Waller, Greek Steak; Vanessa German, Man in the moon biscuit box.
Arts and Letters Awards
Five awards of $10,000 each to honor exceptional accomplishment and to encourage creative work

JANICE CASWELL
CORNELIA FOSS
THOMAS LANIGAN-SCHMIDT
JOANNA POUSETTE-DART
HAP TIVEY

The John Koch Award
$10,000 given to a young painter of figurative work

MARISSA BLUESTONE

The Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Award
$10,000 given to a visual artist

JOE FYFE

The Jacob Lawrence Award
$10,000 given to a visual artist

VANESSA GERMAN

The Rosenthal Family Foundation Award
$10,000 given to a young artist of distinction

LOUISE DESPONT

Art Purchase ProgramThe Academy’s purchase program began in 1946 to place the work of talented, living American artists in museums across the country.  Since the inauguration of this program, the Academy has spent nearly $5 million to purchase over 1200 works of art.  The American Impressionist painter Childe Hassam (1859-1935) founded this program through the bequest of over 400 of his works with the stipulation that the accumulated income from their sale be used to establish a fund to purchase paintings and works on paper.  Similar bequests were made by Academy members Eugene Speicher (1883-1962), Louis Betts (1873-1961), and Gardner Symons (1861-1930).  All works purchased through this program are donated to American museums.

PURCHASED ARTISTS

JOE BALLWEG
ANDREA BERGART
MARISSA BLUESTONE
CAETLYNN BOOTH
JANICE CASWELL
JOE FYFE
DAVID HORNUNG
JOYCE KOZLOFF
THOMAS LANIGAN-SCHMIDT
KAKYOUNG LEE
MARILYN LERNER
MICHAEL LUCHS
BEVERLY MCIVER
KATHY MUEHLEMANN
WALTER ROBINSON
DAVID SECCOMBE
GRETA WALLER

Art Purchase Program for SculptureSince 2013, the Academy has allocated funds specifically for the purchase of sculpture to be donated to American museums.

DANIELLA DOOLING
HELEN O’LEARY
JONATHAN SHAHN

Works by the winners of the 2017 Art Awards and Purchases are currently on display in the Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts, and will be shown in the Exhibition of Work by Newly Elected Members and Recipients of Honors and Awards, which follows the Ceremonial in May.

American Academy of Arts and LettersThe American Academy of Arts and Letters was established in 1898 to “foster, assist, and sustain an interest in literature, music, and the fine arts.” Election to the Academy is considered the highest formal recognition of artistic merit in this country. Founding members include William Merritt Chase, Kenyon Cox, Daniel Chester French, Childe Hassam, Henry James, Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Vedder, and Woodrow Wilson. The Academy is comprised of 250 of America’s leading voices in the fields of Art, Architecture, Literature, and Music. The Academy presents exhibitions of art, architecture, and manuscripts; and readings and performances of new musicals. It is located in three landmark buildings on Audubon Terrace at 155 Street and Broadway, New York City.