What Makes an Artist? The Art Students League of New York at the FAC
September 19 @ 5:30 pm
The formation of the Art Students League of New York in 1875 marked a change in the landscape of art education. Brought forth by a desire to make art education more varied and accessible, the Art Students League was soon populated by students who would go on to be some of the most influential artists of their time, such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Georgia O’Keeffe.
The Fine Arts Center currently stewards 151 works by 50 artists who passed through the halls of the Art Students League of New York as students or instructors. Join us as we explore the founding and legacy of the Art Students League of New York, the artists who were shaped by it, and its own parallels to that of the Art School of the FAC.
This lecture coincides with the exhibition Gathering Place: Permanent Collection Reinstallation opening September 5, 2025
Themed Cocktail: The New York Cocktail
Lecturers: Alana Adams, Assistant Curator of Collections, Fine Arts Center
Tickets: $24 ($18 for FAC Members), includes your first drink. Bar opens at 5 p.m.
About Libation Lectures
Libation Lectures is lecture series offering an educational twist to the traditional happy hour. Each lecture explores an aspect of the amazing art and artists from various FAC exhibitions and theatre shows, served up with a themed drink to help you really dive deep into the topic!
This lecture is part of the Libation Lectures Fall Series, which includes four lectures:
- Squaring the Circle — with Quilts!, Friday, August 15, 2025
- Sherlock(s): Holmes and Watson and Us Through the Ages, Friday, August 29, 2025
- What Makes an Artist? The Art Students League of New York at the FAC, Friday, September 19, 2025
- Practically Perfect in Every Medium: Mary Poppins from Page to Screen to Stage, Friday, October 17, 2025
Tickets: $84 ($60 for FAC Members), includes your first drink.
Image credit: Fresco class, 1937, The Massachusetts WPA Federal Art Project Photograph Collection, Boston Public Library.