National Academy Shows

Recent Acquisitions

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Paul Jenkins, “Phenomena Blue Reach,” 2002, acrylic on canvas, 259/16 by 21¼ inches, National Academy diploma presentation, 2007.

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RECENT ACQUISITIONS AT NATIONAL ACADEMY

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NEW YORK CITY — An installation at the National Academy presents a selection of recent acquisitions. The majority of works included are known as “diploma presentations,” gifts often given by the artists upon election that fulfill the only requirement of membership in the academy. These gifts illustrate the diversity of styles in which National Academicians work. Reflecting recent achievements by American artists, these paintings, prints, sculpture, architectural drawings and models, on view February 7–March 4, represent significant contributions to the academy’s collection of more than 7,000 works of art.

Painters are the largest group of newly elected members and include David Driskell, Mark Greenwold, Diana Horowitz, Paul Jenkins Albert Kresch, Robert Kushner, Melvin Leipzig, Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Richard K. Miller, John Moore, Thomas Nozkowski and Susan Rothenberg. Sculptors are represented by two prominent artists, both working in metal but with very different aesthetic inclinations: Melvin Edwards and Judith Shea.

Watercolor painters span generations and include Graham Nickson and Milford Zornes, who, at 100 years of age, has carried the Regionalist watercolor tradition forward for more than 50 years.

Architects in the exhibition include Batholomew Voorsanger and Charles A. Platt. Voorsanger’s three-dimensional model of his “Montana House” illustrates his interest in combining materials, open spaces and an inherent Asian aesthetic. Platt’s “Proportional System for a House” details the matrixlike neurological underpinnings of domestic architecture.

The National Academy was founded in 1825, and is currently an honorary association of professional artists, a museum and a school of fine arts. The academy has an outstanding collection of American art, and its holding represents all of the major and minor movements from the Nineteenth Century to the present.

The National Academy is at 1083 Fifth Avenue. For information, 212-369-4880 or www.nationalacademy.org.