The Art Students League Celebrates 150th Anniversary

The Art Students League is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

 

Since 1875 great artists have walked through the doors of 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan to learn and to teach; some, like Thomas Hart Benton and F. Luis Mora  have been both student and teacher. 

 

Singer Tony Bennett, and actors Peter Falk and Christian Slater have attended classes at the League.

 

Classes are offered in drawing, painting, mixed media, sculpture and even comics and narrative art. There are programs for children and teenagers. There are no admission requirements - the mission of the League has always been to give access to anyone who would like to take a class in art.

 

Notable instructors (some of whose works are available at Surovek Gallery) include George Grosz, Thomas Hart Benton, Alexander Calder, Wolf Kahn, George Luks, F. Luis Mora and Jacob Lawrence.

 

Norman Rockwell, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock, Jacob Lawrence and Maurice Sendak are just some of the League’s students. 

 

 Milton Avery, Alexander Calder, Adolph Gottlieb, Roy Lichtenstein, Fairfield Porter, Theodore Earl Butler, Robert Rauschenberg and Deborah Kass are among the artists who studied at the Art Students League and whose works are available at Surovek Gallery.

 

The Art Students League 150th Anniversary Gala is planned for November 11, 2025 at The Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center. The ‘black tie optional’ event will feature a tribute to Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) on the occasion of his 100th birthday.

 

Rauschenberg was one of the most influential artists in America, bridging the gap from Abstract Expressionism to the modern movements that followed. He was a painter, graphic artist, sculptor and collagist. Events have been planned around the world to celebrate Rauschenberg’s impact on art...and science.

 

 

 The Guggenheim New York has planned an exhibit that features works from the museum’s collection and loans from the Rauschenberg Foundation, focusing on his use of unconventional material and media. Robert Rauschenberg: Life Can’t Be Stopped will be on exhibit from October 10, 2025 through May 3, 2026.

 

Fashion designer Jason Wu collaborated with the Rauschenberg Foundation to bring the artist’s works into the world to fashion, using his work as background and textile design. 

 

Photographer Mitch Epstein about Rauschenberg’s relationship to photography. at the Museum of the City of New York. Through the Lens of Rauschenberg was sold out before the day of the event. The museum is displaying Rauschenberg’s mixed media works alongside black-and-white architectural photographs. Robert Rauschenberg’s New York: Pictures from the Real World will be on view through April 19, 2026. 

 

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Please contact us if you would like more information about the works available at Surovek Gallery.

 

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 References:

Haruka Aoki. 150 Years of Scribbles at the Art Students League. The New York Times. June 14, 2025.

Lisa Yin Zhang. 150 Years of American Art Comes to Life. Hyperallergic. July 14, 2025.

Will Heinrich. Painting Michelle Obama Took 9 Months. Keeping It Secret Took 6 Years. The New York Times. September 7, 2022.

Maya Pontone. Robert Rauschenberg’s Centenary Gets Major Guggenheim Show. Hyperallergic. July 28, 2025.

 William Van Meter. At New York Fashion Week, Art History Is All the Rage. September 17, 2025. 

September 18, 2025