National Academy of Design

{{Short description|Professional honorary art organization in Manhattan, New York}}

{{infobox organization

| name = National Academy of Design

| logo = National Academy of Design Logo.png

| image = National_Academy_of_Design_(48059131596).jpg

| image_size = 270

| caption = The academy's previous building at 1083 Fifth Avenue

|map=

{{Infobox mapframe

|wikidata=yes

|zoom=14

|marker=building

}}

| coordinates = {{WikidataCoord|display=it}}

| formation = {{start date and age|1863}}

| type = Honorary organization, museum, and school

| purpose = To promote the fine arts in America through instruction and exhibition

| headquarters = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.

| location = 14-15 Gramercy Park South

| leader_title = President

| leader_name = Wendy Evans Joseph

| website = {{URL|http://www.nationalacademy.org}}

}}

The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fine arts in America through instruction and exhibition."{{cite web|title=Charles Cushing Wright (1796-1854)|url=http://www.nyhistory.org/exhibit/charles-cushing-wright-1796-1854|access-date=August 14, 2017}} Membership is limited to 450 American artists and architects, who are elected by their peers on the basis of recognized excellence.

History

File:18970403.NYC.Academy of Design (1865; razed).jpg, one of many Gothic revival buildings modeled on Doge's Palace in Venice, seen {{circa|1863–1865}}; this building was demolished in 1901.]]

The original founders of the National Academy of Design were students of the American Academy of the Fine Arts. However, by 1825 the students of the American Academy felt a lack of support for teaching from the academy, its board composed of merchants, lawyers, and physicians, and from its unsympathetic president, the painter John Trumbull.

Samuel Morse and other students set about forming a drawing association to meet several times each week for the study of the art of design. Still, the association was viewed as a dependent organization of the American Academy, from which they felt neglected. An attempt was made to reconcile differences and maintain a single academy by appointing six of the artists from the association as directors of the American Academy. When four of the nominees were not elected, however, the frustrated artists resolved to form a new academy and the National Academy of Design was born.{{cite book |title=A History of the Rise and Progress of the Arts of Design in the United States (Vol. 3) |last=Dunlap |first=William |year=1918 |pages=52–57 |publisher=C. E. Goodspeed & Co. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0FJLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA52|access-date=February 17, 2008}}

Morse had been a student at the Royal Academy in London and emulated its structure and goals for the National Academy of Design. The mission of the academy, from its foundation, was to "promote the fine arts in America through exhibition and education."[https://www.nationalacademy.org/historical-overview/ Historical Overview], National Academy of Design.

In 2015, the academy struggled with financial hardship. In the next few years, it closed its museum and art school, and created an endowment through the sale of its New York real estate holdings.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/arts/design/national-academy-plans-to-sell-two-fifth-avenue-buildings.html|title=National Academy Plans to Sell Two Fifth Avenue Buildings|first=Randy|last=Kennedy|work=The New York Times |date=March 17, 2016|via=NYTimes.com}} Today, the academy advocates for the arts as a tool for education, celebrates the role of artists and architects in public life, and serves as a catalyst for cultural conversations that propel society forward.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/national-academy-of-design-artist-advocacy/ |title=The National Academy of Design Makes a Triumphant Comeback |last=Allen |first=Brian T |work=National Review |quote=It has always been an artist-run organization. Its exclusive, invite-only membership comprises many of the best artists in the country, and going forward it has decided to focus its resources and energy on serving them. This means promoting their achievements, helping them through grants, and producing a snappy online journal that’s fresh and focused. |date=January 5, 2019 |access-date=March 19, 2020}}

According to the academy, its 450 National Academicians "are professional artists and architects who are elected to membership by their peers annually."[https://www.nationalacademy.org/national-academicians National Academicians], National Academy of Design.

=Official names=

After three years and some tentative names, in 1828 the academy found its longstanding name "National Academy of Design", under which it was known to one and a half centuries. In 1997, newly appointed director Annette Blaugrund rebranded the institution as the "National Academy Museum and School of Fine Art", to reflect "a new spirit of integration incorporating the association of artists, museum, and school", and to avoid confusion with the now differently understood term "design".Annette Blaugrund as quoted in Traditional Fine Arts Organization, News: [http://www.tfaoi.com/newsasn/newsa6b.htm National Academy Clarifies Identity with Change of Name and New Visual Identity].

This change was reversed in 2017.

1825 The New York Drawing Association
1826 The National Academy of The Arts of Design
1828 The National Academy of Design
1997 The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Art
2017 The National Academy of Design

=Locations=

The academy occupied several locations in Manhattan over the years. Notable among them was a building on Park Avenue and 23rd Street designed by architect P. B. Wight and built 1863–1865 in a Venetian Gothic style modeled on the Doge's Palace in Venice. Another location was at West 109th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.Cassell, Dewey, with Aaron Sultan and Mike Gartland. The Art of George Tuska (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2005), {{ISBN|978-1-893905-40-5}}, p. 10 From 1906 to 1941, the academy occupied the American Fine Arts Society building at 215 West 57th Street.{{Cite web|url=https://asllinea.org/american-fine-arts-society-building/|access-date=2020-12-06| title=Celebrating the American Fine Arts Society Building| website=asllinea.org|date=November 4, 2017 }}

From 1942 to 2019, the academy occupied a mansion at 1083 Fifth Avenue, near 89th Street;{{Cite news|date=1941-10-05|title=Art of Past Era to Be Exhibited; National Academy of Design Opens New Home Jan. 1|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/10/05/archives/art-of-past-era-to-be-exhibited-national-academy-of-design-opens.html|access-date=2020-12-06|issn=0362-4331}} it had been the home of sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington and philanthropist Archer M. Huntington, who donated the house in 1940.The New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/11/realestate/streetscapes-national-academy-museum-school-fine-arts-5th-avenue-donor-who-loved.html January 11, 1998]

The National Academy of Design shared offices and galleries with the National Arts Club located inside the historic Samuel J. Tilden House, 14-15 Gramercy Park South from 2019 until 2023.

Currently the home of the National Academy of Design is at 519 West 26th Street, 2nd Floor with offices as well as meeting, event and exhibition space.

Organization and activities

File:National Academy School of Fine Arts (48237025902).jpg

The academy is a professional honorary organization, with a school and a museum.

One cannot apply for membership, which since 1994, after many changes in numbers, is limited to 450 American artists and architects. Instead, members are elected by their peers on the basis of recognized excellence. Full members of the National Academy are identified by the post-nominal "NA" (National Academician), associates by "ANA".[http://www.nationalacademy.org/national-academicians Artist Membership], National Academy of Design

Notable instructors

Among the teaching staff were numerous artists, including Will Hicok Low, who taught from 1889 to 1892. Another was Charles Louis Hinton, whose long tenure started in 1901. The famous American poet William Cullen Bryant also gave lectures. Architect Alexander Jackson Davis taught at the academy. Painter Lemuel Wilmarth was the first full-time instructor.{{Cite web|url=https://nationalacademy.org/pageview.asp?mid=1&pid=56|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706143827/http://www.nationalacademy.org/pageview.asp?mid=1&pid=56|url-status=dead|title=NAD|archivedate=July 6, 2009|website=nationalacademy.org}} Silas Dustin was a curator.{{cite web|title=Painting by Dustin|url=http://fineart.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=628&Lot_No=23284|publisher=fineart.ha.com|access-date=October 19, 2010}}

Notable members

File:Brown Gray Durand 1850.jpg, Henry Peters Gray and founding member Asher Brown Durand.]]

File:Annual Reception at the National Academy of Design, New York.jpg from a sketch by W. S. L. Jewett.]]

{{cite web |author=Board of Governors |title=National Academicians |publisher=The National Academy |url =http://www.nationalacademy.org/academy/national-academicians/?na=N |access-date=January 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116085120/http://www.nationalacademy.org/academy/national-academicians/?na=N |archive-date=January 16, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}

References

External links

{{Official website}}
[https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/national-academy-museum-school?hl=en Virtual tour of the National Academy of Design] at Google Arts & Culture

Category:1825 establishments in New York (state)

Category:23rd Street (Manhattan)

Category:Academies of arts

Category:Art museums and galleries in Manhattan

Category:Art museums and galleries established in 1825

Category:Art schools in New York City

Category:Clubs and societies in New York City

Category:Design museums in New York (state)

Category:Fifth Avenue

Category:Learned societies of the United States

Category:Museums in Manhattan

Category:Organizations established in 1825