Gregory Amenoff

In addition to being a professor of art in Columbia's Visual Arts Division, Gregory Amenoff is a renowned painter and printmaker, known for working in the tradition of organic abstraction. His works are rooted in landscapes, places from his memory and imagination, often inspired by the geographies of Cape Cod, New Mexico and the Umbria region of Italy.

This spring, Amenoff directed his energy to the administrative end of the fine arts field, serving as the 31st President of the National Academy of Design. Among the oldest arts institutions in the U.S., this unique, artist-run organization was established in 1825 by Thomas Cole, Rembrandt, Peale and Samuel F.B. Morse, the Academy's first president, a painter and inventor of Morse code. Its mission encompasses an honorary association of artists, a school of fine arts and a museum. Numbered among its 381 members are many of America's most prominent painters, sculptors, architects and printmakers.

Amenoff was honored to be nominated as a member of the Academy in 1994 and feels privileged to serve as president. "You cannot read an American art history book without dozens of references to the National Academy of Design," says Amenoff. "In the 19th century the Academy was the center of the American art world."

In today's society, Amenoff sees an opportunity for the Academy to play a larger role in cultural life in the art world in New York City. In his capacity as president, Amenoff is working to add vitality to the institution, raise the level of exhibitions and bring in different audiences that have not previously been involved with the Academy, particularly younger artists and members of the downtown art community.

"There was a time when having an 'N.A.' after your name was very important. My goal is to create reasons for younger artists to become members," explains Amenoff.

He also hopes to revamp the Academy's website to include important works from the permanent collection and works from each of the member artists.

The National Academy of Design exhibits works by painters, printmakers, sculptors and architects that are underexposed. "The Academy offers a different kind of look at art than other institutions, because the collection is put together by artists, not curators," says Amenoff.

"The Academy has played a vital role in the development of the fine arts in America," says Academy director, Dr. Annette Blaugrund, "and a close working relationship with our artist members is what makes the Academy museum and art school truly unique. The arrival of this new president—a respected artist whose dynamic energy and enthusiasm are contagious—will continue to strengthen our commitment to providing quality exhibitions which present the museum experience from the artist's own perspective."

As President, Amenoff has successfully implemented a new lecture series at the Academy. On Dec. 3 Philip Steadman, Professor of Urban and Built Form Studies at University College London, will lecture on his book, "Vermeer's Camera." In this lecture Steadman will explore the painter's possible contacts with the world of seventeenth-century optical science.

In conjunction with the upcoming exhibit of the sculptor David Smith, on Dec. 6 Columbia graduate and art critic, Karen Wilkin will offer a lecture entitled "The Unknown David Smith." The museum is currently showing the first comprehensive analysis of Louis Eilshemius' work in over 20 years and an exhibit of the graphic work of New York artist, Red Grooms. Lectures were offered in the fall for these exhibitions as well. Click here for additional information on the Academy's lectures and exhibitions.

This position is challenging Amenoff, who is also balancing his role as a new father with his professional artistic career and his teaching responsibilities at Columbia's School of the Arts. He feels that his work at Columbia blends nicely with his role at the Academy, as he has access to young talent.

"Columbia has one of the top graduate art programs in the United States," says Amenoff, "I hope to engage our past and present students (and art students from other schools) in the life of the Academy."

A native Midwesterner, Amenoff moved to New York in the late 1970s to pursue his career. He is currently represented by the Salander O'Reilly Gallery in New York. Amenoff has shown widely in the U.S. and Europe and participated in the 1981 and 1985 Whitney Biennials, the 1984 Museum of Modern Art's (MOMA) International Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture and the 40th Anniversary of Corcoran Biennial of Contemporary American Painting. Amenoff's work is represented in the collections of the MOMA; The Art Institute of Chicago; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the National Museum of American Art, Washington, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others.

Amenoff has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Tiffany Foundation, and was named Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts by Massachusetts College of Fine Arts.

The National Academy of Design serves as a link to the art of the past and a bridge to the art of the future. Elected by their peers, Academicians contribute examples of their work upon acceptance of the honor, forming one of the most distinguished institutional collections of American art, ranging from Old Master drawings to recent paintings by contemporary artists. Contributions by the Academy's artist members include the works of William Merritt Chase, Robert Henri, Winslow Homer, Jasper Johns and Andrew Wyeth.

The Academy's Annual Exhibition, the oldest juried show in the country, showcases new work by contemporary artists. This spring, the Annual Exhibition will take on a new form—it will be an invitational exhibit comprised exclusively of non-academicians and will include a color catalog and thousands of dollars in awards and prizes.