A Look at Upcoming Programs at the ICAA

An open studio and sketch night with the Grand Central Academy on Friday, April 22nd is the third in the ICAA’s series of classical artists’ studio tours. Co-hosted by the New York Chapter of the ICAA, the GCA will open its studios for a rare glimpse of Atelier artists’ creative processes. An Open Sketch session will follow the tour.

The GCA, formerly the Water Street Atelier, offers programs for artists who wish to hone their skills and understanding of the classical form. Under the guidance of artist and founder Jacob Collins, along with the studio’s principal artists, students learn the methods in drawing, painting and sculpture of historic ateliers.

The GCA also offers lectures, discussions and exhibitions to promote public education and interest in classical-inspired art. A collaborative space, the Atelier is a community of like-minded individuals dedicated to the revival of the representational art tradition.

Waterfield is a curator, art historian and novelist. He is the Director of The Attingham Trust’s annual course, Royal Collection Studies, and an Associate Lecturer at the Courtauld Institute of Art. He has curated exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts, London; Tate Britain; the National Portrait Gallery, London; and Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury. Waterfield has also served as a trustee of the Heritage Lottery Fund and has advised for the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Wolfson Foundation. In addition to his contributions in the arts, Waterfield has published four novels and was the recipient of the 2001 McKitterick Prize for his novel The Long Afternoon.

In The People’s Galleries, Waterfield’s latest publication, he explores the histories of British municipal galleries. The Frick Collection, where the talk will be held, draws comparisons with the private collections turned art museums that Waterfield considers in his book. The Frick Collection opened its doors in 1935, upon the late Henry Clay Frick’s wish to bequeath his private residence and art collection to establish a public museum.

Looking beyond the National Gallery and the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum) in London, Waterfield examines museums in Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, and Nottingham, among others. These galleries came into prominence in the early 19^th century and, at the time, presented a novel view of what an art institution could be; they offered education programs, served refreshments, placed an emphasis on robust temporary exhibitions over permanent collections, and aimed above all to appeal to Britain’s increasingly prosperous working people.

For further information on these programs, please visit the ICAA’s public programs webpage at www.classicist.org/programs.