NEWS RELEASE
New York, March 18, 2008 -- The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the names of nine artists who will receive its 2008 awards in art. The awards will be presented in New York in May at the Academy's annual Ceremonial. The art prizes, totaling $67,500, honor both established and emerging artists. The award winners were chosen from a group of thirty artists who had been invited by a committee of Academy artists to participate in the Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts. These thirty participating artists had been selected from a group of over 150 artists nominated by the members of the Academy. The members of this year's selection committee were: William Bailey, Jennifer Bartlett, Varujan Boghosian, Vija Celmins, Eric Fischl, Jane Freilicher, Catherine Murphy, Philip Pearlstein, Martin Puryear, and Robert Ryman.
Academy Awards in ArtFive Academy Awards in Art for $7500 each are given to honor exceptional accomplishment and to encourage creative work.
Award of Merit Medal for SculptureThe Award of Merit medal and $10,000 is given to an outstanding person in America for sculpture. Charles LongJimmy Ernst Award in ArtThe $5000 Jimmy Ernst Award in Art is given to a ''painter or sculptor whose lifetime contribution to his or her vision has been both consistent and dedicated.'' Mark GreenwoldWillard L. Metcalf Award in ArtThe $10,000 Willard L. Metcalf Award honors a young artist of great promise. Anna ConwayRosenthal Family Foundation Award in PaintingThe annual Rosenthal Family Foundation Award of $5000 is presented to a ''young American painter of distinction.''Marc Trujillo Art Purchase ProgramThe Academy's purchase program began in 1946 to place the work of talented, living American artists in museums across the country. Since the inauguration of the purchase program, the Academy has spent nearly $3 million to purchase over 1100 works of art. The American Impressionist Childe Hassam (1859-1935) founded this program through the bequest of over 400 of his works with the stipulation that the accumulated income from their sale be used to establish a fund to purchase paintings and works on paper. Similar bequests were made by Academy members Eugene Speicher (1883-1962), Louis Betts (1873-1961), and Gardner Symons (1865-1930). Works by the artists purchased in 2008 will be donated to American museums.
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