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THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS
ANNOUNCES 2011 ART AWARD WINNERS

Arlene Shechet So and So and So and So and On and On, 2010.
Sal Sirugo C-56, 1949.
Jonathan Lasker Drawing Blanks, 2009.
Michelle Segre Untitled, 2010.
Amy Bennett Hypochondriac, 2010.
John Bradford Moses Strikes the Rock, 2010.
Ron Nagle Beirut Canal, 2010.

New York, March 28, 2011 -- The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the seven artists who will receive its 2011 awards in art. The awards will be presented in New York City in May at the Academy’s annual Ceremonial. The art prizes, totaling $57,500, honor both established and emerging artists. The award winners were chosen from a group of 35 artists who had been invited to participate in the Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts, which opened on March 8, 2011. The exhibition continues through April 10, 2011, and features over 110 paintings, sculptures, installations, video, and works on paper. The members of this year’s award selection committee were: Lois Dodd, Yvonne Jacquette, Alex Katz, Thomas Nozkowski, Philip Pearlstein, Judy Pfaff, Peter Saul, Joel Shapiro, and Ursula von Rydingsvard.

Works by the winners of the 2011 Art Awards are currently on display in the Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts, and will be shown in the Exhibition of Work by Newly Elected Members and Recipients of Honors and Awards, which follows the Ceremonial in May.


Arts and Letters Awards in Art

Five Arts and Letters Awards in Art for $7500 each honor exceptional accomplishment and encourage creative work.
John Bradford
Jonathan Lasker
Ron Nagle		 Michelle Segre
Arlene Shechet

Jimmy Ernst Award in Art

The $10,000 Jimmy Ernst Award in Art is given to an artist "whose lifetime contribution to his or her vision has been both consistent and dedicated.''   Sal Sirugo

Rosenthal Family Foundation Award in Painting

The $10,000 Rosenthal Family Foundation Award is given to a ''young American painter of distinction.''   Amy Bennett

Art Purchase Program

The 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 this program, the Academy has spent nearly $3 million to purchase over 1100 works of art. The American Impressionist painter 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 (1861-1930). All works purchased through this program will be donated to American museums.
Amy Bennett
John Bradford
Katherine Bradford
Willie Cole
Angela Dufresne
David Humphrey
 Ellen Lanyon
Stephen Mueller
Arlene Shechet
Don Voisine
Roger White
Helen Miranda Wilson


Press Contact: Souhad Rafey, academy AT artsandletters.org, (212) 368-5900.