Art Students League of New York: 150 Years of Serious Studio Art Education

The Art Students League of New York is one of the most important art schools in American history, and it remains one of the most valuable places in the world to study traditional studio art. Founded in 1875 by a group of students who wanted to study art without the rigid academic restrictions of the National Academy of Design, the League has operated continuously for 150 years from its landmark building at 215 West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan. It has trained some of the most significant American artists of the twentieth century, and it continues to offer serious, rigorous studio instruction to students at every level of experience.

The League's founding philosophy was radical for its time and remains distinctive today: no entrance requirements, no grades, no mandatory attendance, and no fixed curriculum. Students enroll in individual classes on a monthly basis, choosing instructors whose approach and subject matter align with their own interests and goals. This structure treats students as adults capable of directing their own education, and it creates an environment where genuine artistic development takes precedence over institutional requirements.

The Instructors: Working Artists, Not Career Teachers

The single most important thing to understand about the Art Students League is its faculty. Every instructor at the League is a working professional artist with an active exhibition career, not a career academic who stopped making art to teach it. This distinction matters enormously in studio art education. When you study with a League instructor, you are learning from someone who is currently solving the same problems you are trying to solve, who is actively engaged with the contemporary art world, and who brings the authority of current professional practice to every critique and demonstration.

The faculty roster as of 2026 includes painters, sculptors, printmakers, illustrators, and mixed media artists whose work is shown in galleries and museums in New York and internationally. Some instructors have taught at the League for decades, developing teaching methodologies refined through thousands of hours of studio instruction. Others are younger artists who bring fresh perspectives and current concerns to their teaching. The combination creates a faculty culture that is both deeply rooted in tradition and genuinely engaged with the present.

Notable artists who have taught at the League include Thomas Hart Benton, George Bridgman, Robert Henri, Frank Reilly, and Kimon Nicolaides, whose book "The Natural Way to Draw" remains one of the most influential drawing instruction texts ever written. The tradition of serious, committed teaching that these figures established continues in the current faculty.

The Class Structure

Classes at the League run on a monthly schedule, with tuition due at the start of each month. Students can enroll at any time, with tuition prorated if they begin after the first of the month. This flexible structure means there are no semester start dates to wait for and no long-term commitments required. You can try a class for a single month, or you can study with the same instructor for years.

Most classes meet several times per week for sessions of three to four hours each, providing the sustained studio time that serious skill development requires. The format varies by class: some are structured around instructor demonstrations and individual critiques, others are primarily open studio sessions with the instructor circulating to offer guidance, and some combine both approaches. Life drawing classes typically work from live models in both long and short poses.

The Certificate Program, introduced in recent years, provides a structured path for students who want a more formal credential. The program requires completion of a defined set of core and elective classes and awards a certificate upon completion. The Spring 2026 semester began on February 1, 2026, and the program accepts applications on a rolling basis for domestic students.

Open Sessions are available for students who want additional studio time outside of their enrolled classes. These sessions provide access to models, still life setups, and printmaking facilities without the structure of a formal class, allowing students to practice independently or work through specific problems at their own pace.

The Subjects

The League offers instruction across the full range of traditional studio arts. Drawing is the foundation of the curriculum, with classes covering life drawing, gesture, anatomy, portrait drawing, and observational drawing from still life and landscape. The League's drawing instruction is grounded in the tradition of learning to see accurately and translate observation into marks on paper, a skill that underpins every other discipline.

Painting classes cover oil, acrylic, watercolour, gouache, and mixed media, with instruction ranging from foundational colour mixing and value control to advanced approaches to composition, surface, and pictorial space. Instructors bring diverse approaches to painting, from classical realism to expressive abstraction, giving students access to a range of methodologies.

Sculpture instruction covers modelling in clay, carving in stone and wood, casting, and construction. The League's sculpture facilities include kilns, casting equipment, and a range of tools that support work in multiple materials. Life modelling is central to the sculpture curriculum, with students working from the figure in both short and extended sessions.

Printmaking at the League covers etching, lithography, screenprinting, woodcut, and relief printing, with fully equipped studios and instruction from professional printmakers. The printmaking program is one of the strongest in New York, with facilities and expertise that rival dedicated printmaking schools.

The Building and the Community

The League occupies a landmark Beaux-Arts building designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, the same architect who designed the Plaza Hotel and the Dakota apartment building. The building houses studios, galleries, a library, and the League's administrative offices, and it has been the centre of New York's art community for generations.

The community that forms around the League is one of its most valuable assets. Students, instructors, and alumni create a network of working artists that extends across generations and disciplines. The League's galleries host regular exhibitions of student and faculty work, providing opportunities for students to show their work in a professional context and to engage with the broader New York art world.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Tuition at the League ranges from approximately $200 to $600 per month depending on the class and the number of sessions per week. This is significantly less expensive than comparable instruction at degree-granting art schools, and the monthly enrollment structure means students pay only for the instruction they actually use.

The League offers work-study scholarships and merit-based grants for enrolled students who demonstrate financial need or exceptional artistic promise. Scholarship applications are available through the League office, and the availability of financial aid makes the League accessible to students who could not otherwise afford New York art school tuition.

The Bottom Line

The Art Students League of New York offers something that no online course, no matter how well produced, can replicate: sustained studio instruction from working professional artists, in a community of serious students, in a building that has been a centre of American art for 150 years. For artists who are serious about developing traditional studio skills and who have access to New York, the League is one of the most valuable educational resources available. The combination of flexible enrollment, exceptional faculty, comprehensive facilities, and a living tradition of serious art-making creates an environment where genuine artistic development is not just possible but expected.