Andrea Woodner is an American artist, architect, and philanthropist. She is the founder of the New York City-based Design Trust for Public Space, a nonprofit organization which "brings together government agencies, community groups, and private-sector experts to transform and evolve the city's landscape."

Early life

Andrea Woodner is the daughter of Ruth Lyon and

Ian Woodner Ian Woodner (January 25, 1903 – November 1, 1990) was an American real estate developer, artist and art collector. Early life and education Woodner was born in New York City to a Polish immigrant family. He was raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota ...

. She has two siblings, Dian and Jonathan Woodner. Woodner was raised in New York City and loved art from an early age, often visiting the

Frick Collection The Frick Collection is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection (normally at the Henry Clay Frick House, currently at the 945 Madison Avenue#2021–present: Frick Madison, Frick Madison) features Old Master paintings and Europe ...

during her teenage years. She earned a BA with a concentration in ceramics and sculpture from

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

in the class of 1970. Later, she took classes at the

Harvard University Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban ...

, then earned a master's in architecture from the

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.

Career

In 1995, Woodner founded the nonprofit organization Design Trust for Public Space to connect design thought and incubation to the public good of New York City. She chaired the organization's board of directors until January 2016, when she was succeeded by Eric Rothman. She continues to be active in fundraising for Design Trust. Upon their father's death in November 1990, Andrea and Dian Woodner inherited the

Ian Woodner Family Collection Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

. In 1991, the Woodner sisters variously sold and donated 143 works of art from his collection to the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

in Washington, DC, including drawings by

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...

, and

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...

. In July 2000, the sisters donated nearly 100 works of art by

Odilon Redon Odilon Redon (born Bertrand Redon; ; 20 April 18406 July 1916) was a French Symbolism (arts), symbolist painter, printmaker, Drawing, draughtsman and pastellist. Early in his career, both before and after fighting in the Franco-Prussian War, he ...

to the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, including paintings, pastels, watercolors, drawings, prints and illustrated books. Woodner's art has been exhibited at the Palmer Gallery of

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodner, Andrea Living people 20th-century American women artists American women architects Year of birth missing (living people) Bennington College alumni Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni American women philanthropists 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American artists Architects from New York City Philanthropists from New York (state) 21st-century American women 20th-century women philanthropists