The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture is an

artists residency Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

located in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

, just outside of

Skowhegan Skowhegan () is the county seat of Somerset County, Maine. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,620. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuously-held state fair in the United States. Sk ...

. Every year, the program accepts online applications from emerging artists from November through January, and selects 65 to participate in the nine-week intensive summer program. Admissions decisions are announced in April. The school provides participants with housing, food, and studio space, and the campus offers a library, media lab, and sculpture shop, among other amenities. The tuition for the program is $6,000, however aid is available, ensuring that everyone accepted into the program can attend, regardless of financial need. While on campus, the participants interact with five or six resident faculty artists for the duration of the program, as well as five to seven visiting faculty artists, both of whom are selected by Skowhegan’s Board of Governors. Participants are not allowed to bring family or friends with them to Skowhegan, nor are visitors allowed on campus. Lectures by faculty artists, which are generally held on Fridays, are open to the public.

History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, New England portrait painter Willard C. Cummings was stationed in Alaska in the War Art Unit. There, he shared his idea for an educational model “where young artists could study with leading artists of the time” with Sidney Simon, a sculptor also in the Unit. Upon returning from the war in 1946, with the help of Simon, Henry Varnum Poor, already an established presence in American Art, and Charles Cutler, a New England stone sculptor, Cummings turned his family farm into a functional alternative school run by artists for artists. As the name indicates, Skowhegan was originally focused on the traditional art forms of painting and sculpture, but gradually, the program began accepting artists of all practices, even being the alleged site of the first contemporary

Land Art Land art, variously known as Earth art, environmental art, and Earthworks, is an art movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, largely associated with Great Britain and the United StatesArt in the modern era: A guide to styles, schools, & mov ...

piece in 1968 by

Douglas Leichter Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

and

Richard Saba Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

. Similarly, while the school originally offered classes such as

life drawing A figure drawing is a drawing of the human form in any of its various shapes and postures using any of the drawing media. The term can also refer to the act of producing such a drawing. The degree of representation may range from highly detailed, ...

or plein air painting, it eventually forwent traditional forms of instruction save for weekly faculty lectures, and all classes on campus are now self-directed by participants. Fresco instruction, however, has always been a part of the program. Today, Skowhegan is one of the few institutions in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

that teaches this technique.

N. Sean Glover N is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet. N or n may also refer to: Mathematics * \mathbb, the set of natural numbers * N, the field norm * N for ''nullae'', a rare Roman numeral for zero * n, the size of a statistical sample S ...

was the fresco instructor from 2010 to 2019, when

Oscar Rene Cornejo Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

took over. Since 1952, Skowhegan has recorded the lectures given on campus by resident and visiting faculty artists. They now comprise an archive of over 700 lectures and are accessible to artists and researchers in select repositories including The

Colby College Museum of Art The Colby College Museum of Art is an art museum located on the campus of Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1959 and now comprising five wings, nearly 8,000 works and more than 38,000 square feet of exhibition space, the Colby Colleg ...

, The

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

, The

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mil ...

, The

Getty Research Institute The Getty Research Institute (GRI), located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts".

, and 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 (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...

Notable alumni

''See also Category list of

Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture alumni Skowhegan () is the county seat of Somerset County, Maine. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,620. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuously-held state fair in the United States. Skowh ...

.'' Skowhegan alumni have included a number of well-known artists, including:

Faculty

* William Zorach * Karl Zerbe * Henry Varnum Poor *

Jack Levine Jack Levine (January 3, 1915November 8, 2010) was an American Social Realist painter and printmaker best known for his satires on modern life, political corruption, and biblical narratives. Levine is considered one of the key artists of the Bost ...

* Herb Aach *

Berenice Abbott Berenice Alice Abbott (July 17, 1898 – December 9, 1991) was an American photographer best known for her portraits of between-the-wars 20th century cultural figures, New York City photographs of architecture and urban design of the 1930s, and ...

Awards to alumni

* Artist's Lifetime Achievement Award, National Academy Museum–

Alex Katz Alex Katz (born July 24, 1927) is an American figurative artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and prints. Early life and career Alex Katz was born July 24, 1927, to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, as the son of an émigré who h ...

('49, '50) * National Artist Award,

Anderson Ranch Arts Center Anderson Ranch Arts Center is a non-profit arts organization founded in 1966 and located in Snowmass Village, Colorado. They host an artist in residency program and the center offers workshops and classes by artists in the summer months of June, J ...

– Enrique Martinez Celaya ('94) * Rema Hort Mann Foundation Grant–

Jennie C. Jones Jennie C. Jones (born 1968 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an African-American artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Her work has been described, by Ken Johnson, as evoking minimalism, and paying tribute to the cross-pollination of different ...

('96) * Adolph and Clara Obrig Prize, National Academy Museum– Robert Andrew Parker ('52)

Susan Louise Shatter Susan Louise Shatter (1943–2011) was an American landscape painter. Shatter painted landscapes in both oil and watercolor, preferring the earth tones of volcanic canyons or rocky coastlines rather than the green pastoral settings more traditio ...

('64) * American Academy of Arts and Letters Awards–

Brian Alfred Brian Alfred (born 2 December 1974, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Education Alfred received his Bachelors of Fine Art degree from Penn State University and his Masters of Fine Art degree from Yale Universi ...

('99) Ellen Altfest ('02) Matt Blackwell ('80) Mark Ferguson ('94) Stephen Mueller ('68) Dana Schutz ('99) Gedi Sibony ('99) Arthur Simms ('85) Emna Zghal ('04) *

Rome Prize The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Prizes have been awarded annually since 1921, with a hiatus ...

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History In 1893, a group of American architects ...

– Daniel Bozhkov ('90), Heather Carson ('97) * William H. Johnson Prize, William H. Johnson Foundation for the Arts– Edgar Arceneaux ('99) * Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship– Marie Watt ('95) * John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowships– SoHyun Bae ('93) Tracy Miller ('92) Chris Lan Hui Chou ('02) Christopher Duncan ('75)

Amy Feldman Amy Feldman (born 1981) is an American abstract painter from Brooklyn, New York. Education Amy Feldman received a BFA degree in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island in 2003. She then attended Rutgers U ...

('18)

Judy Fox Judy Fox is an American sculptor who was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1957. She studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 1976, earned a BA from Yale University in 1978, studied at the École Nationale Supérieure de ...

('76) Kalup Linzy ('02) Karyn Olivier ('00) * MacArthur Fellowship– Whitfield Lovell ('85) * New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships– Danielle Abrams ('92) Patricia Cronin ('91) Peter Dudek ('78) Alessandra Exposito ('97)

Heather Hart Heather T. Hart (born May 3, 1975) is a visual artist who works in a variety of media including interactive and participatory Installation art, drawing, collage, and painting. She is a co-founder of the Black Lunch Table Project, which includes ...

('05) Wayne Hodge ('06) Shih Chieh Huang ('01) Yoko Inoue ('00) Jihyun Park ('02) Michael Rakowitz ('96) Peter Simensky ('03) Shinique Smith ('03) Steed Taylor ('97) Mary Temple ('99)

Hank Willis Thomas Hank Willis Thomas (born 1976 in Plainfield, New Jersey; lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to identity, history, and popular culture. Early life and education Hank Willis Tho ...

('05) Traci Tullius ('02) Nari Ward ('91)

Saya Woolfalk Saya Woolfalk (born 1979, Gifu City, Japan) is an American artist known for her multimedia exploration of hybridity, science, race and sex. Woolfalk uses science fiction and fantasy to reimagine the world in multiple dimensions. Currently rep ...

('04) Charles McGill ('87), Heather Carson ('97) * United States Artists Fellowship– Laylah Ali ('93) William Pope.L ('96) * Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Grant– Cris Cristofaro ('70) * Art Matters Grants– Sanford Biggers ('98) Daniel Bozhkov ('90) Wayne Hodge ('06) Shaun Leonardo ('04) Charles McGill ('87) Kori Newkirk ('97) Clifford Owens ('04) Cauleen Smith ('07) Allison Wiese ('99)

('04) Leslie Hewitt('01) * Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation Grant– Donna Conlon ('02) * Gwangju Biennial Prize– Allora & Calzadilla - Guillermo Calzadilla ('98) * Creative Capital Grants– Brody Condon ('01) Allison Wiese ('99) Wayne Hodge ('06) * Fulbright Senior Research Grant– Margaret Lanzetta ('81) * Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Grant– Jon Cuyson ('06) * Joan Mitchell Foundation Grants–

John Bisbee John Bisbee (born 1965) is an American sculptor living and working in Brunswick, Maine. Bisbee received his B.F.A. from Alfred University and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He has held residencies at the MacDowell Colo ...

('92)

('13) Lilian Garcia-Roig ('90)

Rajkamal Kahlon Rajkamal Kahlon is an American artist based in Germany whose work draws on legacies of colonialism, often using the material culture, documentary material, and aesthetics of Western colonial archives. Biography Kahlon was raised in California, t ...

('98)

William Villalongo William Villalongo (born 1975) is an American artist working in painting, printmaking, sculpture, and installation art. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Villalongo is an associate professor at the Cooper Union School of Art in New York. Early life and ...

('02) Allora & Calzadilla - Guillermo Calzadilla ('98) * Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Grants– Astrid Bowlby ('02)

('12) Heesop Yoon ('05)

Tamara Zahaykevich __NOTOC__ Tamara may refer to: People * Tamara (name), including a list of people with this name * Tamara (Spanish singer) (born 1984) * Tamara, stage name of Spanish singer Yurena (born 1969) * Tamara, stage name of Macedonian singer Tamara ...

('95) Tim Doud ('92) * Penny McCall Foundation Grant– Allora & Calzadilla - Guillermo Calzadilla ('98) * Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants– Marcus Bjernerup ('04)

Sarah Cain Sarah Cain is an American contemporary artist. Life Cain was born in Albany, New York, and grew up in nearby Kinderhook. She moved to California in 1997 to study art at the San Francisco Art Institute, where she received her BFA in 2001. She w ...

('06) John Hock ('92) Beth Campbell ('97) Christopher Duncan ('75)http://www.chrisduncansculpture.com Katie Grinnan ('92) Iva Gueorguiva ('05) Kirsten Hassenfeld ('97) Eric Hongisto ('98) Young-Min Kang ('04) Elanit Kayne ('07) Haegeen Kim ('06) Tracy Miller ('92) John O'Connor ('00) Jean Shin ('99) Hong Zhang ('03) * Virginia Center for the Creative Arts 2012 Fellowship - Charles McGill ('87) * Cintas Fellowship– Allora & Calzadilla - Guillermo Calzadilla ('98)

References

External links

Skowhegan School of Art
website {{Authority control Education in Somerset County, Maine Skowhegan, Maine 1947 establishments in Maine Educational institutions established in 1947 Artist residencies