The Art Students League of New York — Attraction in New York

My great, great grandfather – who immigrated to the United States from Germany -- was a painter and took classes at the Art Students League of New York. I think that makes ASL all the more special because it has been a home to artists for generations. The fact that ASL was a home away from home for my great, great grandfather and now for me is pretty cool! I have had the great fortune of having Sherry Camhy as my teacher. She has also been an incredible mentor. And she is an amazing artist! I have learned so much from Sherry and she is always giving suggestions on exhibitions/museums/galleries/libraries to visit, books to read, workshops to take (I took a phenomenal weekend workshop with Jason Bard Yarmosky at ASL at the suggestion of Sherry!) as well as opportunities for showing art work. Sherry’s classes are filled with a friendly and enthusiastic community of students/artists. This was really important for me as I was quite young going into the class (initially 11 going on 12) and was the youngest student in the class by quite a few years. But everybody was still open to me being there, despite my young age, and made me feel like I belonged and was a part of the community. Feeling like I belonged was pretty inspiring for me too. And I might also add that what is really notable about Sherry is that she is inclusive of everyone’s different styles and helps each and every student develop and build upon their own unique style. I REALLY look forward to taking more classes with Sherry in the future as well as taking the classes and workshops of other teachers at ASL too. There is SO much going on at the ASL! I don’t think there is another place like this anywhere. There is a mystique about the place the moment you walk through...

I always wanted to study art but my parents thought typing would make a better living so my dream deferred until I had just turned 65 and walked by the Art Students League on my way to work. I saw people of all ages walking in and out - kindred spirits. The school kept calling to me so I went in and got a catalog and took it home. That night I read from cover to cover wonderful descriptions of the various classes and instructors and finally settled on Sherry Camhy's class. Transformational absolutely. I sat down to draw on my first day in front of an actual human being and almost bolted two or three times. I thought who am I to try this, I looked around and there were people of all levels. Sherry was going to each one encouraging, pointing things out allowing everyone their own style of expression. I was sitting next to a wonderful water color artist of generous spirit and began to feel more hopeful. She told me - you have it in you just keep going. Sherry Camhy opened the world to me of the serious study of drawing to painting, materials and techniques - guiding me to accomplishment what I never thought possible. So it is that the Art Students League nurtures you, brings out your own individual expression, other students nurture you as well and I've never seen the world the same way again. I look for values and shapes on the people's faces on the subway, I belong to a community of artists both centuries old and immediate. After a year or so I added more classes and began to study with Nicki Orbach's as well where I continue to grow under her excellence and ability to broaden our minds see...

I learned about the Art Students League decades ago, as it’s name shows up in biographies of many famous artists. Last summer I had an opportunity to spend 2 months in NYC for the first time. My first destination was the ASL. I'm a professional civil engineer with a lifelong interest in drawing and watercolor. I was lucky to stumble into Sherry Camhy’s class. Sherry introduced the class to a number of great artists past & present, reminded about exhibitions we must not miss, encouraged us to try drawing with different media and introduce color. She also took time to get to know every student and gave individual instruction. Occasionally Sherry gave us challenging homework assignments. She gave her email address to the entire class and encouraged students to write her with questions. Sherry encouraged me to take my hobby seriously. We kept in touch, and I returned to NYC five months later to take her evening class for 4 months. Weekly class exhibitions provided the students with opportunity to show their work to public and to see what other students are producing.

I also took an evening class with Gregg Kreutz, then a fulltime class with Costa Vavagiakis. This summer I continued with Sherry and Nicki Orbach. Every one of my instructors was an outstanding teacher, and I benefited greatly from being exposed to the variety of styles and teaching methods. I’m back in Nevada now, dreaming about the next opportunity to take classes at the ASL.

Anyone who wants to study art on a flexible schedule, on a limited budget and without time-consuming and costly entrance thresholds, should choose the Art...