Comprised of nearly 70 esteemed artists and architects, The Annual 2015: The Depth of the Surface is a celebration of the Academy’s members and, as in years past, features a broad range of styles employed by several generations of National Academicians. Now in its 189th year, this storied exhibition will be on view from June 4 – August 23, 2015. A paradox, The Depth of the Surface seeks to delve beneath the surface of the work included to reveal its true meaning and message, the story behind it and how it resonates with the viewer.

The first Annual exhibition of the National Academy, in 1826, was organized by the small group of artists and architects who founded the Academy – considered renegades in their day – who were guided by the then-novel concept that a fledgling nation needed an institution to “promote American art and architecture through education and exhibition.” The Annual at the National Academy – New York’s oldest museum – was among the first exhibitions to do so, and the tradition continues in 2015.

Under the Annual’s current format, National Academicians are eligible to show once every three years. Among this year’s highlights are sculptural works by Lynda Benglis, Joel Shapiro and Ursula von Rydingsvard. Other artists in the show include Alice Aycock, Dorothea Rockburne, William Tucker and Fred Wilson. The architects exhibiting are among the most renowned in their field, and include Wendy Evans Joseph, Cesar Pelli, Moshe Safdie, Robert A. M. Stern, and landscape architect Kate Orff.

For nearly two centuries, The Annual has served as the fulcrum of the National Academy’s exhibitions. Among the artists and architects who have exhibited their work throughout the institution’s history are Cecelia Beaux, Thomas Eakins, Helen Frankenthaler, Frank Gehry, Jacob Lawrence, Robert Rauschenberg, John Singer Sargent, Andrew Wyeth and Frank Lloyd Wright. The artists and architects exhibiting in the 2015 Annual add their names to the legacy of this exhibition.

Exhibition Hours
11 AM – 6 PM Wednesday – Sunday

Admission
Pay What You Wish

RSVP here:
https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07eayt39oe17f015d8&oseq=&c=&ch=

The National Academy Museum & School gratefully acknowledges support for this exhibition from The Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason Foundation.

The Academy also gratefully acknowledges support for our organization-wide activities from the Estate of Marion and Gilbert Roller, the Sy Syms Foundation, the Steven Steigman Fund for Young Artists, The Greenwich Collection, The Private Client Reserve of U.S. Bank, The Reed Foundation, Estate of Kathleen Zimmerman Iwamoto and Ralph Iwamoto, J.P. Morgan, The Bernard and Muriel Lauren Foundation, The Cowles Charitable Trust, and the Alex J. Ettl Foundation.

We are also deeply grateful for the generous support of individual donors, National Academicians, and Academy Patrons and Friends Circle members whose contributions and participation are vital to the life of the Academy.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.