At the beginning of this month, the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture announced that British-born artist Graham Nickson had retired from his position as dean of the Manhattan art school after 36 years. During his longtime tenure, Nickson was a champion of drawing and comprehensive arts education, having established the Studio School’s celebrated Drawing Marathon in 1988 and its Master of Fine Arts program in 2004.
In recognition of his contributions to the school that helped establish its international reputation as a hub for comprehensive arts education, the board awarded Nickson with the honorary title of Dean Emeritus. As they begin to search for his replacement, Associate Dean Kaitlin McDonough will temporarily serve as acting head of the school.
After growing up with a family of artists in England, Nickson came to New York City in 1976 and joined the Studio School’s faculty in 1988. In his first year as dean, he introduced the school’s signature “Marathon” programs — all-day arts instruction intensives that run for two weeks at the beginning of each semester and during the summer. While the immersive programming was initially created to underscore the inherent significance of drawing as the foundation for an individual’s experience in the world, it has since expanded to include painting and sculpture, and extended to include participants outside the school’s full-time student body.
But drawing, first and foremost, has always been Nickson’s basis for understanding art.
“[Drawing] is the most direct means of describing an experience or an idea,” Nickson said in a community statement, describing the discipline as “the most crucial pathway to understanding in art” that connects painting and sculpture.
His love for the practice was also described in a 2014 interview with Hyperallergic in which Nickson described his drawing and painting as tools that made his imagination “visible” as a young child. He also described the Studio School as a “special place” for arts educators that encourages them to prioritize their experiences as artists and be open to “the possibilities available to discover the adventure.”
“You have to open with questions; it is about opening people more than influencing them,” Nickson told Hyperallergic.
In celebration of Nickson’s tenure, the Studio School will host a special exhibition of his paintings and watercolors that will open on the same day as the school’s annual benefit on October 24, which marks the 60th anniversary since its founding.
In celebration of Nickson’s tenure, the Studio School will host a special exhibition of his paintings and watercolors that will open on the same day as the school’s annual benefit on October 24, which will mark the 60th anniversary since its founding.