Born in Brooklyn, New York, 1944.
Lives and works in New York City.
STATEMENT
My drawings are an investigation of nature and landscape that also reflect a long-standing involvement with an abstract sense of all-over composition. I work exclusively with graphite, eschewing any color, bringing the viewer into a different, less familiar experience of the natural world. I apply the graphite in such a way that the fiber of the paper and the graphite particles are intertwined to eliminate the appearance of any distinctive graphite marks and the texture of the paper to produce a sense of pure form.
I create precise, highly realized shapes that present a close-up view of nature just a few feet from the viewer, in some ways more akin to the space of still life than of traditional landscape. The works may carry with them a sense of poetry or the unreality of dream or fantasy.
I work with 2B to 10H graphite leads on four-ply cold pressed paper. I spend months working on each drawing, depending on its size, developing the images and working in small sections from left to right across the paper. While the process is meditative and demanding of patience and focus, I am immersed in depicting each element of the image while orchestrating movements of form and tone across the entire surface.
In my earlier work, I used 35mm slides I took in nature as the basis for my work, often combining parts of several slides to create a drawing. I did not copy a slide. Instead, I looked at the slide or slides I was referencing for the drawing and used a 18-power jeweler’s loupe, then drew from memory what I had just looked at, allowing the images to provoke new ideas and inventions. A great amount of imagery is developed through imagination. I make final alterations using a “bridge” to keep my hand from ever touching the paper. Most of the slides were taken in a nature preserve in upstate New York.
In recent years I’ve switched to taking digital images with my cell phone and then interpret directly from these images, magnifying when necessary. I continue to feel free to invent and move forms around as I work on the image, moving across the page from left to right as I have always done.
EDUCATION
1970
M.F.A., University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
1968
M.A., University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
1966
B.F.A., Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015–16
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
2011
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
2003
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1995–96
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1989
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1986
Tomasulo Gallery, Union County College, Cranford, NJ
1985
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA
1983
Allen R. Hite Art Institute, University of Louisville, KY
1980
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1973
Irwin Tuttle Gallery, Dallas, TX
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025
Summer in Black and White, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY, July 10–August 29, 2025
2019
Four Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Kaufman Gallery, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA, January 23–February 28, 2019
2018
Flowering, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY, June 21–September 10, 2018
2017
Summer Gardens: Representational and Abstract, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY, July 10–September 1, 2017
2016
Fine Arts Faculty Exhibition I: Sublime Resonance, The Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, October 13–November 1, 2016
Tiny Treasures, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY, July 7–September 1, 2016
2013
Seeing Voices: Contemporary Drawing, University of Nevada Las Vegas Donna Beam Gallery, Las Vegas, NV, November 8–December 13, 2013
2012
Celebrating 40 Years, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
Pencil Pushed, Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, September 17–October 28, 2012
2011
National Academy Annual Exhibition, National Academy Museum, New York, NY, January 25–April 22, 2011
2010
REAL(ists), Selby Gallery, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL, January 15–February 16, 2010
2009
Summer Group Exhibition, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
2008
Faculty Show, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
2006
Faculty Show, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
Drawing the Line, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
Gifts from the Glenn C. Janss Collection, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID
2005
Botanicals: Contemporary and Historical, Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, GA, March 11–April 17, 2005
2004
11th International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, October 24, 2004 to February 28, 2005
Faculty Show, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
Foliage, Kraushaar Galleries, New York, NY
Summertime, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
2003
Black & White, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
Landscape: Unique Views, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
2002
Celebrating 30 Years, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
Collector’s Show, The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
Summer, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
2001–02
Collector’s Show, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
Winter Orchidarium, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY, and the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
2001
I Love New York, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
2000
Collector’s Show, The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
1999–00
Contemporary American Realist Drawings: The Jalane and Richard Davidson Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Gateways, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1999
Summer Light, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1998
The Power of the Line: Contemporary Drawings by Twenty-Two International Artists, Taipei Gallery, New York, NY
25 Years, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1997–98
Collector’s Show, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
1997
Nancy Hoffman: A Perspective on Art, Flanders Contemporary Art, Minneapolis, MN
1996
Small Scale, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York
Summer Pleasures, Summer Treasures, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1995
Poetic Images in American Realism, Sun Valley Center Gallery, Ketchum, ID
1994
A Bouquet for Juan, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
Series and Editions, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1993
20 Years, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1992
Drawings II, Koplin Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
An Ode to Gardens and Flowers, Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, NY
Preview, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1991
Black and White, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1990
Divergent Styles: Contemporary American Drawing, University Gallery, College of Fine Arts, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
1989–90
Naturalism: Selections from the Glenn C. Janss Collection, organized by Smith Kramer. Traveled to: Schneider Museum of Art, Southern Oregon State College, Ashland, OR, April 2–May 10, 1989; Paris Gibson Square, Center for Contemporary Arts, Great Falls, MT, December 10, 1989–January 28, 1990; Redding Museum and Art Center, Redding, CA, February 18–April 1, 1990; Fresno Arts Center and Museum, Fresco, CA, June 24–August 5, 1990; Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA, September 2–October 28, 1990
1989
Small is Big, Parsons School of Design, New York, NY
Summer Pleasures: Water, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1987
Drawing: The New Tradition, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL
1986–87
Contemporary Romantic Landscape, Orlando Museum of Art at Loch Haven, Orlando, FL, December 14, 1986–January 25, 1987
Summer Group Show, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
Works on Paper, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1985–87
American Realism: Twentieth-Century Drawings and Watercolors from the Glenn C. Janss Collection, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA, November 7, 1985–January 12, 1986. Traveled to: DeCordova & Dana Museum and Park, Lincoln, MA, February 13–April 6, 1986; Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, University of Texas, Austin, Austin, TX, July 31–September 21, 1986; Mary & Leigh Block Gallery, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, October 23–December 14, 1986; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA, January 15–March 8, 1987; Akron Art Museum, OH, April 9–May 31, 1987; Madison Art Center, WI, July 26–September 20, 1987
1985
Focus on Realism: Selections from the Glenn C. Janss Collection, Boise Art Gallery, Boise, ID
Winter Solstice, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY and Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA
American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, 37th Annual Purchase Exhibition Hassam and Speicher Fund, North Gallery, New York, NY, November 18–December 15, 1985
1984
Summer Group Show, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1982–83
Perspectives on Contemporary American Realism: Works of Art on Paper from the Collection of Jalane and Richard Davidson, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, December 17, 1982–February 20, 1983; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, April 1–May 20, 1983
1982
Major New Works: Tenth Anniversary Show, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
Nature Transformed, Virginia Commonwealth University, Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA, February 16–March 5, 1982
Works on Paper, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
Prints and Drawings by Gail Cohen Edelman, Naomi Hilton, Bill Richards, Aida Whedon, New Rochelle Public Library, New Rochelle, NY, October 27–November 12, 1982
1981–83
Contemporary American Realism Since 1960, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, September 18–December 13, 1981. Traveled to: Virginia Museum, Richmond, VA, February 3–March 28, 1982; The Oakland Museum of Art, Oakland, CA, May 8–July 18, 1982; Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal, September 10–October 24, 1982; Salas de Exposiciones de Bellas Artes, Madrid, Spain, November 17, 1982–January 8, 1982; Kunsthalle, Nuremberg, Germany, February 11–April 10, 1983
1981
The American Landscape: Recent Developments, Whitney Museum of American Art, Fairfield County, Stamford, CT, October 23–December 9, 1981
The Contemporary American Landscape, Hirschl & Adler Contemporaries, New York, NY, May 2–29, 1981
Pratt Stars—Winners All, Pratt Manhattan Center Gallery, New York, NY and Pratt Institute Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, May 28–June 20
1980
American Drawing in Black and White: 1970–1980, The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, November 22, 1980–January 18, 1981
Contemporary Drawings and Watercolors, Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, January 19–March 2, 1980
On Paper, Institute of Contemporary Art of the Virginia Museum, Richmond, VA, September 19–October 12, 1980
Works on Paper, Newhouse Gallery, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY, July 12–August 3, 1980
1979
Selections of Photo-Realist Paintings from New York City Galleries, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, PA, May 12–July 8, 1979
1978
American Drawing—New Directions—New York, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Major New Works, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY
1977
Contemporary Landscape, Image and Idea, C.A.P.A., Queensborough Community College, Queens, NY, April 13–May 12, 1977
Outside The City Limits: Landscape by New York City Artists, organized by the Gallery Association of New York State. Traveled to: Thorpe Intermedia Gallery, Sparkill, NY, October 16–November 20, 1977; SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY, February 17–March 8, 1978; Niagara Community College, Sanborn, NY, March 31–April 28, 1978; Lake Placid School of Art, Lake Placid, NY, May 22–June 14, 1978; Roberson Center, Binghamton, NY, June 22–July 27, 1978; Rochester Business Committee for the Arts, Rochester, NY, July 28–September 1, 1978; SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia, NY, September 8–October 6, 1978; Alfred University, Alfred, NY, October 8–November 10, 1978
1976–77
Drawings, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY, November 6–December 9, 1976. Traveling to Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE, January 4–28, 1977
1976
Aspects of Realism, University of Notre Dame, The Art Gallery, Notre Dame, IN
1975
Drawings, DM Gallery, London, England
Major New Works, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY, September 13–October 9
Summer Show, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY, June 27–July 31
1970
A Decade of Accomplishment-American Prints and Drawings of the 1960's, Illinois Bell Telephone Co., Chicago, IL, January 12–February 27, 1970
2nd Annual Invitational Drawing Show 1970, co-organized by Gallery Directors, SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo, NY, January 20–31; SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY, February 5–25; SUNY Cortland, Cortland, NY, March 3–April 14; and SUNY Brockport, Brockport, NY, May 1–31, 1970
1969
Invitational Drawing and Small Sculpture Show, University of Illinois, Normal, IL
1968
Drawings—New York, Richard Feigen Gallery, Chicago, IL, November 26, 1968–January 11, 1969
Seven Young Talents from Iowa, Richard Feigen Gallery, Chicago, IL, May 28–June 29, 1968
1967
First National Student Printmakers Exhibition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
The 48th Annual Exhibition of The Society of American Graphic Artists, presented at The Associated American Artists Gallery, New York, NY, March 16–April 1, 1967
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, NY
Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (formerly The Arkansas Art Center), Little Rock, AR
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Asheville Art Museum, Asheville, NC
Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID
Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, NY
Glenn C. Janss Collection, Sun Valley, ID
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
Takasawa Institution, Sokei Academy of Fine Arts, Tokyo, Japan
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
GRANTS
1977–78
National Endowment for the Arts, Visual Arts Program
1975–76
Creative Artists Public Service Programs (CAPS) New York
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
1999–2021
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
Adjunct Associate Professor, 2008–21
Adjunct Assistant Professor, 2005–07
Visiting Assistant Professor, 1999–05
1989
Parsons The New School for Design, New York, NY
1977–78
State University of New York, Purchase, NY
1977–78
School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
1968–70
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Teaching Assistant
JUROR
2006
National Scholastic Awards, drawings and works on paper
1987
Border to Border: National Biennial Drawing Competition, Margaret Fort Trahern Gallery, Department of Art, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books and Exhibition Catalogues
Four Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Shippensburg University, PA, 2019. Illustrated.
Petry, Michael. Nature Morte: Contemporary Artists Reinvigorate the Still Life. London: Thames and Hudson, 2013. Illustrated.
Pencil Pushed, Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 2012. Illustrated.
REAL(ists), Selby Gallery, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL, 2010. Illustrated.
11th International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration by James J. White and Lugene B. Bruno, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Melon University, Pittsburgh, PA, October 24, 2004–February 28, 2005.
Winter Orchidarium, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY, and the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH, 2001.
Fine, Ruth, Raymond Hernandez-Duran and Mark Pascale. Contemporary American Realist Drawings, The Jalane and Richard Davidson Collection at The Art Institute of Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1999. Illustrated.
Divergent Styles: Contemporary American Drawing, University Gallery, College of Fine Arts, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, February 18–March 18, 1990.
Arthur, John. Spirit of Place: Contemporary Landscape Painting & the American Tradition. New York: Bulfinch Press, Little Brown and Company, 1989. Illustrated.
Philippe Jaccottet Selected Poems, Wake Forest University Press, Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Penguin Books, 1988, dust jacket illustration.
American Realism: Twentieth-Century Drawings and Watercolors from the Glenn C. Janss Collection, essay by Alvin Martin. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1986. Illustrated.
Perspectives on Contemporary American Realism: Works of Art on Paper from the Collection of Jalane and Richard Davidson. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 1982. Illustrated. Essay by Frank H. Goodyear, Jr.
Goodyear, Frank H., Jr. Contemporary American Realism Since 1960. New York Graphic Society, Boston, in assoc. with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1981. Illustrated.
The American Landscape: Recent Developments, Whitney Museum of American Art, Fairfield County, 1981. Illustrated.
The Contemporary American Landscape, Hirschl & Adler Contemporaries, NY, 1981. Illustrated.
Contemporary Landscape, Image and Idea, CAPA (Community Arts Programs Association), Queensborough Community College, CUNY, Bayside, NY, 1977. Illustrated.
Outside The City Limits: Landscape by New York City Artists, Thorpe Intermedia Gallery, Sparkill, NY, 1977. Illustrated.
Drawings, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY, November 6-December 9, 1976 and Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE. Illustrated.
Articles and Reviews
Anderson, John J. "Seven Young Talents from Iowa." ArtScene, May 1968. Illustrated.
Anderson, L. Review, Village Voice, December 6, 1976, p. 90, Vol. XXI, No. 49.
Art Research, 1996 - 2, Beijing. Cover image, Convergence at the Springs, 1992. All text in Chinese.
Art Today, “The Glenn Janss Collection of Realist Drawings and Watercolors.” Winter 1986–87, pp. 30–34. Illustrated.
Barry, Edward. "Viewing Man with a Grin and a Scream." Chicago Tribune, May 26, 1968.
Bass, Ruth. "The Illusion of Reality." ARTnews, December 1981, p. 79.
Baxter, Robert. “American Realism: Works on Exhibit in Stunning Detail.” Courier-Post, Philadelphia, January 9, 1983.
Cohen, Ronny H., "Drawing the Meticulous Realist Way." Drawing, Vol. III, No. 6, March–April 1982. Illustrated.
Gallati, Barbara. "American Landscape." Arts, September 1981, pp. 24–25. Illustrated.
Glauber, Robert. “Drawings, Lecture Offer Pair of Satisfying Shows.” Skyline Chicago, December 11, 1968.
Haydon, Harold. ”Esthetic Gifts for Christmas.” Chicago Sun-Times, December 1, 1968.
Hoelterhoff, Manuela. "Four Artists Who Draw." Arts, November 1976, pp. 78–80. Illustrated.
Johnson, Ken. “Winter Orchidarium.” The New York Times, December 21, 2001, p. E45.
Karlins, N.F. “Drawing Notebook.” artnet.com/magazine/reviews, January 15, 2002. Illustrated.
Kunter, Janet. "An Uneven Balance in 3 Tuttle Shows." Dallas Morning News, February 10, 1973.
Lubell, Ellen. Review. Arts Magazine, January 1977, pp. 35–36. Illustrated.
Master-Karnik, Paul. “Newest Newhouse Exhibit Taps Talent from Other Galleries.” Staten Island Advance, July 25, 1980.
Stewart-Sanabria, Denise. "East Tennessee Regional Update." Number 74, Memphis, Tennessee, 2013, p. 7. Illustrated.
McRary, Amy. “Pushing the Form: New Exhibit Goes Beyond the Line.” Knoxville News Sentinel, September 22, 2012. Illustrated.
Nicoli, Anthony. Arts, Summer 1985, p. 4. Illustrated.
Pellicone, William. "A Renaissance of Pencil Pushers." Artspeak, April 24, 1980.
Portfolio, “Editor’s Choice.” May/June 1981.
Raynor, Vivien. "Art: A Tranquil Show of American Landscape." The New York Times, May 15, 1981.
Stapp, Duane. Review, Arts, June 1980, pp. 27–28. Illustrated.
Tweed’s Magazine of Literature and Art, Issue 1, 2014, p. 61. Illustration (Hudson River Park #8) for short story by Lydia Davis, “Pearl and Pearline.”
F.D.V. ”Bill Richards.” Art News, February 1990, p. 157. Illustrated.
Village Voice, “Voice Choices.” December 6, 1976, p. 90. Illustrated.
Westchester, “Three CAPS Winners.” March 1976, p. 80.