The Museum of Modern Art 11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019
Honoring
James Little Louise Nevelson (In Memoriam) Robin Lechter Frank & Dr. Ronald Frank
Gala Co-Chairs
Erica & Jack Howard-Potter Mazuba Kapambwe-Mizzi & Joseph Mizzi
Music by
Ted Nash Trio
Join us this November for an evening of cocktails, dinner, and entertainment at the Museum of Modern Art to raise funds to support scholarships and all League programming.
Each year, the Art Students League reaches 5,000 students of all ages through our unique atelier-based art education. For nearly one hundred fifty years, our legendary history has been shaped by a mission to provide an accessible fine art education to all who seek it.
Art Students League instructors and students continue to define American art — from Jackson Pollock to Mark Rothko, from Louise Bourgeois to Yayoi Kusama, from Georgia O'Keeffe to Pacita Abad, and on and on. This Gala celebrates beloved League instructor James Little; patrons Robin Lechter Frank & Dr. Ronald Frank; and League alum Louise Nevelson, a leading sculptor of the twentieth century who pioneered site-specific and installation art.
The Art Students League's annual gala raises funds to keep arts education within reach for all New Yorkers and provides hundreds of scholarships. Through our Seeds of the League community program, we reach 8,000 New York City school children each year in underserved areas across the city. The arts help underserved students succeed: nearly 100% of Seeds students have gone on to college and to develop careers in the arts.
James Little is an artist and an instructor at the Art Students League. He holds a BFA from the Memphis Academy of Art and an MFA from Syracuse University and is a 2009 recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for Painting. In addition to being featured prominently in the 2022 Whitney Biennial, his work has been exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions around the world, including at MoMA P.S.1, New York, NY; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR; Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY; St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO; and the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC.
Louise Nevelson, an artist and League alum, was a leading sculptor of the twentieth century who pioneered site-specific and installation art with her monochromatic wood sculptures made of box-like structures and nested objects. Nevelson emigrated with her family from czarist Russia to the United States in 1905, settling in Rockland, Maine. By 1920, she had moved to New York City, where she enrolled at the Art Students League. An interest in shadow and space materialized in her first all-black sculptures, introducing a visual language that came to characterize much of her work from the mid-1950s onward. Her representation by a brief affiliation Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, in 1962, which positioned her as the first sculptor and first female Abstract Expressionist within Janis’s roster and was followed representation by Pace in 1963 to the present.
Robin Lechter Frank is an artist, patron, and the 56th President of the Art Students League. She has served on the League’s Board of Control since 2018, and as President since 2019. Her tenure has been defined by the deep and meaningful relationships she’s built with League instructors and students—particularly Harvey Dinnerstein, whose legacy Robin has been instrumental in promoting and preserving, through the creation of the League’s Dinnerstein Collection. As President, Frank successfully helped the League navigate daunting external crises. Her vision for the League is as radical as it is a return to form—by leading the League during the launch of our first online classes, Frank both charted new territory and deepened the institutions commitment to its mission of making art more accessible. Frank’s time as President has been defined by celebrations rather than challenges. She was instrumental in the relaunch of the Art Students League’s Dream Ball, a beloved tradition dating back the early 20th Century, and is currently helping to plan for the League’s upcoming 150th Anniversary, which will take place in 2025. Dr. Ronald Frank is a patron and advocate for League artists. As Robin’s partner, Ronald has been a steady and fortifying presence at the League for the greater part of a decade. His dedication to and support of League artists is unparalleled.
Artist, League Instructor, and 2024 Arts Students League Gala honoree James Little has created four benefit prints to support the League's mission to make fine art education accessible to all. Printed at Powerhouse Arts by Zaire Anderson, Luther Davis, and Thomas Zhuang, the four benefit prints are based on original artworks selected from the depth and breadth of Little’s career. They include a never-before-seen gouache on paper from the 1980s and a recent homage to the legendary singer and actress Eartha Kitt. Each print is in an edition of 50. Actual prints may differ slightly from what is pictured here.All proceeds benefit the mission of the Art Students League of New York.
Erica & Jack Howard-Potter Mazuba Kapambwe-Mizzi & Joseph G. Mizzi
Benefactors
Jonathan Dorfman & Melissa Kaish Pace Gallery Sciame Construction Co.
Leaders
Dorian S. Goldman & Marvin Israelow • Erica & Jack Howard-Potter • Robin B. Lechter Frank & Ronald Frank • Mazuba Kapambwe-Mizzi & Joseph G. Mizzi • Susan & John Horseman • Annabel Keelty • Julia Keelty • Petzel Gallery • Friends of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art • The Blue Rider Group at Morgan Stanley
Host Committee
Martin Bjaringer • Hon. Gale A. Brewer • Frederick Brosen • Jeff Buckland • Phong Bui • Bari Chase & Daniel Kalin • Ron Chereskin • Leon Cooperman • Crewcial Partners • Patricia Cronin • Bruce Dorfman • Diana Frank • Marilyn Friedman • Arne Glimcher • Agnes Gund • Howard & Meg Jacobs • Chiwoniso Kaitano • Deborah Kass • James Keagy • Ronnie Landfield • Nora R. Lawrence • Hon. Mark Levine • Nashormeh & Delroy Lindo • Fatima Shaik Little • Alexis Lowry • Tyler Mahowald • Jeffrey Meris • Susan Nash • Ted Nash • Patricia Marroquin Norby, The Metropolitan Museum of Art • Friedrich Petzel • Larry Poons • William Radin • Anthony Riotto • Jenny Santi • John Seery • Jenna Segal • Eric Shiner • Sharon Sprung • Louis Stern Fine Arts • Dan Tanzilli • UOVO • John A. Varriano • Chris Wanlass • Adam Weinberg • Deborah Winiarski
Honored Guest
Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo
The Gala is made possible by the support of generous partners and sponsors:
Featured Speakers
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Gallery
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Frequently Asked Questions
See below for frequently asked questions, or contact our clerks at 212-247-4510, ext. 6 or clerks@artstudentsleague.org.
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