NEW YORK.- The national Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America today announced a major new educational initiative conceived to further its mission of advancing the practice and appreciation of the classical tradition in architecture, urbanism and the allied arts. It is made possible by a leadership grant from the Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund with the guidance of ICA&CA trustee and New York artist Jacob Collins. Classes will begin in September 2006.

The Grand Central Academy of Art will operate in a 2,700 square foot suite of studios on the sky-lit sixth floor of the Institute's New York headquarters, in the landmark General Society building. It marks The Institute's first comprehensive program of instruction devoted to painting and drawing. Curriculum will be conceived as a mutually-reinforcing complement to the architectural, urban planning and related design instruction offered by the Institute since its founding fifteen years ago. The historic plaster casts collection received by the ICA&CA from the Metropolitan Museum of Art of artistic masterpieces of the Western canon will constitute a compelling daily resource for the rigorous study envisioned at The Academy just as these casts enrich the core architectural program.

The Grand Central Academy of Art has been created by professional, exhibiting artists to offer classical training for students intent on making the fine arts their career. The Academy will establish and maintain an effective environment for classical, progressive instruction of painting and drawing.

Painter and faculty member Michael Grimaldi said, "As conceived by the Institute and inaugural faculty, the Academy's curriculum is designed around a three-year, full-time Intensive Program. Students will devote their time and disciplined study to learning the fundamental and advanced concepts and skills of drawing and painting from both the antique and direct observation. During this three-year Intensive Program, students will work in a systematic, organized environment with the hands-on guidance of the school's instructors-- immersed in studies that ensure an objective understanding of visual phenomenon and the classical principles of form, design, practice and discipline. Evening and weekend classes will also be offered for artists of varying skills and backgrounds along with special symposia and public lectures on related themes and topics including the humanistic impulses that have enlivened classicism throughout its history."

ICA&CA president Paul Gunther added, "The past thirty years have seen a growing interest in a classical artistic revival among artists and the public. In the middle of the twentieth century, the classical tradition in art was at low ebb. The art student who tried to forge ahead as a traditional figurative artist in the sixties and seventies was in for a lonely journey. Today, interest in realist art among students and in the marketplace is resurgent across a broad spectrum of media and thematic content." He concluded, "The ICA&CA has long believed that the convergence of fine art and architecture has been unnecessarily severed and the new Academy provides a chance to draw from cultural memory in reconstituting it. With the example of these students, the Academy will help re-establish an understanding of classical art as inextricably tied to classical architecture."

Grand Central Academy of Art co-founder Jacob Collins said, "There are many practitioners today across the country and in Europe who have been attempting this revival of classical training. Mostly, they start out with an artist taking on a few students. Sometimes these efforts evolve into actual small schools. However, the major American institutions of art have not participated in this change. In fact, there is no existing art institution of any real scale that offers a program in classical art or that supports the classical or traditional art movement."

"In addition, there are a growing number of commercial art galleries devoted to the careers of classical realists. Many of their clients live in New York. There is also a large community of painters and sculptors here who are contributing to this evolving art world. But there is no institutional center for these artists. An art school devoted to aesthetic refinement, patience, skills developed to the very highest level, beauty, proportion and a classical humanist optimism will fill this pedagogical void. The time has come for artists to come together to develop a real aesthetic philosophy for this revival of the classical tradition in painting. It could motivate a dormant passion in many artists and patrons in America. But, more importantly, it will be a chance to train artists."

"The board, staff and growing national constituency of the Institute wholeheartedly and gratefully acknowledge the Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund for making possible this auspicious new cornerstone of the Institute's academic program," said Arthur Ross Director of Education Victor Deupi. "We look forward to welcoming the first class as the fall 2006 semester gets under way as part of an overall curriculum intent on linking design and the fine arts. In this way too we hope to advance knowledge of the classical legacy among an eager general public for the sake of both our present culture as well as that of future generations."

To be considered eligible for admission to the Intensive Program, applicants must show through portfolio submission and interviews a serious work ethic, sincere desire to learn, and devotion to the desire to make fine arts their career as outlined on the online application available at www.classicist.org.