NEW YORK, NY.- The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the eight artists who will receive its 2010 awards in art. The awards will be presented in New York City in May at the Academy's annual Ceremonial. The art prizes, totaling $62,500, honor both established and emerging artists. The award winners were chosen from a group of 37 artists who had been invited to participate in the Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts, which opened on March 11, 2010. The Invitational Exhibition continues through April 11, 2010, and features over 120 paintings, sculptures, photographs and works on paper. The members of this year's award selection committee were: William Bailey, Chuck Close, Eric Fischl, Jane Freilicher, Judy Pfaff, Martin Puryear (chair), Robert Ryman, and Ursula von Rydingsvard.

Works by the winners of the 2010 Art Awards are currently on display in the Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts. It will remain on display for the Exhibition of Work by Newly Elected Members and Recipients of Honors and Awards, which follows the Ceremonial in May.

Academy Awards in Art

Five Academy Awards in Art for $7500 each honor exceptional accomplishment and to encourage creative work.

• Gabrielle Bakker
• Lothar Osterburg
• Julianne Swartz
• Tom Uttech
• Stanley Whitney

Jimmy Ernst Award in Art

The $5000 Jimmy Ernst Award in Art is given to an artist "whose lifetime contribution to his or her vision has been both consistent and dedicated.'' William Christenberry

Willard L. Metcalf Award in Art

The $10,000 Willard L. Metcalf Award honors a young artist of great promise. John Grade

Rosenthal Family Foundation Award in Painting

The $10,000 Rosenthal Family Foundation Award is presented to a ''young American painter of distinction.'' Aaron Gilbert

Art Purchase Program

The Academy's purchase program began in 1946 to place the work of talented, living American artists in museums across the country. Since the inauguration of the purchase program, the Academy has spent nearly $3 million to purchase over 1100 works of art. The American Impressionist painter Childe Hassam (1859-1935) founded this program through the bequest of over 400 of his works with the stipulation that the accumulated income from their sale be used to establish a fund to purchase paintings and works on paper. Similar bequests were made by Academy members Eugene Speicher (1883-1962), Louis Betts (1873-1961), and Gardner Symons (1861-1930). All works purchased through this program will be donated to American museums.

Laura Battle, Beverly Fishman, Aaron Gilbert, Elliott Green, Dan Gustin, Suzanne Joelson, Michael Knutson, John Lees, Sangram Majumdar, Andrew Masullo, Mary Putman, Jane Rosen, Joseph Santore, Gwen Strahle, Mette Tommerup, Jack Wax