This semester in the class for Graphic Communications Workshop, there has been two trips. The first being a trip to Wall Street and the second was traveling to Lexington Avenue 63rd Street to the Society of Illustrators. This old and compact building was gorgeous, treasuring about 2,000 works of art.
To start off, the class was informed that the building was established in 1875 as the carriage house. We were introduced to the great history of the establishment as it had undergone some pretty crazy events. The building was once a dwelling to nude artists who would perform to audiences as a form of entertainment for people who had purchased tickets for these events. When law enforcement found out, they attempted to jail the personnel, this action was feeble as it had only helped to add publicity to such a place to later be bought out by a great company. Their first association began right there in 1901 and they have remained in the location ever since.
In addition to finding out the intriguing history of the Society of Illustrators, the class was pleased to hear that there is a yearly student competition in March and April and were encouraged to participate. Our tour guide not only encouraged our participation in the competition but to also submit our work to their establishment for publicity because art directors attend their viewings. Along with many other interesting fact, the tour guide mentioned, the original art in the establishment has been held for 35 years.
To move onto the events taking place in this town house, the tour guide mentioned that there had been a ghost dwelling. Aside from the ghost talk, the rooms are all full of beautiful artwork. On the third floor you may find comic drawings all over the walls, even in the bathroom! As you walk up the steps you’ll encounter illustrations of all sorts including artistic portraits. The floor above has a beautifully designed, spacious, well-lit dining area. Every Tuesday and Thursday, figure drawings are held with both nude and clothed models.
New York City is home to the great building housing the Society of Illustrators. On this trip, we had gained so much information, half of it wouldn’t even fit into this essay. Overall, the trip was absolutely a pleasure from the interior design of the building, to the historical pieces of art residing within. Society of Illustrators is definitely a place I would love to revisit as there is much to do. Who knows, maybe I will get to see all 2,000 works of art.
