I would like to talk to you about John Stermer’s education at The Art Students League of New York during the late 1940s and early 1950s. This was a key time in his development as an artist.
To explain, this is the second in a series of articles on John Stermer’s life and artistic development. Part one talks about John Stermer’s formative years in Elmira NY as well as his service in the Navy during World War II.
As a reminder, this series of articles is based on the research done prior to the 2021 retrospective of his work. Mixed in the narrative are memories as told to John Stermer’s children.
Art Students League of New York, 1947-1951*
After receiving an honorable discharge from the US Navy in 1946, John planned to use his GI Bill benefits to pursue a university education in architecture. But his mentor Lars Hoftrup, and artist Arthur Abrams encouraged John to visit the Art Students League of New York (ASL). This experience convinced John that the study of art was to be his path in life.
John began taking classes at the ASL in 1947. Life drawing was his early focus as he believed it was foundational to the development of the finished piece. By 1950 he had broadened his artistic reach by taking painting classes with instructors such as Russian-born Morris Kantor, known for realistic and abstract works, and Italian-born Louis Bosa, an expressionist painter.
During his ASL years, John mastered life drawing and print making. He painted cityscapes, rivers, and bridges from New York and into Canada. He learned technical skills such as stretching canvases and framing. Artistically, his coloration became more subjective. John mastered linear perspective and experimented with color theory. His motifs continued to be people and places.
At age 30, the Arnot Art Museum in Elmira hosted John Stermer’s first one-man art show. Though the subject matter was largely of the Elmira area, the display also included scenes from New York City and Maine. A news-clipping published at the time shows a group of school children viewing his paintings while being addressed by a museum guide.
After four years of classes at the ASL, John, again heeded the encouragement of friends and patrons and looked to Europe for further studies. He married his muse, Lucianna, and on their wedding day they boarded a ship and sailed for Paris, France.
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*Excerpt from John Stermer Retrospective, Western New Mexico University, Silver City NM; 2021. ©John Stermer Estate/ Stermer Art LLC. Research and Writing Team: Dorothy Stermer, Maria Jensen, Paula Geisler, and Margaret Stermer-Cox,