In May 2024, Arts and Letters will host a conversation moderated by Jamillah James on the occasion of the reissue of The Theater of Refusal: Black Art and Mainstream Criticism.
A day of writing and creative abundance
Saturday, December 2, 2023
A video recording of tributes to Eric Bentley, Robert Bly, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Frederic Rzewski, and Stephen Sondheim is now available.
You are invited to attend a concert at the American Academy of Arts and Letters on Sunday, October 22, 2022, at 3 pm
Sean Shepherd has been chosen to receive the 2024 Charles Ives Living Award, which will provide him with an income of $100,000 a year for two years.
Newly elected Foreign Honorary Member Andrey Kurkov delivered the Blashfield Address, entitled “Rain, Snow, and Ashes,” and our highest awards were presented to Susan Unterberg, Helen Hennessy Vendler, and Faith Ringgold.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters presented a reading of tributes on Tuesday, April 11, at 6 p.m. EST. Video of the tributes is now available.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters announces the recipients of its highest honors for excellence in the arts.
Lewis Loves Clark and Marie in Tomorrow Land have won the 2023 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater.
Eighteen writers receive awards totaling over $200,000.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters announces the recipients of the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize and four Arts and Letters Awards.
Sixteen composers receive this year’s awards in music, which total $195,000.
Nineteen new members and four honorary members will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters during its annual Ceremonial on May 24, 2023.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters announces the winners of the 2023 Charles Ives Opera Prize and the Marc Blitzstein Memorial Awards.
You are invited to attend a concert on Sunday, December 4, 2022, at 3 p.m.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters presented a reading of tributes on Thursday, November 10, at 6 p.m. EST. Video of the tributes is now available.
On Wednesday, May 18, 2022, the Academy held its annual Ceremonial. View the recording here.
Fifteen artists receive awards and purchases totaling $240,000.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters announces the recipients of the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize and four Arts and Letters Awards.
You are invited to attend a concert on Sunday, May 1, 2022, at 3 p.m.
Driving in Circles and Perpetual Sunshine & the Ghost Girls have won the 2022 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters announces the recipients of its highest honors for excellence in the arts.
Sixteen writers receive awards totaling over $200,000.
A statement from the Board of Directors.
The Academy announces its 2022 Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts, an annual event for Academy members to honor contemporary artists who they believe are making some of today’s most important and timely work.
18 new members and three honorary members will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters during its annual Ceremonial on May 18, 2022.
Eighteen composers receive this year’s awards in music, which total $205,000.
You are invited to attend a concert on Sunday, March 13, 2022, at 3 p.m.
Philosopher and writer Kwame Anthony Appiah has been elected President of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
The Academy appoints Jenny Jaskey as its new Chief Curator and Director of Art Awards.
Tributes for William Bailey, Mario Davidovsky, Ward Just, Wolf Kahn, and Terrence McNally will be read over Zoom on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, at 7 p.m. EST.
You are invited to attend a fall concert on Sunday, November 7, 2021.
The Pied Piper Children’s Theatre of New York City will be presenting Oklahoma! by Academy members Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Saturday, June 5, 12, and 19, 2021 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Tributes for Henry Cobb, Toni Morrison, I. M. Pei, and Charles Wuorinen were read over Zoom on Wednesday, June 16, at 7 p.m. EDT. A video recording is now available.
On May 22, 2021, the radio program and podcast Person Place Thing, hosted by Randy Cohen, posted an interview with Academy member Annie Proulx.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters announces the recipients of the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize and four Arts and Letters Awards.
April 14, 2021 statement from Board of Directors.
Eighteen writers receive awards totaling $600,000.
Yehudi Wyner, Rita Dove, and Phong Bui receive top awards in Music, Poetry, and Service to the Arts.
Eighteen artists receive awards and purchase prizes totaling $500,000.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters presented a reading of tributes over Zoom on Thursday, April 8, from 7 to 8 p.m EDT. A video recording is now available.
Twenty-nine new members and four honorary members will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters during its virtual award ceremony on May 19 at 7 p.m. EST.
The Monster, Oratorio for Living Things, and TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix have won the 2021 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater.
Eighteen composers receive this year’s awards in music, which total $225,000.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters presented a reading of tributes over Zoom on Wednesday, February 24, from 7 to 8 p.m. EST. A video recording is now available.
On November 7, 2020, the radio program and podcast Person Place Thing, hosted by Randy Cohen, broadcast an interview with Academy member George Lewis.
On October 31, 2020, the radio program and podcast Person Place Thing, hosted by Randy Cohen, broadcast an interview with Academy member David Sedaris.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters presented a reading of tributes over Zoom on Thursday, November 12, from 7 to 8 p.m. EST. A video recording is now available.
June 5, 2020 statement from Board of Directors.
Billie Tsien on recommittment to the arts in times of vulnerability.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters announces the recipients of the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize and four Arts and Letters Awards.
Peter Eisenman, David W. Blight, Richard Powers, and Bill Henderson receive top awards in Architecture, History, Literature, and Service to the Arts.
The Academy has cancelled all spring events in the interest of public health.
Twenty-four artists receive awards and purchase prizes totaling $295,000.
Leslie Marmon Silko wins the second biennial $100,000 Christopher Lightfoot Walker Award for a significant literary contribution, and eighteen writers receive literature prizes.
In the Green and The Loophole have won the 2020 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater.
Due to the public health risk posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Academy is postponing An Afternoon of Music and Art, originally scheduled for Sunday, March 22, 2020, to a future date.
Academy to induct thirteen new members in May 2020.
Seventeen recipients receive this year’s awards in music, which total $235,000.
In the interest of public health the Academy is closing its galleries for the remainder of its originally scheduled run for the Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts.
The Academy has awarded its 2019 Presidential Citation to Jim Pratzon, a drama and English teacher at Lyons Community School in Brooklyn.
On October 22, 2019, the Academy received the Archives Medal from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art.
On Friday, December 13, 2019, at 7 p.m. Randy Cohen of Person Place Thing will interview Meredith Monk in the Academy Library. The event is free and open to the public but reservations are required.
The 2019 Blashfield Address, entitled The Gift of Gayness: A Tell-All, was delivered by David Del Tredici on May 22nd, 2019, at the Academy’s annual Ceremonial.
On Tuesday, June 11, 2019, at 7 p.m. Randy Cohen will interview Art Spiegelman in the Academy Library. The event is free and open to the public but reservations are required.
Paintings, works on paper, photographs, video, sketchbooks, architectural models, renderings, and original manuscripts will be on view from May 23 through June 16 at the Academy galleries.
Lee Bontecou and Toni Morrison will receive Gold Medals in Sculpture and Fiction, respectively. Thelma Golden will receive the 2019 Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts.
Listen to the panel discussion featuring David Cohen of artcritical and art award winners Judith Bernstein, Charlotte de Larminat, Inka Essenhigh, Alain Kirili, and Doron Langberg.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters announces the recipients of the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize and four Arts and Letters Awards.
Listen to the panel discussion featuring David Cohen of artcritical and art award winners Judith Bernstein, Charlotte de Larminat, Inka Essenhigh, Alain Kirili, and Doron Langberg.
Twenty-six artists receive awards and purchase prizes totaling over $250,000.
Seventeen writers will receive the Academy’s 2019 awards in literature.
In mid-May, Lorrie Moore, secretary, will induct eleven members into the 250-person organization and Billie Tsien, president, will induct five foreign honorary members.
Sixteen recipients receive this year’s awards in music, which total $195,000.
Bhangin’ it and The Lucky Ones have won the 2019 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater.
Paintings, sculptures, video, photographs, and works on paper by 32 contemporary artists will be exhibited from Thursday, March 7 through Sunday, April 7, 2019.
The Academy has awarded its 2018 Presidential Citation to Gerry Irizarry, a design teacher at Urban Assembly Maker Academy in Manhattan.
The 2018 Blashfield Address, entitled The Ideal of Excellence, was delivered by Paula Kerger on May 23, 2018, at the Academy’s annual Ceremonial.
Winners of the Gold Medals in Music and Biography, the Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts, and the Medal for Spoken Language.
Works will be on view from May 24 through June 17 at the Academy galleries.
Smiljan Radic, Brad Cloepfil, MASS Design Group, Cassim Shepard, and William Stout receive awards.
A statement from the Board responding to sexual misconduct allegations against members.
Twenty-four artists receive awards and purchase prizes.
Gun & Powder and KPOP have won the 2018 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater.
The $100,000 award recognizes a writer of distinction who has made a significant contribution to American literature.
Fifteen established and emerging writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry receive awards totaling $185,000.
Eighteen composers receive awards totaling $225,000.
Five artists, eight writers, and three composers elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The induction ceremony will be held in May 2018.
Architect Billie Tsien was elected president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Ms. Tsien, who was inducted into the Academy in 2007, will serve a three-year term from January 2018 to January 2021.
On Sunday, March 18, 2018, at 3 p.m., Ensemble Échappé will play contemporary classical works by the winners of the 2017 Arts and Letters Awards in Music in the Academy’s Library. A reception will then follow in the galleries where the 2018 Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts, with works by 35 contemporary artists, will be on view.
The $40,000 award, endowed by the Virgil Thomson Foundation and administered by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, recognizes an American composer of vocal works.
Paintings, sculptures, video, film, and works on paper by 35 contemporary artists will be exhibited in the galleries of the American Academy of Arts and Letters on historic Audubon Terrace (Broadway between 155 and 156 Streets) from Thursday, March 8 through Sunday, April 8, 2018.
Huck Hodge has won the Charles Ives Living Award and will receive $200,000 over a two-year period beginning in July 2018.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters has awarded its 2017 Presidential Citation to Graham Johnson, a music teacher at Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (WHEELS) in Manhattan.
Cody Upton has been appointed Executive Director of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, beginning July 1, 2017. He will succeed Virginia Dajani, who is retiring after 27 years. Upton will be the fifth Executive Director in the Academy’s 119-year history.
The 2017 Blashfield Address, entitled The Wounded Deer Leaps Highest: Motives for Metaphor, was delivered by Joyce Carol Oates on May 17, 2017, at the Academy’s annual Ceremonial.
Works by newly elected members and recipients of honors and awards will be on view from May 18 through June 11, at the Academy galleries located on Audubon Terrace in Washington Heights.
19 writers of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry receive 2017 awards in literature, totaling $265,000.
The Academy gives awards in architecture to Diébédo Francis Kéré, Theaster Gates, Paul Goldberger, Walter Hood, and John Ronan.
The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the nine artists who will receive its 2017 awards in art. The art prizes and purchases, totaling over $250,000, honor both established and emerging artists.
On Sunday, March 19th, 2017, Ensemble Échappé will play contemporary classical works by the winners of the 2016 Arts and Letters Awards in Music.
Sixteen composers receive awards totaling $195,000.
In mid-May, Calvin Trillin, secretary, will induct fourteen newly elected members and President Yehudi Wyner will induct three new foreign honorary members.
What I Learned from People by Will Aronson and Hue Park received a Production Award.
Paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and installations by 35 contemporary artists will be on view in the Academy’s galleries from Thursday, March 9 to Sunday, April 9, 2017, 1 – 4 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
The Academy has launched a new website. Please contact [email protected] with feedback.
Seventeen composers receive awards in music totaling $205,000.
The Academy announces the winners of the country’s two largest prizes for composers of vocal music. The Charles Ives Opera Prize of $50,000 will be given to Lewis Spratlan and James Maraniss for Life is a Dream. The Virgil Thomson Award of $40,000 will go to Kate Soper.
Phyllis Lambert is awarded the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture of $20,000. Four Arts and Letters Awards in Architecture of $10,000 each go to Andrew Berman, Eric Bunge and Mimi Hoang (nARCHITECTS), Andrew Freear (Rural Studio), and Theodore Prudon.
The 2016 Blashfield Address, entitled My Legacy, the Limerick, was delivered by Garrison Keillor at the Ceremonial on May 18, 2016.
Twenty-one established and emerging writers of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry receive prizes in literature totaling $550,000.
Twenty-three established and emerging artists receive awards and purchase prizes totaling over $250,000.
The Academy will induct twelve new members into the 250-person organization: Peter Carey, Billy Collins, Sebastian Currier, Robert Frank, Joan Jonas, Jane Kramer, Paul Lansky, David Rakowski, David Remnick, David Salle, Pat Steir, and John Edgar Wideman.
Ensemble Échappé will play contemporary classical works by Billy Childs, Harold Meltzer, Kevin Puts, and Kurt Rohde, the winners of the 2015 Arts and Letters Awards in Music.
The 2016 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater are awarded to Costs of Living by Timothy Huang; We Live in Cairo by Patrick and Daniel Lazour; and Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell.
Adam Haslett and Jesmyn Ward are awarded the Strauss Livings, which give writers an income of $100,000 a year for a period of two years so that they may devote their time exclusively to writing.
Robert A. Caro delivered the 2015 Blashfield Address, titled The Lure of History, at the Ceremonial on May 20th, 2015.
The Academy inducts five new foreign honorary members, and presents the organization’s highest honors: the Gold Medals for Music and Poetry, the Williams Dean Howells Medal, and the Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts.
March 31, 2015, New York, NY — The American Academy of Arts and Letters announces the recipients of its 2015 architecture awards. The Academy’s annual
New York, March 19, 2015 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the nine artists who will receive its 2015 awards in art. The art prizes and purchases, totaling nearly $250,000, honor both established and emerging artists.
New York, March 12, 2015 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the names of 18 writers who will receive its 2015
New York, March 3, 2015—The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the sixteen recipients of this year’s awards in music, which total $205,000.
The Academy will induct five new Members, one American Honorary Member, and four Foreign Honorary Members.
New York, NY, February 11, 2015 – The Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Yehudi Wyner has been elected to a three-year term as president of the American
NEW MUSICAL WINS 2015 COMPETITION STRING New York, February 4, 2015 – The winner of the 2015 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater was
The 2014 Blashfield Address, titled Beauty and the Pact of Aliveness, was delivered by Elaine Scarry at the Ceremonial on May 21st, 2014.
Virgil Thomson was a champion of American music. His 1947 premier of The Mother of Us All was an extraordinary moment in the coming of
March 25, 2014, New York, NY — The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced the recipients of its 2014 architecture awards. The Academy’s architecture
New York, NY, March 20, 2014 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters will hold its annual induction and award ceremony in mid-May. Secretary
New York, March 10, 2014 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the names of 20 writers who will receive its 2014
New York, March 4, 2014—The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the sixteen recipients of this year’s awards in music, which total $175,000.
On March 6, 2014, the newly recreated Charles Ives Studio and accompanying exhibition will open in the galleries of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City.
New York, February 3, 2014 – The winner of the 2014 Richard Rodgers Production Award for Musical Theater was announced today by the American Academy
The 2013 Blashfield Address, titled Rock and Roll, was delivered by Michael Chabon at the Ceremonial on May 15, 2013.
New York, April 17, 2013 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters has awarded the annual Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture of $5000 to Alberto
New York, March 18, 2013 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the eight artists who will receive its 2013 awards in
New York, March 13, 2013 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the names of 19 writers who will receive its 2013
New York, March 13, 2013 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the names of 19 writers who will receive its 2013
New York, NY, March 12, 2013 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters will hold its annual induction and award ceremony in mid–May. Henry N. Cobb,
New York, February 28, 2013—The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the sixteen recipients of this year’s awards in music, which total $185,000.
New York, February 11, 2013 – The winners of the 2013 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater were announced today by the American Academy of
The 2012 Blashfield Address, titled How We Got Here, was delivered by Chuck Close at the Ceremonial on May 16, 2012.
New York, March 22, 2012 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the ten artists who will receive its 2012 awards in art.
New York, March 20, 2012 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters has awarded the annual Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture of $5000 to landscape
New York, March 14, 2012 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the names of 18 writers who will receive its 2012
New York, NY, March 12, 2012 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters will hold its annual induction and award ceremony in mid-May. Henry N.
New York, February 29, 2012—The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the eighteen recipients of this year’s awards in music, which total $190,000.
New York, February 8, 2012 – The winner of the 2012 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater was announced today by the American Academy of
New York, December 6, 2011 – James Matheson has won the Charles Ives Living, and will receive $200,000 over the two-year period of the award, beginning
The 2011 Blashfield Address, titled The Play’s The Thing, was delivered by Rocco Landesman at the Ceremonial on May 18, 2011.
New York, March 28, 2011 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the seven artists who will receive its 2011 awards in art.
New York, March 22, 2011 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the names of 19 writers who will receive its 2011 awards
New York, March 16, 2011 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters has awarded the annual Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture of $5000 to Mack
New York, NY, March 9, 2011 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters will hold its annual induction and award ceremony in mid-May. J. D.
New York, February 16, 2011—The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the fifteen recipients of this year’s awards in music, which total $165,000. The
New York, February 11, 2011 – Winners of the 2011 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater were announced today by the American Academy of Arts and
The 2010 Blashfield Address, entitled T. S. Eliot and Me, was delivered by the journalist and humorist Calvin Trillin at the Ceremonial on May 19, 2010.
New York, NY, April 14, 2010 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters will hold its annual induction and award ceremony in mid-May. J.
New York, March 30, 2010 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters has awarded the annual Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture of $5000 to landscape
New York, March 25, 2010 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the eight artists who will receive its 2010 awards in art.
New York, March 10, 2010 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the names of 16 writers who will receive its 2010 awards
New York, March 4, 2010—The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the sixteen recipientsof this year’s awards in music, which total $170,000. The
New York, February 9, 2010 – Winners of the 2010 Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater were announced today by the American Academy of Arts and
New York, NY, April 14, 2009 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters will hold its annual induction and award ceremony on Wednesday, May
New York, April 14, 2009 – The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the names of 17 writers who will receive its 2009 awards
New York, March 27, 2009 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters has awarded the annual Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture of
New York, March 20, 2009 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the eight artists who will receive its 2009 awards in
New York, March 10, 2009 — The American Academy of Arts and Letters has completed construction of a Glass Link connecting its exhibition galleries in
New York, March 3, 2009—The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the sixteen recipients of this year’s awards in music, which total $170,000.
January 22, 2009 – The poet J. D. McClatchy has been elected to a three-year term as president of the American Academy of Arts and
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