New York, NY, March 10, 2016 – When the American Academy of Arts and Letters holds its annual induction and award ceremony in mid-May, Calvin Trillin, secretary, 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. President Yehudi Wyner will induct foreign honorary members Julian Barnes and Thomas Struth. Garrison Keillor will deliver the Blashfield Foundation Address, titled “My Legacy, The Limerick.” An exhibition of art, architecture, books, and manuscripts by new members and recipients of awards will be on view in the galleries from May 19 to June 12.
Newly Elected Members of the Academy
Art
ROBERT FRANK, photographer
JOAN JONAS, video and performance artist
DAVID SALLE, painter
PAT STEIR, painter
Literature
PETER CAREY, writer
BILLY COLLINS, poet
JANE KRAMER, writer
DAVID REMNICK, writer
JOHN EDGAR WIDEMAN, writer
Music
SEBASTIAN CURRIER, composer
PAUL LANSKY, composer
DAVID RAKOWSKI, composer
Foreign Honorary Members
JULIAN BARNES, writer of England
THOMAS STRUTH, photographer of Germany
THE ACADEMY
The American Academy of Arts and Letters was founded in 1898 as an honor society of the country’s leading architects, artists, composers, and writers. Founding members include William Merritt Chase, Kenyon Cox, Daniel Chester French, Childe Hassam, Henry James, Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Vedder, and Woodrow Wilson. In addition to electing new members as vacancies occur, the Academy seeks to “foster and sustain an interest in Literature, Music, and the Fine Arts” by administering over 70 awards and prizes, exhibiting art and manuscripts, funding performances of new works of musical theater, and purchasing artwork for donation to museums across the country. The organization is located in three landmark buildings, designed by McKim, Mead & White, Cass Gilbert, and Charles Pratt Huntington, on Audubon Terrace at 155 Street and Broadway.