Tennant at the Art Students League in New York City, 1927-1928

The faculty at the Art Students League during
the era when Allie Tennant was a student


 

Allie Tennant enrolled at the Art Students League during fall of 1927 and remained for most of 1928. Her second year there overlapped with young Dallas artist, Jerry Bywaters, who had also arrived in New York City to study at the school. She initially took studio classes at the Art Students League that involved both drawing and sculpture. Throughout her first year she diligently studied anatomy and attended sketching courses taught by noted illustrator George Brant Bridgman, one of the most celebrated members of the faculty. Much of the accurate detail later seen in Allie’s sculptural portraits no doubt came from her studies with Bridgman, who would later become well-known as Norman Rockwell’s artistic mentor. Although she excelled in drawing as a Bridgman student, Allie’s primary emphasis remained sculpture. She nonetheless thrived in Bridgman’s classes, noting "there is no conceptual difference between painting and sculpture" in terms of the concentration necessary for success. By her second year, she concentrated entirely on sculpture, learning from Arthur Lee, William Zorach, and Edward McCartan.

Where Allie Tennant studied: The Art Students League
at 251 W. 57th Street, New York City