Robert Brackman

Robert Brackman immigrated to America from Odessa, Ukraine, in 1908. Five years later, he began his studies at the National Academy of Design under Robert Henri (1865-1929) and George Bellows (1882-1925). Brackman became one of the few American painters to join the British Royal Society and was the youngest man ever to be elected to the National Academy at age 34.

Brackman made a living by painting portraits. Charles and Anne Lindbergh and John D. Rockefeller Jr. were among his most notable clients. Despite the notoriety he gained from his commissioned works, Brackman was most enthusiastic about teaching at the Art Students League of New York. He believed that “good painters are close to life,” because they can see colors, tones, shapes, and textures contained within a subject.