The Stevenson Academy of Traditional Painting

Nina Carisi studied with Harold R. Stevenson and Alma Gallanos Stevenson briefly in 1967, and introduced her Glen Cove High School buddy, Meryl Ann Butler, to the Stevensons’ studio school when they were both 14. Meryl Ann promptly signed up on the wait list and got in a couple of months later.

Later, Nina moved to California and her art evolved into detailed embroidered pictorial images. She was featured in the iconic book, Native Funk and Flash, and created wearable art for members of Santana and the Grateful Dead; Jerry Garcia serenaded her in her studio while she worked! Her artwork has been in galleries and museums and she continues to create art on the West Coast.

Meryl Ann Butler was the first of the Glen Cove High School graduates to become part of Harold and Alma Gallanos Stevenson’s New Renaissance Atelier. Meryl Ann had attended every one of the Stevensons’ terms during her 4 years of high school. Through the Glen Cove High School Art Club, she introduced both Mark Isaacson (who was a year younger) and Attila Hejja (two years younger) to Stevenson’s.

Within a couple of months of completing the atelier program at the Stevensons’, Meryl Ann opened her own successful art school in Louisiana, modeled after the Stevenson Academy. She operated Butler Art Studios for a decade until her husband died. Later, she switched to textile art for a couple of decades, due to developing an allergy to oil paint. She designed innovative methods such as her textile impressionism technique shown here in the portrait of the Dalai Lama, which uses only fabrics and threads to create a painted look. She taught traditional art and textile art at international, national and local venues and at Eastern New Mexico University, and has written hundreds of articles and published two books. When life calmed down and her allergies subsided, she opened her second art school in Norfolk, Virginia where she teaches traditional and visionary art. both in person and online. More on Meryl Ann’s journey, here.

The late Mark Isaacson, who was class president at Glen Cove High School, began art classes with Harold Stevenson and Alma Gallanos Stevenson in the early 1970s and later became one of the first atelier members along with Meryl Ann and Attila. After a stint in Paris, in 1981 Mark established an influential decorative arts gallery in Greenwich Village, Fifty/50.

True to the gallery name, it spotlighted mid-century furniture and decorative art, reshaping the collecting market. Fifty/50 specialized in Italian glass, particularly by the firm Venini, and according to the New York Times, “(Mark) was called on frequently for advice and was also a source for acquisitions by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.” Fifty/50 closed in 1993 after Mark died of AIDS at age 38.

The late Attila Hejja was a well known NASA artist and award-winning illustrator. Born in Budapest in 1955, Attila and his parents and older sister escaped during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, their vehicle was pelleted by bullets as they sped away. Attila was going through a difficult time when he met Meryl Ann in the Glen Cove High School Art Club. When asked in an interview with classicaldomainli.com how he began his studies at Stevenson’s, he replied, “There was this pretty girl in high school and this pretty girl said to me, ‘You’re pretty good. I take lessons at Stevenson’s. You should take lessons.’”

What he didn’t say in the interview was that he had been deeply depressed and suicidal due to a combination of family stress and the belief that there appeared to be no pathway to fulfill his dream of becoming an artist. He had no transportation to get to the Stevensons classes, although he had money for tuition from a summer job. Meryl Ann encouraged him to sign up at Stevenson’s and drove him to and from classes until he got his license. That is why the inscription on the painting shown here says, “To my dear friend Meryl, who is responsible for all this!!”

Attila founded the Stevenson Academy of Fine Arts (SAFA) in Oyster Bay in 2004 to honor and continue Harold Stevenson’s teaching legacy. In 2005, Meryl Ann taught a summer portfolio development class there as guest instructor. Attila operated the Stevenson Academy of Fine Arts until 2007, when he passed away at 52.

Sharon Sprung and Meryl Ann attended elementary school together and both graduated from Glen Cove High School in 1971. Sharon headed off to study art at Cornell University while Meryl Ann went to Krause Art College at Syracuse University briefly, quickly returning to resume studies with Harold Stevenson and Alma Gallanos Stevenson at the atelier.

When Sharon returned to Glen Cove during a school break, she and Meryl Ann got together to share their portfolio work. Excited by what she saw Meryl Ann doing and by the learning potential at the Stevensons’, Sharon left Cornell and joined the atelier. She later studied at the Art Students League of NY where she is currently a sought-after teacher. Sharon has taught internationally and won copious awards. Her portrait of Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin is in the collection of the U.S. House of Representatives and more recently, her official portrait of Michelle Obama is in the collection of the White House. More info including her excellent educational videos are on her site at: www.sharonsprung.com

William Bond Jonas joined Harold Stevenson and Alma Gallanos Stevenson’s atelier in the early 1970s, and later apprenticed, by coveted invitation, with Nelson Shanks. He also studied at the Art Students League in New York under Robert Brackman and Robert Beverly Hale. Bill’s painting and popular print “Oyster Bay” is famous internationally, and he is currently active with commissions in his Oyster Bay studio. www.williambjonas.com

The late Robert Stark, Jr. (1933—2014) had a seat on the NY Stock Exchange for 17 years until he joined the Stevensons’ atelier, gradually shifting away from the financial sector toward full time fine art as a modern luminist with a focus on landscape and marine paintings. He was the founder and director of Nantucket’s oldest gallery, The Stark Gallery, on Old North Wharf. https://www.nantucketculturaldistrict.org/organization/ robert-stark-gallery/

Paul Bachem studied with Harold R. Stevenson and Alma Gallanos Stevenson in the atelier and enjoyed a successful 30-year illustration career before devoting himself to plein air painting, for which he has accumulated many prestigious awards. His online gallery is at www.paulbachem.com

Doug Barnaby was not an atelier member although he studied weekly at Stevenson’s evening classes for many years, and later with Attila Hejja. His online gallery is at www.douglas-barnaby.pixels.com