The Academic Atelier Tradition in the USA

Here is a very interesting blog for anyone who , like me, is passionate about drawing and painting from life.
It is the blog of the Grand Central Academy in New York, whose mission is to "offer a public place for the revival of the classical art tradition; to foster and support a community of artists in pursuit of aesthetic refinement, a high level of skill and beauty."

It all looks a wee bit too disciplined and dogmatic for my liking now, but I have to say I would have loved to have gone to a college like this when I was eighteen. Compared to the laid back approach that British Art Colleges had twenty years ago, there is clearly a very strong work ethic at the Grand Central Academy, and the students here are really learning skills of an extraordinarily high level.

As you can see from the image, they also have a very strong sculpture department.
This Lincoln sculpture is by one of their tutors, Jiwoong Cheh