Bernard Brussel-Smith

New York artist Bernard Brussel-Smith was born in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1914. He studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and the New School for Social Research in New York. It was during his time at the New School that Brussel-Smith became interested in wood engraving and began a career in this demanding art form. Brussel-Smith established himself as America's foremost wood engraver, capturing the lives of the American urban working class during the 1940's and 1950's. He was widely known for his posters of the New York Auto Show in the 1950's and 1960's. He taught art classes at the Brooklyn Museum, Cooper Union, City College and the National Academy. In 1952 he was elected an Associate Member of the National Academy, and again in 1973.