Issue  No. 1

Albert Handell is a true Master. He and his work have had and continue to have a significant impact on the art world.  In 1987, The Pastel Society of America elected Handell into the Pastel Hall of Fame, making him one of three living artists so honored. For a period of fifteen years, 1960-1975, Albert Handell's pastels were included in every book published on pastels in the U.S.A. His pastels enjoy international reputation. In 2000, the Pastel Society of the West Coast honored him by electing to give him their first, ever, Life Time Achievement Award for Pastel. Albert Handell is well known for his Painting Workshops, which he conducts nationwide and abroad.

HANDELL was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1937. At an early age, a favorite activity of his was drawing with chalks on the city streets. He began formal studies of drawing and anatomy at the age of sixteen. In 1954, he enrolled at the Art Students League of New York City to study drawing and anatomy with the late Louis Priscilla and the late Robert Ward Johnson, and later studied painting for two years with Frank Mason. From 1961 to 1965, Mr. Handell lived and traveled in Europe. In Paris, he painted independently in his own studio, working from the model at L'Ecole de la Grande Chaumiere and at the Louvre, copying the old masters. Handell currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Over the past 50 years, Handell has exhibited in many national shows, received numerous awards, co-authored five books, been referenced in 10 books and been featured in a plethora of major magazine articles. Albert Handell's work hangs in many private and public collections and museums.

Since 1961, Albert Handell has had over thirty one-man shows and has received over 70 prizes and awards (Partial Listing of Show Venues):

• The Allied Artists of America, New York City

• The National Academy of Design, New York City

• The Pastel Society of America, New York City

• The Schenectady Museum, Schenectady, New York

• The Berkshire Museum of Art, Pittsfield, Massachusetts

• Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, New York

• The Guild Gallery, New York City

Handell's paintings are in numerous private and public collections and museums (Partial Listing):

• Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY

• Syracuse Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY

• Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio

• Elizabeth T. Greenshiekls, Memorial Foundation and Museum, Montreal, Canada

• Schenectady Museum of Art, Schenectady, NY

• Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

• Sidney Mishkin Art Gallery at Baruch College, City University of New York City

• The Rio Hotel and Casino in the Italian Resort of Bellagio, Las Vegas, Nevada

National and Group Exhibitions featuring the works of Albert Handell (Partial Listing):

• American Impressionist Society 12th Annual Juried Event at Mountainsong Galleries in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California (in the Master Category)

• Albert Handell: A Pastel Retrospective 2007- with Recent Oils

• The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, September 9 - November 19, 2007

• Oil Painters of America, since 1997 continuously

• CONTEMPORARY ROMANTICISM; LANDSCAPE IN PASTEL, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, Pennsylvania, 1999

• First Annual Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational Competition, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California, 1999

• THE AMERICAN SCENE, A National Exhibition of Major Works, Van Vechten-Lineberry Taos Art Museum, Taos, New Mexico, 1999

• Albuquerque Museum Annual Miniatures Exhibitions 1996, 1997, 1998

• The Plein Air Painters of America, Invited Artist, Catalina Island, CA 1998

• "Tradition" John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1996

• C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana 1999

Books co-authored by Albert Handell on his painting techniques and his works (All books are published by Watson Guptill Art Publications, New York City).

• Painting the Landscape in Pastel, Albert Handell and Anita Louise West, published 2000

• Intuitive Light, Albert Handell and Leslie Trainor Handell, published 1995.

• Intuitive Composition, published 1989, currently in its third printing

• Pastel Painting Workshop, published in 1981, currently in its fourth printing and is translated into German

• Oil Painting Workshop, published 1979, currently in its sixth printing and is translated into German

Publications including Albert Handell and his works (Partial Listing):

• The Best of Sketching and Drawing, by Terry Sullivan, Quarry Books, Rockport Publishers, Inc., Gloucester, Massachusetts 1999

• The Best of Pastel, by Constance Flavell Pratt and Janet Monafo, Quarry Books, Rockport Publishers, Inc., Rockport, Massachusetts 1996

• Architecture in Color Drawings, by John S. M. Chen, McGraw Hill Publications, New York City, 1996

• The Best of Oil Painting, by Tom Nicholas and John C. Terelak, Quarry Books, Rockport Publishers, Inc., Rockport, Massachusetts 1996

• Drawing with Pastels, by Ron Lister, A Spectrum Book, Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 1992

• How to Paint Figures in Pastel, by Joe Singer, 1973

• How to Paint Portraits in Pastel, by Joe Singer, 1971

• Pastel Painting Step by Step, by Elinor Lathrop Sears, 1966

• Who's Who in American Art, Marquis Publications

• Dictionary of International Biography, Cambridge, England

Articles about Albert Handell and his work (Partial Listing):

• Albert Handell - "A Touch of Magic" by Anne Hevener, Pastel Journal, August, 2009

• "A Retrospective Exhibition of Albert Handell's Pastel Paintings" by Stephen Doherty, American Artist, October 2007

• Albert Handell - "An Intuitive Approach" by Devon Jackson, Southwest Art, October, 2007

• Albert Handell - "Making Every Moment Count in Pastel Painting", by Ruth Summer, The Pastel Journal, March - April 1999

• Albert Handell - "Brilliant Hues", by Joy Waldron, Southwest Art, March 1999

• Albert Handell - "Honoring the Mystery", by Jo Ann Baldinger, Focus/Santa Fe, October - November - December 1998

• "Albert Handell - On Color", by Jim Lynch, American Artist, September 1996

• Albert Handell - "Creating Light Through Color", Art Masters, Spring 1994

• Albert Handell - "Painting Light with Shadow", Art Masters, Spring 1994

• "Albert Handell: He Saw the Light" by Vicki Stavig, Art of the West, January - February 1993

• "Tastes That Make Life Grand: The Works of Albert Handell", by Segue Smith, Focus/Santa Fe, April - May 1989

• "Magic Show: The Works of Albert Handell", by Mary Carroll Nelson, Southwest Profile, August 1987

• "Albert Handell Enraptured", by Joy Murphy, Southwest Art, April 1986

• "Albert Handell", by Kitty Gibbons Silvery, Art Gallery International, September 1985

• "The Pastels of Albert Handell", by Joy Murphy, Southwest Profile, June 1984

• "Albert Handell: Landscapes in Pastel", by Leslie Trainor, American Artist, December 1981

• "The Inner Universe of Albert Handell", by Heather Meredith-Owens for American Artist, April 1971

Albert Handell is truly a Master American Impressionist.  His works will complement any collection, intrinsically, historically and financially.