Joel Rudnick (June 27, 1936 – June 22, 2025) was an American painter and sculptor.

Background

Originally from

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Rudnick received his initial training as a painter at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

. He was a protégé of Shelly Fink and studied with the caricaturist and painter

David Levine David Levine (December 20, 1926 – December 29, 2009) was an American artist and illustrator best known for his caricatures in ''The New York Review of Books''. Jules Feiffer has called him "the greatest caricaturist of the last half of the ...

on a scholarship at the

Brooklyn Museum Art School The Brooklyn Museum Art School was a non-degree-granting professional school that opened at the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York in the summer of 1941. The Brooklyn Museum Art School provided instruction for amateur artists as well until Ja ...

. Rudnick also studied sculpture at the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

in New York City. Rudnick died on June 22, 2025, at the age of 88.

Career

Rudnick re-modeled the falcon for the

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

statue called '' The Falconer'' by

George Blackall Simonds George Blackall Simonds (6 October 1843 – 16 December 1929) was an English sculptor and a director of H & G Simonds Brewery in Reading, Berkshire. Biography George was the second son of George Simonds Senior, of Reading, director of H & G ...

. The remodeling occurred in the late 1960s although, due to lack of funds, it was not actually cast and mounted until 1982. The bulk of Rudnick's paintings are impressionistic landscapes of the Berkshires, which he has called home for most of his adult life. His sculptures, mostly nudes, depict people in various stages of life or in their loving interactions with each other.

Awards

* Elizabeth T. Greenshields Memorial Foundation grant,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada * Joel Meisner Foundry Prize,

Salmagundi Club The Salmagundi Club, sometimes referred to as the Salmagundi Art Club, is a fine arts center founded in 1871 in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan, New York City. Since 1917, it has been located at 47 Fifth Avenue. , its membership rost ...

, New York City *

Lindsay Morris Lindsay may refer to: People *Clan Lindsay, a Scottish family clan *Lindsay (name), an English surname and given name, derived from the Scottish clan name; variants include Lindsey, Lyndsay, Linsay, Linsey, Lyndsey, Lyndsy, Lynsay, Lynsey Places ...

Memorial Award, Allied Artists of America, New York City * Mrs. Louis Bennett Prize,

National Sculpture Society Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding member ...

* The

Louis La Baume Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

Memorial Prize * Harriet Whitney Frismuth Prize, National Academy School of Fine Arts * Honorable mentions from the

and Allied Artists of America

References

External links

Joel Rudnick FaceBoook page

Joel Rudnick Shop Page

Joel Rudnick Gallery in VR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudnick, Joel 1936 births 2025 deaths 20th-century American male artists 20th-century American painters 20th-century American sculptors 21st-century American male artists 21st-century American painters 21st-century American sculptors American Impressionist painters American landscape painters American male painters American male sculptors Art Students League of New York alumni Brooklyn Museum Art School alumni Painters from Brooklyn Sculptors from New York City