Albert Handell OPAM
Albert Handell lives and paints in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and teaches workshops and has mentoring programs nationally and internationally.
Since 1961, he has had over four five one-man shows and has received over seventy prizes and awards, among them are:
Awarded Master Artist status by the American Impressionist Society and Oil Painters of America
In 1987, The Pastel Society of America elected him into the Pastel Hall of Fame, making him one of three living artists so honored.
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.
In 2019, The Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo awarded Mr. Handell the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mr. Handell as a young man received grants from the John F. and Anna Lee Stacy Foundation and from the Elizabeth T. Greenshields Foundation, Montreal Canada. His paintings are in numerous private and public collections and museums.
Mr. Handell was featured and has pinned numerous articles in The Pastel Journal, American Artist, Southwest Art, Focus Santa Fe, Art Masters, Art of the West, and other magazines.
Since 1960, Albert Handell’s pastels were included in every book published on pastels in the U.S.A.
Albert Handell co-authored 5 books on his painting techniques and his works and recorded 5 DVD’s on oils and pastels.
ALBERT 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.
He continues to give workshops and exhibit Nationwide.
Here is a smoother, more cohesive biography that keeps all the key accomplishments while reading more naturally:
Albert Handell lives and paints in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and continues to teach workshops and mentoring programs both nationally and internationally.
Since 1961, he has held over forty-five one-man exhibitions and has received more than seventy prizes and awards. Among his many honors, he was awarded Master Artist status by both the American Impressionist Society and Oil Painters of America. In 1987, the Pastel Society of America elected him to the Pastel Hall of Fame, making him one of only three living artists to receive that distinction at the time. In 2000, the Pastel Society of the West Coast honored him with its first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award for Pastel, and in 2019 the Plein Air Convention & Expo presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
Early in his career, Handell received grants from the John F. and Anna Lee Stacy Foundation and the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation in Montreal, Canada. His paintings are included in numerous private and public collections and museums.
Mr. Handell’s work and career have been widely featured in publications including The Pastel Journal, American Artist, Southwest Art, Focus Santa Fe, Art Masters, and Art of the West. Since 1960, his pastels have appeared in every major book published on pastel painting in the United States.
Albert Handell has also shared his knowledge through writing and teaching. He has co-authored five books on his painting techniques and artwork, and has recorded five instructional DVDs on oil and pastel painting.
Handell was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1937. As a child, he enjoyed drawing with chalk on the city streets, an early sign of his lifelong dedication to art. At sixteen, he began formal studies in drawing and anatomy. In 1954, he enrolled at the Art Students League of New York, where he studied drawing and anatomy with Louis Priscilla and Robert Ward Johnson, and later studied painting for two years with Frank Mason.
From 1961 to 1965, Handell lived and traveled throughout Europe. While in Paris, he maintained his own studio and studied independently, working from the model at Académie de la Grande Chaumière and copying the Old Masters at the Louvre Museum.
Today, Albert Handell continues to paint, exhibit, and teach workshops across the United States, sharing the knowledge and passion developed over a lifetime devoted to art.