The Kossak Painting Program is made possible by a generous gift to the Hunter Foundation from Evelyn Kranes Kossak, to support the advancement of painting in Hunter’s curriculum. All of its component programs are discussed and approved by the Kossak Committee of studio faculty, and brought about with the enthusiastic cooperation of President Jennifer Raab and Hunter Foundation leadership. As Chair of the Kossak Committee over the last seven years, it has been extremely gratifying to experience such harmony of purpose, effectiveness of implementation, and most significantly, such total transformation of painting education at Hunter. For students and faculty alike, the word “Kossak” signifies excellence, opportunity, and professional ambition in art. For the undergraduate students who have most benefited from Kossak support, the name signifies the best experience of their time at Hunter. Kossak programs subsidize key materials for all undergraduate painting courses, provide grants to selected art majors concentrating in painting, bring significant visiting artists in single sessions and longer runs, and award MFA and MA travel grants in pursuit of painting-centric research. This website documents the history of the Kossak Program to date
Drew Beattie, Program Director