Jacob Collins is a leading figure in the contemporary revival of classical painting. He earned a BA in history from Columbia College, attended the New York Studio School, the New York Academy of Art, and the Art Students League.
As a student, Collins also copied extensively in museums in America and Europe. His work has been widely exhibited in North America and Europe and is included in several American museums. Collins is the founder of the Water Street Atelier, The Grand Central Academy of Art, and the Hudson River Fellowship.
About two years ago I recognized that I was still, 20 years later, painting my landscapes in a fundamentally Impressionist mode. I’m very fond of a great deal of Impressionism, but it isn’t how I want to paint. I have aspired for many years to paint landscapes in the style of the American landscape painters before me, such as Frederic Edwin Church, Sanford R. Gifford, and Albert Bierstadt.

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It struck me that I needed to investigate the landscape just as I had investigated the figure 20 years ago. I needed to learn the anatomy of the landscape by drawing from nature and learning more about its constituent parts.
This is the sort of investigation through drawing that I undertook to transform my figure painting years ago, and I feel as though this is an excellent model for me as I am trying to transform my landscape drawing and painting.