May 20, 2026
Elizabeth Peyton is among 11 new members inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2026, along with 3 new Foreign Honorary members.
Members of the Arts and Letters are elected in recognition of notable achievement in their fields, with membership for awarded for life. By honoring their peers through election to membership and supporting nonmember artists through awards, exhibitions, and public programs, the members of Arts and Letters create a community of mutual support and recognition for artists across disciplines.
In addition, Arts and Letters includes 75 Foreign Honorary members—architects, artists, composers, and writers from outside the United States—and 20 American Honorary members whose work falls outside the membership’s traditional departments.
Current members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters include Huma Bhabha, Josef Albers, Suzan Frecon, Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Robert Ryman, and Richard Serra. Foreign honorary members include Marlene Dumas, Yayoi Kusama, Sigmar Polke, Bridget Riley, and Luc Tuymans.
About the Academy of Arts and Letters
Founded in 1898, the American Academy of Arts and Letters represents the highest standards of artistic achievement in this country, and our community of members are among the leading contemporary architects, visual artists, writers, and composers. Arts and Letters honors creative accomplishment through the election of members, the conferment of awards, and presenting public exhibitions and interdisciplinary programs at our historic buildings in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City.
Learn more at the American Academy of Arts and Letters.