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After graduating from New York University, in 1947, with a B.A. in Fine Arts, I painted and sculpted on my own and then enrolled in Cooper Union in 1950. In 1951, on the recommendation of a fellow student, a painting was exhibited in a group show at the Roko Gallery in Greenwich Village.

In the next few years I took occasional classes in woodcut, sculpture and painting at the New School and privately. I also went to many galleries and in 1953 started going to the Artists' Club and met many artists. My work, of course, was influenced by what I saw and conversations both with peers and older artists, especially Willem de Kooning.

In 1954 I studied with Edwin Dickinson and that was a real turning point, both in the seriousness with which he took me and the inspiration for future teaching methods. It was a short and intense experience. 

Usually I date my professional career from this period because at the same time I was developing my own style, I was invited to be in exhibitions such as the Stable Annuals and various coop galleries on Tenth Street. In 1956 my work was in a two-person and four person exhibit and I also became a charter member of the March Gallery. In November of 1957 I had my first one person show there.

During this time I earned money as a secretary. working on a part time or temporary basis, to interfere as little as possible with painting. Both time and money were in short supply but I exhibited regularly. In 1958 I was able to spend the summer in Provincetown, where I renewed an acquaintance with Sally and Milton Avery. A sculpture of mine at St. Mark's Church had interested them and we talked for a while as I sat at the gallery. The following year Milton chose me as one of the young artists in an exhibit at the National Arts Club. This, together with a solo show at the Delancey St. Museum, let to my inclusion in "Young American Artists: 1960" at the Whitney Museum, curated by John I.H. Baur.

My work received a great deal of attention and all four paintings were sold, one to the Whitney Museum. I was also recommended to the Charles Alan Gallery by Joseph Hirshhorn and had my first exhibit there in 1961. A trip to Italy followed and I spent five months living and working in Florence. Two of the paintings I did there entered the Hirshhorn and Neuberger collections.