Al Hirschfeld Foundation

Slutzker Foundation partnered with the Al Hirschfeld Foundation to bring its innovative visual and performing arts curriculum to schools throughout the region. Based on Al Hirschfeld’s art, this visionary curriculum engages students K through 12 in a variety of arts activities. Developed in conjunction with the New York City Board of Education, Syracuse is the first region outside of New York City to utilize the curriculum serving as a pilot to bring the Arts Education Initiative to underserved communities around the country.

Funded by the Slutzker Family Foundation, the curriculum will be taught at by Redhouse teachers at Redhouse’s Summer Camps. Additionally, the two organizations are also developing opportunities to bring this curriculum in to schools across Central New York this fall.

For more than eight decades, Al Hirschfeld created virtually all of his legendary drawings at this table. Whether it was the latest Broadway opening, the release of the next Academy Award-winning film, a new ballet, a classic opera, or portraits of the players in all of these and more, Hirschfeld immortalized the performing arts of the 20th and 21st century on this table. No one documented more of the lively arts than he did. While he made his lines in ink fly, leap and dash, he sat in a barber chair, which he called the “last functional chair” because it could go up, down, swivel and recline. This chair, which started in the barber shop of the Chrysler Building, was gifted to him as a 90th birthday present by friends in 1993 to replace an older one. The permanent installation of the chair and table, augmented by a display of Hirschfeld images that cover the wide range of the performing arts continue to add to the cultural life of the library with a rotating installation of relevant Hirschfeld images.The installation sits at the entrance of the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center and can be seen 24/7 as it is lit at night. Maintenance of this installation is funded in memory of Lillian M. Slutzker, courtesy of the Slutzker Family Foundation.