Bridgeview School of Fine Arts

Specialties

Art classes, drawing, painting, sculpture, college portfolio, pre-​college art, after-​school art program, summer art camp, art in a museum classes. Summer Art Camp in Normandie, France.

History

Established in 2001.

Bridgeview was founded by a group of classically trained artists from Russia and Eastern Earope who were eager to share their knowledge with young American students.

Bridgeview faculty fully represents the European classical tradition.

Almost every member of the Bridgeview faculty can trace his lineage to a great 19^th century artist. While artists in Western Europe and America were turning towards abstraction, the Russian academies, isolated by the Iron Curtain, adhered to the classical methods of art education.

Bridgeview teachers received the most rigorous academic training. Russian art training is very similar to ballet or gymnastics, where talented children are selected at a young age to attend specialized schools, later colleges and ultimately an academy. On average, art training in Russia lasts for 20 years.

Bridgeview has educated thousands of students. Many have won competitions or received scholarships based on their Bridgeview work. Some have become professional artists.

Meet the Business Owner

Lena M.

Business Owner

Lena Murray is a classically trained painter who was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia. She received her art training in New York, where she studied sculpture at the famous New York Sculpture Center in Manhattan. Later she continued her studies at the prestigious Repin Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Lena Murray is also a founder and director of the Bridgeview School of Fine Arts in New York City, where European-​trained artists teach painting and sculpture to children. Currently Lena lives in Maryland with her artist husband John Murray, a painting instructor at the Corcoran School of Art and Design.

Lena’s subject matter includes landscapes, figure and still life. She is particularly interested in color, mood and atmosphere when it comes to capturing her subjects. Lena finds her inspiration in the works of the Old Masters, but she seeks to express her own vision in portraying our everyday life.