Arnold Bittleman

Bittleman began his formal education at the Rhode Island School of Design, 1951-52, but received his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Yale in 1956 and 1958, respectively. He stayed at the New Haven campus and taught at the School of Art and Architecture from 1958-63.

Bittleman did not conceive of drawing as a preparatory stage in the development of paintings or elaborate pastels, but as an end in itself. He worked slowly, methodically, over a period of months or even years, on a single work. He used a variety of materials, including pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, sepia, white ink, and oil pastel, and occasional combinations of two or more media in a single work. His subjects ranged from figure studies to landscapes, from studio still lifes to fantasies combining all of these elements.