Donna Lynn Friedson was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up
in Long Island. Her most profound influence was her father, a
self-taught painter and woodcarver, as well as an avid art collector.
He encouraged her from an early age to develop her innate talent.
Ms. Friedson is currently an Adjunct Art Professor of Fine Arts and Art
History, having received her Masters in Art History from Brooklyn
College, BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, and
Associates Degree in Design from Rochester Institute of Technology. For
7 years she worked as a Museum Educator, Program Director and Curator
of the African Art Collection at the Museum of Archeology in Staten
Island, and was a freelance Educator at the Queens Museum and Snug
Harbor Cultural Center.. For the past 48 year she has taught and given
lectures in Art History, Drawing, 2 D Design, Painting in acrylic and
watercolors in different universities and institutions of higher
education in the Northeast.
A pioneering resident of TRIBECA in lower Manhattan for the past 48
years, Professor Friedson has explored Europe and other continents
extensively. She has been to Italy several times being particularly
inspired by the ancient site of Pompeii, Renaissance Florence (and its
nearby Tuscan towns), Venice, Rome, Naples and the Amalfi coast. The
cultural allure of Prague, Barcelona, Jerusalem, Istanbul, Kyoto,
Provence and the American Southwest have captivated her as well. Her
passion for Pre-Columbian art was reinforced by her travels in Mexico
and South and Central America, especially Peru and Machu Picchu. She
has resided in Lisbon, Portugal and Copenhagen ,where she studied
Danish design. Ms.Friedson's appreciation for the non-western art of
African the Native Americans and Aboriginal Art of Australia have
ignited her own eclectic and exhilarating creations.
Her vibrant and expressionistic drawings, watercolor , gouache oil
paintings, silk painting ,to hand building in ceramics are attestations
of her virtuosity and capability to adapt and engage the viewer no
matter what her media. The amalgamations of her life's travels and
experiences have made her an eclectic mixed media artist inspired by
the rich colors, textures and designs of nature. Professor Friedson has
exhibited and sold her work in galleries, craft
shows, and boutiques in Europe, New York, New Jersey and Oregon since
1975. She continues to compile post -graduate studies and work in water
color, gouache, oil painting , figure drawing and pastel drawing.