Columbian academy of painting

One of the earliest art schools in the United States and the first in New York City, it was founded in the early 1790s by prominent, wealthy New Yorkers who wanted drawing instruction for their children. Robert R. Livingston was a leading influence. Scottish painters and brothers Archibald and Alexander Robertson were the early teachers. They taught watercolor, not oil, painting and introduced landscape subjects, which were counter to the prevailing European-influenced historical genre in classical style. Sources: James Flexner, "The Light of Distant Skies", 116; John Howat, "The Hudson River and Its Painters", 30