Welcome to the Aesthetic Realism Foundation

WELCOME

The purpose of the not-for-profit Aesthetic Realism Foundation is to meet the urgent need for people throughout the world to see each other and reality fairly. Aesthetic Realism, the philosophy founded in 1941 by the American poet and critic, Eli Siegel, is an education in how to have that fairness.

Located in SoHo, NYC, the Foundation offers an exciting curriculum of classes and individual consultations by video conference during the pandemic. When public events resume, there will be seminars and thrilling theatrical presentations. Through the principles of Aesthetic Realism, people of all ages understand themselves newly. Read more

A Letter—meaningful & urgent—by photographer and author Len Bernstein

From his letter:

“There is nothing America and the world need more now than for people to see other people justly: to see each other with authentic respect; to see that persons one felt to be so different from oneself are also like oneself. Aesthetic Realism is the education that makes this possible. As an example, I’ll describe a tremendous change in my life.” Read more

Spring-Summer 2022 classes via video conference are now in session.

Want to audit a class? Contact the registrar at 212.777.5055, between 2-6 PM Eastern Time (USA), Monday through Friday. Be sure to make your request at least 2 days in advance of the class.

Find out more about classes

“Like of the World versus Racism”

—was published in the summer of 2020, a crucial time in history. It explains three hugely important things: 1) the cause of all prejudice and racism; 2) the state of mind we need to have as we think about other people if we’re going to be just to them—including, very much, people who look different from us; 3) how the way of seeing in all true art is utterly opposed to racism. The means by which people’s minds and feelings can really change from prejudice to justice is in this issue of The Right of Aesthetic Realism to Be Known! Read more

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BLOG UPDATE

“Hawthorne’s ‘The Man of Adamant’”

Steven Weiner, Aesthetic Realism associate, writes: When I first read Eli Siegel’s essay about Hawthorne’s short story “The Man of Adamant,” I felt very related to Richard Digby, the title character, who was driven to separate himself from people and be cold to the world….

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