Vermont Studio Center

History and Values Vermont Studio Center was founded by artists Fred Osborne, Jon Gregg, and Louise von Weise in 1984. Nestled within the northern Green mountains, the residency program—originally named Vermont Studio School—welcomed its first cohort on June 18, 1984. In 1990 the School was renamed Vermont Studio Center and reorganized as a 501(c)3 non-profit with a board of trustees. VSC later formed an Artists Advisory Committee with Nell Blaine, Helen Frankenthaler, Wolf Kahn, Emily Mason, Alice Neel, Isamu Noguchi, Larry Rivers, James Rosati, George Segal, Frank Stella, George Sugarman, Takao Tanabe, Harold Town, Esteban Vicente, and Neil Welliver. They drew upon their networks in NYC and elsewhere to form the roster for a Visiting Artists program. In 1990, Jon Gregg became VSC’s first President formally assuming the leadership responsibility for the next seventeen years. A Writers’ Residency was added and merged into the existing community of visual artists in 1992. Visiting Writers provided a mentoring service similar to that of the Visiting Artists program, offering manuscript consultations and craft talks throughout the residency sessions. In 2007, George Pearlman was appointed Executive Director and served until 2014. Gary Clark served as the Center’s second President until 2019. Today, VSC’s actions and policies remain grounded in the universal values of humanitarianism, compassion, respect, simplicity, and harmony. VSC embodies these values and integrates them into all aspects of the organization’s existence. The campus is preserved and developed in accord with environmental and ecological standards, and reflects Northern Vermont traditions of respect for nature, modest comfort, privacy, beauty, and an unhurried way of life.