Seymour Meyer

A hand surgeon who broke into the arts later in life, Seymour Meyer began his career as a sculptor in the 1960’s. He grew up in New York City to a family that was largely uninvolved with the arts; there was no art in his childhood home and he did not visit art museums. He took the practical path and became a doctor, with medical illustrations sparking his creative gene and eventually prompting him to begin in drawing classes through the Great Neck Adult Education Program.  This class was lead by Louise Nevelson, who had attained notoriety in her own career by that point. Her teaching style complimented Meyer’s approach, allowing students to express themselves freely rather than applying a formal lesson plan. Meyer took this education and flourished, letting his works assume form organically through process and development. Sculpture was a favored medium, one that could have been predicted as it requires a familiar dexterity that one may associate with that of a surgeon. Meyer has been quoted on his work saying “I don’t know… where it’s headed, and I’m never concerned about ‘correct rules.’”