Alan Lazarus

Vice President

Alan Lazarus, Vice President of the Riverdale Art Center is a Professor of Art at William Paterson University, and a designer of furniture and architectural interiors. He has been a member of the faculty of William Paterson University since 1973. As partner in the enterprise of Lazarus & Williamson, LLC, located in Paterson N.J., he serves as Design and Engineering Director.  Alan received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and his Master of Fine Art from the School for American Craftsman, at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

As a an artist/ educator he established the furniture design program at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia and was a founder of the Virginia Craftsman Council.  He served as Interim Dean of the School of Arts and Communication at William Paterson and is currently Chairperson of the Department of Art.

Alan has been known for his work in interior, furniture design and fabrication since the 1960’s. He was selected as a “Young American” by the American Crafts Council and has served on government sponsored and professional research committees on problem solving in design.  He has been exhibited nationally and internationally in venues such as the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina, the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia, the Museum of American Craft, New York, New York and the Venice Biennale, Venice Italy.  His work is placed in both residential and commercial settings.

Alan first studied history and political science and was fascinated by the 1900’s.  While on leave from the US Army he discovered the School for American Craftsman and the individualism of the 60’s beckoned him to a career change.  Influenced by the writings of Ruskin and Morris he is an avid reader of the history of art, design and social change.  He consistently looks for a method to bring evolution in form and utility to both his art and his teaching.