Tony Bennett

TONY BENNETT
Musician and Singer

Although I am best known as a singer, I have always had two passions in life: singing and painting. When I was a youngster, an art teacher found me chalking up the sidewalk outside a railroad flat in Astoria, Queens, where I grew up. Instead of scolding me, he offered to give me lessons.

My passion for the visual arts inspired me to apply to the High School of Music and Art. Although I did not get accepted, I was able to attend the School of Industrial Arts, and that was the best possible place for me to learn how to draw, paint and perfect technical skills. I learned many different techniques at this school. Everything from creating stained glass windows to costume design and cartooning. I also learned to value hard work and discipline, both of which put me in good stead to help support my family when I left school at 16.

When I finished my service in the Second World War, I got a great education under the G.I. Bill of Rights, learning singing techniques in the American theater wing, and I had the best teachers. My acting teacher was secretary to Stanislavski.

Since my childhood, I never go anywhere without a sketchpad and paint box. I have to sketch; I want to paint everything I see. Everyone has talent, everybody. Arts education is the best tool I know for helping kids discover, cultivate, and pursue their talents
and passions.

Tony Bennett is a living legend, one of the world’s most beloved singers. His artistic career has spanned over five decades, and he remains as popular today as ever before. In addition to crooning and painting, Tony Bennett is an active proponent of arts education in public schools. Mr. Bennett, along with his wife Susan, founded Exploring the Arts, an organization dedicated to creating, promoting and supporting arts education.

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