Notable Alumni of Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

William M. Calder 1869–1945

U.S. Representative and Senator from New York

A. Harry Moore 1877–1952

Three-term Governor of New Jersey

Henry L. Myers 1862–1943

United States senator from Montana

Jeffrey Epstein 1953–2019

Financier and convicted child sex offender

Attended until 1971

Also attended: New York University

Thomas Edison 1847–1931

Inventor and businessman, known for the light bulb

Chemistry · Attended until 1879

Russell A. Hulse 1950–

Astrophysicist, 1993 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate

Also attended: University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Emile Berliner 1851–1929

German-American inventor of the gramophone record

George Frederick Kunz 1856–1932

Mineralogist and mineral collector

Sara Plummer Lemmon 1836–1923

Botanist; Mount Lemmon is named for her

Spouse: John Gill Lemmon (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor)

Chuck Hoberman 1956–

Engineer and inventor of the Hoberman sphere

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, Brown University

Mother: Mary Ann Hoberman (Yale University, Smith College)

Jackie Y. Ying 1966–

Nanotechnology scientist, founding director of Singapore's IBN

Also attended: Princeton University

David Lynch 1946–2025

Filmmaker and artist known for surrealist style

Also attended: American Film Institute Conservatory, George Washington University, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

George Segal 1934–2021

American actor and musician

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, Pratt Institute-Main, Haverford College

Bob Kane 1915–1998

Comic artist and co-creator of Batman

Daniel Libeskind 1946–

Polish-American architect

Patty Jenkins 1971–

Director of Monster and Wonder Woman

Also attended: American Film Institute Conservatory

Lee Krasner 1908–1984

Abstract expressionist painter

Eva Hesse 1936–1970

German-born sculptor, postminimal art pioneer

Also attended: Yale University

Evan Hunter 1926–2005

Crime author of the 87th Precinct novels

Also attended: CUNY Hunter College

Shigeru Ban 1957–

Japanese architect known for cardboard tube structures

Also attended: Southern California Institute of Architecture

Milton Glaser 1929–2020

Graphic designer who created the I ❤ NY logo

Augusta Savage 1892–1962

Sculptor of the Harlem Renaissance

Adolph Gottlieb 1903–1974

Abstract expressionist painter

Also attended: The New School

William Wallace Denslow 1856–1915

Illustrator of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Augustus Saint-Gaudens 1848–1907

Sculptor and engraver

Also attended: Stanford University

Alex Katz 1927–

Figurative painter and sculptor

Spouse: Ada Katz (CUNY Brooklyn College, New York University)

Calvin Lockhart 1934–2007

Bahamian actor in Cotton Comes to Harlem

Tom Wesselmann 1931–2004

Pop art artist

Also attended: University of Cincinnati-Main Campus, Hiram College

George Segal 1924–2000

Pop art sculptor and painter

Also attended: Pratt Institute-Main, SUNY at Purchase College

Leonard Frey 1938–1988

Actor, Oscar-nominated for Fiddler on the Roof

Also attended: Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater

Miriam Cooper 1891–1976

Silent film actress in The Birth of a Nation

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Wangechi Mutu 1972–

Kenyan-American visual artist

Also attended: Yale University

Victor Papanek 1923–1998

Designer and educator, author of Design for the Real World

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kansas City Art Institute

Joel-Peter Witkin 1939–

Photographer known for death and corpse themes

Bachelor of Arts · Art of sculpture · Class of 1974

Also attended: University of New Mexico-Main Campus, Columbia University in the City of New York

Elizabeth Diller 1954–

Architect, co-founder of Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Spouse: Ricardo Scofidio (Columbia University in the City of New York, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art)

Audrey Flack 1931–2024

Visual artist and photorealism pioneer

Attended until 1951

Also attended: Yale University, New York University

John Hejduk 1929–2000

Architect, artist and educator

Also attended: Harvard University, University of Cincinnati-Main Campus

Norman Bridwell 1928–2014

Author and creator of Clifford the Big Red Dog

Also attended: Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis, Purdue University-Main Campus

Ron Kitaj 1932–2007

American painter who lived in England

Mike Mills 1966–

Film director and screenwriter

Spouse: Miranda July (University of California-Santa Cruz)

William Harnett 1848–1892

Painter known for trompe-l'œil still lifes

Also attended: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Jürgen Mayer 1965–

German architect and artist

Also attended: Princeton University

Herb Lubalin 1918–1981

Graphic designer

Aline Kominsky-Crumb 1948–2022

Underground comics artist known for autobiographical work

Also attended: University of Arizona

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe 1850–1936

Painter, designer, etcher and illustrator

Thom Fitzgerald 1968–

Film director, screenwriter and producer

Dik Browne 1917–1989

Cartoonist behind Hägar the Horrible

Prabda Yoon 1973–

Thai writer, artist and translator

Kate Cory 1861–1958

Photographer and painter

Alice Wetterlund 1981–

Actress and comedian in Silicon Valley

Joan Semmel 1932–

Feminist painter known for nude self-portraits

Also attended: Pratt Institute-Main

Hugo Gellert 1892–1985

Hungarian-American illustrator and muralist

Louise Fitzhugh 1928–1974

Children's author of Harriet the Spy

Also attended: Florida Southern College, Bard College, Rhodes College

Alina Panova 1961–

Film and stage costume designer and producer

Bill Mantlo 1951–

Marvel comic writer, co-creator of Rocket Raccoon

Also attended: Brooklyn Law School

Michel Mossessian 1959–

French architect based in London

Also attended: Harvard University

Jerome Myers 1867–1940

Ashcan School painter and Armory Show organizer

Spouse: Ethel Myers (The New School)

Crockett Johnson 1906–1975

Cartoonist, creator of Harold and the Purple Crayon

Spouse: Ruth Krauss (Columbia University in the City of New York, The New School)

Angela Hill 1988–

UFC women's strawweight mixed martial artist

Anthony Fiala 1869–1950

American explorer