Julia Margot Vitz McGibbon
Born in New York City in 2002, I spent several years living in the South before returning to New York at age ten. Though I have been painting and drawing for as long as I can remember, I began formal art training at twelve, studying at the Russian Bridgeview School of Fine Arts in Queens until the age of fifteen.
At sixteen, I enrolled at Grand Central Atelier (GCA) after being awarded a scholarship to attend their three-week intensive Teens Bootcamp. I went on to join GCA's core program at seventeen, completing a two-year course of study and graduating in 2021. That same summer, I was accepted into the Hudson River Fellowship, through which I deepened my practice in landscape and plein air painting.
I then pursued a five-year degree in classical architecture at the University of Notre Dame — a program whose third year is conducted entirely in Rome, Italy. I graduated in May 2025 and am currently working at Robert A.M. Stern Architects while continuing to accept painting commissions.
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Edelweiss is named for one of my favorite flowers — and one of my favorite songs: "Edelweiss" from the 1965 classic The Sound of Music. The quiet beauty of that melody, and of the natural world it evokes, is what I hope to capture in my work.
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My introduction to plein air painting came at fourteen, on a trip to Dumbo, Brooklyn with my instructor Ilya M., where I painted the Brooklyn Bridge. Though landscape remained part of my practice, the Hudson River Fellowship — held at Wethersfield Estate in upstate New York — renewed my deep engagement with it. Following the fellowship, I embarked on a cross-country road trip to California, painting along the way through Montana, Wyoming, and Nevada. I am currently working on commissioned landscape paintings of Montana as well as the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
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Easily contact me through the “contact” tab to discuss potential projects (price will depend on size, materials, etc.) You can also contact me through my instagram, @juliamargotart.