Supporting art, literature,
and those who create
© Scott Kahn, Obelisk, oil on linen, 24×28 in., 1999
A foundation built from experience
The Kahn-Kirwin Foundation exists to give artists and writers what its founders rarely had: time, resources, and the knowledge that someone believes in their work. Through residencies, emergency grants, and scholarly programs, we try to make the creative life survivable — and worth living.
We are equally committed to the preservation, study, and dissemination of the artistic and literary contributions of Scott Kahn and Frederick Kirwin — ensuring that the work endures and continues to matter.
© Scott Kahn, Self Portrait in Storage, oil on linen, 2004
Scott Kahn
Born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1946, Scott Kahn began painting in the 1970s and spent more than four decades building a body of work of uncommon depth — nocturnal American landscapes, quiet domestic interiors, light on the edge of things.
He is now represented by David Zwirner, his paintings are collected internationally, and he is the subject of serious institutional study.
View works at David Zwirner"The painting knows things the painter doesn't."
Scott Kahn
Big House, Homage to America
© 62×72 in., 2012
Autumn Moon
© 24×28 in., 2014
Lunar Eclipse
© 24×28 in., oil on linen
Twilight
© 36×36 in., 2014
Berkshire Nightscape
© 36×40 in., oil on linen
Fireflies
© oil on linen
Early November, Pennsylvania
© 2013
© Selected works, Scott Kahn. Oil on linen. All rights reserved.
Full catalogue at David ZwirnerFrederick Kirwin
Frederick Kirwin is a poet and novelist with 9 published titles: lyric verse, narrative poetry, literary fiction — a body of work driven by hard beauty and the persistent search for grace in ordinary life.
Scott and Frederick met during their residencies as Fellows at the Edward F. Albee Foundation in Montauk. Scott also received a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and a Rauschenberg Foundation Grant. Frederick received a Schubert Foundation Fellowship, The Dramatists Guild Fund Award, and a Playwright-in-Residence Grant from the North Carolina School of the Arts. In no small way, the Kahn-Kirwin Foundation is being established to acknowledge all the help, financial and otherwise, that they both received as struggling young artists.
A Simple Prayer
Come to me always,
Frederick Kirwin
you who remain by my side
as I lurch through the night
into my morning of darkness.
Be with me and restore my soul
and say to me, as you do now,
"Open the window,
for dawn will come;
and if there is no light,
I will be your day
and the disappearance of death."
© Scott Kahn, Portrait of Fred Kirwin, oil on canvas, 1987
Frederick Kirwin — 9 published titles
Maurizio Casadei
Maurizio Casadei is an art market professional whose work spans private sales, artist management, and advisory between Europe and the United States. He specializes in Modern, Post-War, and Contemporary art, with particular expertise in market development, strategic placements and collection management, and fostering relationships between artists, collectors, galleries, and institutions.
Maurizio has advised private collectors on acquisitions, consignments, and cross-border transactions, facilitating the placement of works across international markets. His experience spans both the primary and secondary markets, with a focus on strategic positioning, private sales, and building long-term relationships within the global art community.
Markus Weiss
Markus Weiss is a globally minded executive with more than two decades of leadership experience across biotechnology, manufacturing, technology, defense, and international development. He has led organizations through transformation, growth, and market expansion across multiple continents and brings a cross-cultural, people-centered approach to leadership shaped by work throughout Europe and the Americas, including experience supporting international development initiatives.
Markus holds an Executive MBA, completed executive education programs at Harvard, Stanford and Kellogg, and serves on several nonprofit and industry boards focused on technology, education, leadership development, and historic preservation.
Allen Perl
Allen Perl is the managing partner of Perl, Grossman & Associates, LLP, a boutique CPA firm in Lake Success, NY, where he advises clients through every nuance of their financial lives — from income tax and audit representation to business formation, bookkeeping, and long-term financial planning. He is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs.
The discipline Allen brings to his practice is the same he has devoted, for more than two decades, to the nonprofit organizations he serves. He has been a member of NSSA's Board of Directors since 2001, served as Board President from 2003 to 2010, and currently serves as Treasurer. He also serves on the board of The Afya Foundation of America, a humanitarian organization delivering surplus medical supplies to under-resourced health systems worldwide, and is a supporter of Hope Community Services.