After finishing high school in Auburn in 1876, Alexander Van Laer moved to New York City, studying at the National Academy (Antique, 1877-81; Life, 1880-1) and the Art Students League. Other teachers included R. Swain Gifford and the Dutchman, George Poggenbeek. In 1880, Van Laer first exhibited two crayon portraits at an Academy Annual. A twelve-year hiaitus followed, during which he may have spent time in Ohio. Back in New York by 1892, he had adopted landscape painting as his specialty.
Van Laer had a second, important career as a lecturer and teacher of art history. For over two decades, he taught at such institutions as the Chautauqua resort, the Brooklyn Institute, and the National Academy. His lectures to students in the NAD schools included specialized topics such as Rembrandt as well as general surveys of painting. In 1912, he also served a three-year term on the Academy Council. At the end of his life, he lived in Litchfield, Connecticut.
