As we begin to ditch tank tops and shorts in favor of sweaters and scarves, there’s a subset of students who are still choosing to strip down. Each semester, approximately four students work as nude models for figure drawing at the College, posing for in-class studies or TA-run Thursday evening practice sessions. Once doors are closed and windows are covered, models are asked to pose for up to 20 minutes under the supervision of a TA or instructor.
For Garrett Makosky ’26, this fall marks his third semester as a nude model in the art department.
He first heard about the job from a friend taking an art class who was amused by the presence of student nude models. The comment, however, inspired Makosky to eventually take the job during his sophomore winter study. “I took a step back and thought about [nude modeling] and realized that it could be something that would be kind of a fun way to embrace a body positive ethos, and also just engage with the art department,” he said in an interview with the Record.
Alex Riggs ’26, who modeled during the 2023–24 school year, first learned about the job after meeting the nude model for her sculpture class. Riggs decided to pursue the position herself, hoping to support fellow students. “I saw how beneficial it was for students to be able to draw actual people instead of mannequins,” she told the Record.
Despite being the muse for art students, Riggs and Makosky both find that the act of posing is a method of creative expression in itself.
“I have a dance background, so I feel like it wasn’t entirely foreign to me,” Riggs said. “There’s definitely a learning curve with knowing what poses are good for drawing and what interesting shapes you can make with your body, but I like to have fun with it and play with it.”
Makosky also enjoys the challenge and creativity of posing. “The art form in it is understanding what is fun and valuable to draw,” he said.
After sessions, the models find themselves in a gallery filled with representations of their own body, Makosky explained. “It’s extremely strange,” he said. “You’re pretty much face to face with how everyone perceives your body in a way it never is in photographs. Drawing is so innately tied to people’s perception of you.”
Riggs enjoys seeing the finished products and said she has found the process to be a positive experience. “It was just so interesting to see my body, which is something that I exist in so subjectively, from an objective perspective,” she said. “Seeing other people illustrate me, I think that gave me more confidence and made me feel more empowered because you know that your body can be this object of art.”
To pose nude is to embrace a vulnerability that feels especially pronounced within the intimacy of a small student body. “I’ve modeled for someone that I used to have a crush on, which is always a funny experience,” Makosky said. “I’ve modeled for friends, for people I know from choir and chamber choir, for classmates. It is a small school, and I always wonder what they’re saying to their friends, but at the end of the day it doesn’t bother me that much.”
Although campus rumors claim that nude modeling is the most lucrative job on campus, both Makosky and Riggs were unimpressed by the pay rate. “We make $16 an hour,” Makosky revealed. “Last semester, I emailed every other NESCAC and asked what their models are paid, and we are the lowest paid models across all the NESCAC.”
Although Makosky finds his job meaningful, he acknowledges that the pay does not reflect the efforts of the position. “It’s labor that is physically difficult, mentally challenging, and extremely vulnerable,” he said “It’s weird to feel underpaid for something that is so innately tied to my body.”
Riggs corroborated the strain of the role. “It is a really vulnerable job, and there are extra burdens that come with it,” she said. “You have to be so fully present.”
Rosie Pelosky ’26 said working with student models was a valuable part of her sophomore year sculpture class, which included making a nude figure based on a student model. Pelosky said that despite the social taboos against nakedness, she found that the strangeness quickly subsided in the context of art. “It’s interesting to see someone you see around all the time, but to see them in this different light,” she said. “Everyone who’s in the art classes appreciates that stuff, so I feel like people are more mature about it.”
While modeling at the College can lead to vulnerable or unexpected encounters between peers, the models describe the environment in art classes and drawing sessions as consistently respectful. “I’m very grateful that Williams is a place where students are so respectful of the models,” Riggs said. “I was never made to feel uncomfortable by any of the students, and obviously you hope that to be the case everywhere, but it’s not a given.”
For Makosky, that culture of respect makes the job all the more accessible. “Anyone can do this. No matter what you think your body looks like, or doesn’t look like, people want to practice drawing anatomy,” he said. “As long as you have a body, it’s worth drawing and it’s worthy of art.”
