Libby Schoettle
Libby Schoettle is the New York City–based artist and creator of PhoebeNewYork, the instantly recognizable paper-doll-like alter ego whose wit, style, and emotional honesty have become fixtures on the streets of New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, London, and Berlin.
Since 2023, PhoebeNewYork has been carried year-round by the Whitney Museum Shop, bringing Libby’s street-born character into one of the world’s leading museums of contemporary American art.
Libby’s work has been featured in Vogue, New York Magazine’s The Cut, Teen Vogue, Time Out New York, Glamour Italia, BlackBook Media, Glamour Espana, Philadelphia Style, Il Fotografo, JeJune, Nylon, Downtown, and Vestal Magazine. She has collaborated with Victoria Beckham Beauty, Dr. Martens, Sonia Rykiel, Lululemon, rag & bone, Delmonico’s, and Bonnie Young, and has been invited to speak about her work at Christie’s Education, New York University, and the City College of New York.
Originally born from Libby’s handmade collage practice, Phoebe was constructed from vintage photographs, fashion magazine pages, Xeroxes, and pop art references. What began as a series of imperfect, hand-cut collages has evolved into a multidisciplinary practice spanning original collage, large-scale street art, installations, storytelling, merchandise, and character-based performance.
Through Phoebe, Libby explores vulnerability, humor, feminism, ambition, obsession, anxiety, beauty, independence, and the emotional contradictions of modern life. Dressed in cutout couture and paired with memorable declarations such as “Fear Nothing,” “Don’t Look Back,” and “Be Confident,” Phoebe transforms private thoughts into public affirmations that invite viewers to pause, reflect, and smile.
The evolution of Phoebe—from a handmade collage to an internationally recognized street character—is the subject of an upcoming documentary series by Canobie Films.
Originally from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Libby studied at Gettysburg College and Philadelphia University before graduating with honors from Hunter College.
Learn more at www.libbyschoettle.com and follow @phoebenewyork on Instagram
Recent Press
Vogue | Phoebe—A Street Art Star in New York—Has Landed a Museum Show in Denmark
by Laird Borrelli-Persson
“Phoebe’s face, if not her name, will be familiar to those who spend a time in downtown Manhattan. Since 2015 this round-faced, sassy, highly opinionated, and somewhat neurotic sprite has held court, illegally, on lamp posts and such. She’s always dressed to the nines, and is never at a loss for words.
…
Phoebe is the brainchild of Schoettle, who describes her creation as her alter-ego. “It’s very important for me to recognize her as that because she does the things that I’m afraid of, and I am able to put into her things that inspire me, that are in turn inspiring other people,” the artist said on a call. This give and take is more than personal, it’s part and parcel of street art, which is essentially an interactive game of hide and seek played by the artist and viewer.
…
“My Paper World” will trace the development of Phoebe, underlining the personal experience of the artist, and the transition of her character from desk to lamppost, where curator Julie Horne Møller first encountered Phoebe.
EDUCATION
Gettysburg College
Philadelphia University, Fashion
Hunter College, BA Film Production
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 Horsens Museum, Denmark solo show
2020 Solo street art/cut out installation “take over” inside the former Abercrombie Store at the Seaport
2019 212 Arts, NY
2018 Gallery 181, TO
2018 212 Arts, NY
2007 Meredith Ward Fine Art, NY
EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
2026 Play/Pretend Exhibition by Newport Art Museum (Rhode Island)
2025 Speaker at the Art Therapy Project by the Tish Foundation
2025 And Collection Contemporary Art (Tokyo)
2025 Schytz Haaning Gallery (Denmark)
2025 Art Therapy Project Charity
2025 Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation Charity
2025 The HeART Project UK Charity
2025 Guest Speaker at the 92nd Street Y For Teen Week
2023 West Chelsea Contemporary
2023 Whitney Museum Shop Pop-Up Show – NYC, NY
2023 Concrete to Canvas – Austin, Texas
2022 LearningSpring School charity auction
2022 Grace Church School charity auction
2022 West Chelsea Contemporary – First Impressions
2021 West Chelsea Contemporary – From Concrete to Canvas
2021 Together We Art Charity
2021 Art on Paper
2020 Galerie Zberro group show
2019 Featured in the Soho Village Frieze Week Art Walk: “Finding Phoebe”
2019 Artist profile in Jejuene Magazine
2019 Street Art collaboration with Victoria Beckham Beauty: “VB meets Phoebe” in NYC
2019 Most Illegal Art Show
2019 Elevation Worldwide Her·o·ism Art Series Panelist
2019 Downtown Magazine NYC’s Top 100 Wonder Women
2019 Large-scale (10.5 feet) art installation at rag & bone on Elizabeth and Houston Street, NYC
2019 Guest Speaker and Artist (providing artworks) at Delmonico’s 151st Anniversary Ladies POWER Lunch
2018 Saint Francis Hospital Foundation Annual Gala: Auction, NYC
2018 NYU Guest Speaker, NYC
2018 Paddle8 Art and Design Auction, NYC
2018 Christie’s Education, Guest Speaker, NYC
2018 Glamour Magazine Art Charity, Spain
2018 The Other Art Fair, London
2018 “Art + Cocktails at Chefs for Kids’ Cancer – NYC / Childhood Cancer Foundation”
2018 RIDE FOR MONGOLIA CUSTOM SKATECUSTOM EXHIBITION
2017 “The Kitchen Benefit Art Auction”
2017 Portico NY, Inc. “Streets of NY”
2017 CUSP NYC “Make Room”
2017 STATION 16 PROJEKROOM AND VILLAGE BUNKR “NYC meets MTL. Toile Blanche.”
2017 Dorian Grey at the International Urban Art Fair
2017 Frantiques Photo Gallery
2017 ACLU Benefit Auction
2017 Medair Charity Auction
2017 212 Arts NY, NY
2016-7 PhoebeNewYork art displayed in the window of the Soho lululemon store (a 6-month residence)
2016 Fillin Global NY, NY
2015 Space Sixteen, NY, NY
2013 Art Aqua, Miami, FL
2012 LOOC ART in Southampton, NY
2011 Art Show Bedford, Bedford, NY
2009 Claudio Zanetti, NY, NY