In 1959, he opened the Artist's Studio [1][2] at 48 East Third Street, NYC, which hosted readings by Beat generation poets such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Frank O'Hara, Diane di Prima and LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka).
"George Nelson Preston had a storefront 'Artist's Studio' at 48 East 3rd Street where he orchestrated the most important poetry readings ever held in New York.
One historic program on Sunday, February 15, 1959, included Kerouac, Ginsberg, Corso, Orlovsky, LeRoy Jones, Jose Garcia Villa, Edward Marshall, Ted Joans, and others".
For the completion of his Ph.D., he conducted field research in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo (1968-70), resulting in a Ph.
He taught African Art History at the Cooper Union (1971–78) and Rutgers University (1970–73) and at the City College of CUNY (1973-2006), where he is now Emeritus Professor.