| Established in 1898 by Charles de Kay, the National Arts Club was one of the most innovative arts organizations of its day. Its mission included bringing artist and patron together in an amenable social setting and educating the public about the arts. Most importantly, it provided diverse groups and individuals with an open, non judgmental forum in which to exhibit their work.; This dissertation examines the club's role in relation to the artistic life of New York City from 1898 to 1914, providing an in-depth examination of its founding and early history and underscoring those aspects of its exhibition programming that set it apart from existing cultural organizations in Manhattan. The club's early promotion of cutting-edge American art is highlighted through an assessment of five key exhibitions related to pictorialist photography, radical realist painting and modernist painting, all of which provided young, non-established artists with an opportunity to exhibit in the nation's art capital and gave local art audiences the opportunity to see radical and ofttimes controversial work not shown elsewhere. In addition to generating critical commentary that illuminates the conflict between academic and non-academic art, these events were instrumental in paving the way for the liberal spirit that led to landmark exhibitions such as that of the Eight at the Macbeth Gallery in 1908 and the Armory Show of 1913. This study also chronicles the evolution of the club's artist life membership program, established in 1909 as a means of attracting prominent American artists into the ranks of the membership. The brainchild of William T. Evans, the program proved highly successful, but as my study demonstrates, it had a detrimental effect on the exhibition programming, transforming the club from a liberal to a conservation organization that promoted the work of the artist life members rather then showcasing new and progressive American art. However, by requiring artist life members to submit a “diploma presentation” in order to qualify, the club developed a small but specialized collection of artwork dominated by examples of Impressionist, Tonalist and Realist painting. An accompanying catalogue of the diploma paintings represents the first such reconstruction of this formerly unknown institutional collection. |
