The National Arts Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and members club on Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1898 by Charles DeKay, an art and literary critic of the New York Times, to "stimulate, foster, and promote public interest in the arts and to educate the American people in the fine arts". The National Arts Club has several art galleries, and hosts a variety of public programs in all artistic areas including theater, literature and music. Although the club is private, many of its events are free and open to the public.[1]
History
Establishment
Placard on the exterior of the building.
A group of friends, all of them involved in architecture, art, or civic affairs, discussed the possibility of a new kind of club that would embrace all the arts. The establishment of the Club came at a time when American artists were increasingly turning to their own nation rather than exclusively to Europe as a center of work and creativity. Significantly, the club would offer full membership for women at the onset, reflecting their accomplishment in the arts.[2]
While the group was working out an organizational plan, Charles DeKay, the literary and art critic of the New York Times for 18 years, returned from a diplomatic post abroad. An inspired organizer and entrepreneur, he sent letters to men and women of importance in the New York area as well as in metropolitan areas across the country. The response was so enthusiastic that the club was able to apply to Albany for its charter in 1898. With the application went a list of the officers, Board of Trustees, and members totaling more than 1200.
The club's first home was a brownstone on West 34th Street. Commerce, meanwhile, was moving up from downtown, and the neighborhood of brownstones was changing.
20th century
Because it accepted both men and women, the club was a rousing success and its tight quarters on 34th street could barely keep up with the demand for new membership.[3]Walter Leighton Clark, patron and founder of the Grand Central Art Galleries, became a life member in 1907, and was joined by others in his artistic, business and social circles.[4]
Spencer Trask, the club's treasurer, was asked to find the club a new home. He found that 14 and 15 Gramercy Park South, the former home of Samuel Tilden, was on the market. Legend has it that he was so afraid that some other buyer would also find it that he put down some money of his own to bind the bargain. In 1906, the club acquired the Samuel J. Tilden House.
Throughout the 20th century, the club was primarily noted for its exhibits, with a few controversies arising from some of its shows. In 1905, the club displayed a sculpture of Aphrodite that purported to be from ancient Rome.[5] Critics were quick to deride the statue as a fake,[6] placing it as a work that came from a much later era. In 1922, "Nude Girl with a Shawl" (now known as "Nude with White Shawl"), a painting by George Bellows, offended the audience of the time, who considered it immoral.[7]
21st century
The early 21st century was marked by financial crisis and a decade-long feud between the club's long-running president and its board
[8] that eventually led to the president's expulsion and settlement of state charges against him by the New York State Attorney General's Office.[9]
In 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the club renovated parts of its building to allow for the opening of new galleries.[10]
Clubhouse
Initial clubhouse
The initial clubhouse was noted for its tea rooms and the fact that it allowed both men and women to commingle. However, with a growing membership, the club was forced to find a new home. It initially purchased a building next door to the original clubhouse but, in 1906, the club found an opportunity to move into a new space: the Samuel Tilden Mansion.
The new clubhouse, which opened its doors in 1906,[16] was initially designed with a billiard room and a parlor on the ground floor, and reading rooms and smoking rooms on the 1st floor. The 2nd floor was purely focused on team rooms for female members.
Facade
During the 2006 restoration of the Tilden mansion's stoop, the Brazilian New York City artist Sergio Rossetti Morosini has now sculpted a bust of Michelangelo above the front door on the building's façade.[17]
The Bust of Michelangelo, sculpted by New York City Artist Sergio Rossetti MorosiniThe west parlor of The National Arts Club.
In keeping with its goal of supporting research in American art, the club frequently loans works from the collection to scholarly exhibitions presented by institutions and galleries such as the Florence Griswold Museum; the Thomas Walsh Gallery, Fairfield University; the Trout Gallery, Dickinson College; the Society of Illustrators, New York; and Berry-Hill Galleries, New York.[18]
Public programs
Events
The club produces over 150 free public events per year, allowing the general public to get a broader understanding of the arts, in categories like Architecture, Archeology, Painting, Writing, Performance Arts and more.[19]
Voices of Soho Participating Artists at The National Arts Club
In December 2020, the Club presented Voices of the Soho Renaissance, the first exhibition of artwork born out of the calls for social justice which transformed New York City's Soho neighborhood, following the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.[21] The show was followed by What Happened This Summer: ART2HEART, a second exhibition exploring the topic.[22]
Classes
Since its inception, the club has offered a number of art classes, some open specifically to members and others open to the general public. Classes include drawing, pastel, cooking, and writing classes, often taught by club members who are professionals on the topic.
The Medal of Honor
Beginning in 1906, the National Arts Club started awarding the "NAC Medal of Honor" to recognize individuals who had made unique contribution to the arts field. The medal is awarded on a yearly basis and has recognized people in Fashion, acting, literature, music, and architecture.
Other societies within the club
Several smaller groups have existed within the National Arts Club:[23]
The Discus, a short-lived eating and debating club.
The Men's Open Table, 1910-1950s, weekly dinners with a speaker.
The Women's Open Table
Membership
Requirements for membership
From its very early days, the club differed from other social clubs. At its founding, the New York Times remarked: "This club differs from the others in several ways, especially in the fact that it has a very serious purpose, namely to encourage the arts side of American manufactures. On its social side, it presents an innovation in club life. It offers equal privileges to women, and has already over a hundred members of the gentler sex."
[29]
The club now has about 2,000 members who come from both the art world or are supporters of the arts. Members work in committees to organize events and exhibits that are available for free to the general public.
One of the unusual benefits of membership it that the club allows members access to a Gramercy Park key.
Reciprocal clubs
The National Arts Club has reciprocities with clubs in other cities such as Lisbon, London and Spain, where members can go stay when they are traveling abroad.[30]
Here's the list of clubs they have agreements with:
[31]
Over the years, The National Arts Club has been used for several prominent film and television productions (see partial list below).[34]
The location has also been featured in numerous prominent photo shoots, TV interviews, and fashion shows, including Steven Klein photographing Kim Kardashian for Interview Magazine.
^"Samuel J. Tilden House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2007.
^"The National Arts Club"(PDF). New York Times Time Machine. October 31, 1899. Retrieved June 29, 2023. This club differs from the others in several ways, especially in the fact that it has a very serious purpose, namely to encourage the arts side of American manufactures. On its social side, it presents an innovation in club life. It offers equal privilege to women, and has already over a hundred members of the gentler sex.
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