Albert Clinton Conner (September 5, 1848 - April 13, 1929) was an

American Impressionist American Impressionism was a style of painting related to European Impressionism and practiced by American artists in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century through the beginning of the twentieth. The style is characterized by loose b ...

painter who was an integral part of the

Richmond Group The Richmond Group also known as the Richmond School, is a group of American Impressionist painters who worked in the Richmond, Indiana, area from the late 19th Century through the mid-20th Century. While the Richmond Group had no formal organizati ...

of painters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After moving to California, Conner helped found

The Painters' Club of Los Angeles The Painters' Club of Los Angeles was a short-lived arts organization that existed from 1906 to 1909, and allowed only men as members. When the group disbanded a number of artists who had been members reorganized themselves as the California Art Cl ...

in 1906, which lay the groundwork for the creation of the

California Art Club The California Art Club (CAC) is one of the oldest and most active arts organizations in California. Founded in December 1909, it celebrated its centennial in 2009 and into the spring of 2010. The California Art Club originally evolved out of The ...

three years later in 1909.

Early years

Albert Clinton Conner was born in Fountain City, Indiana on September 5, 1848. He was a self-taught painter who spent most of his career in Indiana.Hughes, Edan Milton, Artists in California 1786-1940 Albert Conner and his brother Charles Conner (1857-1905) founded the Rambler's Sketch Club (c.1881) along with Frank J. Girardin (1856-1945) and

Micajah Thomas Nordyke Micajah Thomas Nordyke (March 9, 1847 – May 15, 1919) was a noted painter and member of the Richmond Group. Nordyke was a student of Frank Duveneck at the Cincinnati Academy of Art and a student at Earlham College, 1865–66. He also served a ...

(1847-1919), and soon added

John Elwood Bundy John Elwood Bundy (May 1, 1853 – January 17, 1933) was an American Impressionist painter known as the "dean" of the Richmond Group of painters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Bundy was born to a Quaker family in Guilford County, Nort ...

(1853–1933) to their group. The Rambler's Sketch Club later metamorphosed into the Richmond Art Association (founded 1898, but had exhibited art in schools as early as 1896), which subsequently became the

Richmond Art Museum The Richmond Art Museum was founded in 1898 as the Art Association of Richmond, Indiana. Artist John Elwood Bundy and author and attorney William Dudley Foulke were instrumental in the founding. Permanent collection Its collection includes imp ...

. Albert Conner moved to the Los Angeles area in October 1887 and became involved in the local art scene, exhibiting in local galleries. His address is listed as 232 South Griffin Avenue in Los Angeles, CA.Anderson, Antony, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, November 24, 1907 In circa 1909 he moved his family to Manhattan Beach, CA with his residence recorded as 609 13th St, Manhattan Beach, CA.

The Painters' Club of Los Angeles

On the evening of March 17, 1906, eleven artists met at the studio of

William Swift Daniell William Swift Daniell (1865 – June 28, 1933) was an American painter, and the founder of The Painters' Club of Los Angeles. He built the second studio in the art colony of Laguna Beach, California. Life Daniell was born in 1865 in San Francisc ...

(1865-1933) with the intention of forming an art club; that night

was born. Albert Clinton "Pops" Conner was elected President of the new art club, and Antony Anderson, the first art critic for the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

, was selected to be the first Secretary and Treasurer. No women or sculptors were allowed, as the group was limited to male painters. "...the Painters’ Club has been formed...The president of the club is A.C. Conner."

soon acquired a club gallery at Ford Smith & Little’s, No. 313 Broadway, and began to present one to two-month-long exhibits of members' work. (See Exhibitions below for a complete listing of Albert Conner's work exhibited at Ford Smith & Little's.) After a break over the summer of 1907, The Painters’ Club held its first meeting of the year on November 20, 1907 at the home studio of Albert Clinton Conner on S. Griffin Ave. On November 26, 1907, Albert Conner is re-elected President of the club. The Painters' Club held two larger annual exhibitions; Conner participated in both of them, held at the Blanchard Art Gallery. The First Annual Exhibition was held in late 1908;Anderson, Antony, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, October 11, 1908, III2; October 18, 1908, III2 after that, on December 1, 1908, Conner is unanimously re-elected president. The Second Annual Exhibition was held in late 1909. (For full details see Exhibitions below.) Anderson, Antony, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, November 7, 1909, III2 and November 14, 1909, III15 Soon after this, The Painters' Club is disbanded.

The California Art Club

The

(CAC) was created almost in the same moment that The Painters' Club ended in December 1909. At this point, "Pops" Conner was in his 60s, but he continued to exhibit with the new group, including venues like the Long Beach Public Library Art Gallery (1910),Anderson, Antony, Exhibition at Long Beach, Los Angeles Times, July 24, 1910 an exhibit at the new Royar and Neighbours Gallery (1912),Anderson, Antony, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 14, Feb. 4, 1912, III20; In the Royar Gallery, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 11, 1912, III23 a CAC Exhibition of Sketches (1912),Anderson, Antony, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, March 10, 17; Many Impressions, March 24, 1912 a CAC Spring Exhibition (1912),Anderson, Antony, Art Club’s Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, Apr. 28, 1912, III23; The Spring Exhibitions, May 5, 1912, III24; California Art Club, May 12, 1912, III19; California Art Club Again, May 19, 1912, III20 Conner also participated in the four initial Annual CAC Exhibitions; the first two were held in 1911. The Second Annual exhibition pamphlet lists Conner under a small category of exhibiting Honorary Members along with a handful of other members of The Painters' Club; elsewhere in the same pamphlet Conner is also listed as Honorary President.Second Annual Exhibition Pamphlet, California Art Club Archives Both the Third (1912) and Fourth (1913) Annual Exhibitions were first exhibited in Los Angeles and then traveled for a second showing to The San Francisco Institute of Art Third Annual Exhibition Pamphlet, California Art Club ArchivesAnderson, Antony, California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, October 12, 1913, III5; Anderson, Antony, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, October 19, 1913, III6; Artists Gather with Handiwork, Los Angeles Times, October 20, 1913, II2; Anderson, Antony, Various Points of View, Los Angeles Times, October 26, 1913, III6; Anderson, Antony, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, November 16, 1913, III6 Conner often painted the coast near Manhattan Beach where he lived. In 1912, he was elected city treasurer of the newly incorporated town. Conner died in Manhattan Beach on April 13, 1929.

Memberships

*The Painters' Club of Los Angeles (President - first and only) *California Art Club

Exhibitions

*Ruskin Art Club (Los Angeles), 1905 *Ford Smith & Little's, Dec. 1–31, 1906 (Painters' Club exhibit); Conner exhibited "The Oaks ��A Gray Day." *Ford Smith & Little's, Jan. 1-31, 1907 (Painters' Club exhibit); Conner exhibited "A Mountain Stream" and "Foggy Morning." *Ford Smith & Little's, Feb. 1-28, 1907 (Painters' Club exhibit); Conner exhibited "The Rustic Bridge" and "Oak-strewn Mountain Side." *Ford Smith & Little's, April 1–30, 1907 (Painters' Club exhibit); Conner exhibited "Lake Elsinore" and "Study of Oaks." *The First Annual Exhibition of The Painters' Club, Blanchard Art Gallery, Los Angeles, Oct. 7 – 22, 1908. Conner exhibited two works, "Midwinter in the San Gabriel Valley" and "Across the Channel," the latter a marine painting. *The Second Annual Exhibition of The Painters' Club, Blanchard Art Gallery, Los Angeles, Nov. 1-13, 1909. Conner exhibited two oil paintings, "The Mesa Meadow" and "Along the Beach." *1st Annual Exhibit of the Chautauqua Association of Southern California, July 16 – Sept. 15, 1910, Long Beach Public Library Art Gallery, 101 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach, CA. Conner's work is unnamed. *First Annual CAC Exhibition, Jan. 31 – Feb. 25, 1911, California Art Club Gallery and Club-Room, 10th and Figueroa Streets, Hotel Ivins, Los Angeles. Conner exhibited two oil paintings, "Sunshine and Mist" and "Manhattan Beach." *Royar and Neighbours Gallery, Feb. 5 – 25, 1912, No. 744 Hill Street, Los Angeles. Conner exhibited two unnamed oil paintings at the new gallery. *Exhibition of Sketches, March 21 – 30, 1912, Blanchard Gallery, Los Angeles. Conner's work is unnamed. *Second Annual CAC Exhibition, Nov. 22 – Dec. 6, 1911, Blanchard Gallery, Los Angeles. Conner exhibited two paintings, "An Arroyo Memory" and "Where the Lupines Grow." He is listed in the exhibition pamphlet under a special category of Honorary Members along with a handful of other members of The Painters' Club; elsewhere in the same pamphlet Conner is also listed as Honorary President. *CAC Spring Exhibition, May 3 – 31, 1912, Friday Morning Club, Los Angeles. Conner exhibited "A Shady Pool." *Third Annual CAC Exhibition, Nov. 18 – Dec. 30, 1912, Blanchard Hall Gallery, Los Angeles. Conner exhibited "A Shady Pool." The Third Annual Exhibition traveled for a second showing to The San Francisco Institute of Art, Dec. 8, 1912 – Jan. 2, 1913.Anderson, Antony, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, November 17, 1912, III17; Art Club’s Exhibition, November 24, 1912, III18 *Fourth Annual CAC Exhibition, October 20 – November 8, 1913, Blanchard Hall Gallery, Los Angeles. Conner exhibited "Lupines." The Fourth Annual Exhibition traveled for a second showing to The San Francisco Institute of Art December 8–20, 1913. *San Francisco Art Association, 1911–13 *Gardena (CA) High School, 1933

Collections

*Manhattan Beach Historical Society *Santa Fe Railway

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conner, Albert Clinton 1848 births 1929 deaths American Impressionist painters