The MacDowell Clubs in the United States were established at the turn of the twentieth century to honor internationally recognized American composer

Edward MacDowell Edward Alexander MacDowell (December 18, 1860January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites ''Woodland Sketches'', ''Sea Pieces'' and ''Ne ...

. They became part of a broader social movement to promote music and other art forms in America.

History

The first MacDowell music club was established in 1896 in Boston by Edward MacDowell's students — ''The MacDowell Club of Boston'' ( Edith Noyes Greene was one of the founders).Bomberger, E. Douglas
''MacDowell''
New York: Oxford University Press, 2013, p. 287. Club in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

was founded in 1901,Yackley, Elizabeth A
Marian MacDowell and the Macdowell Clubs
M.A. thesis. University of Maryland, College Park, 2008. and another one, in

Baker City, Oregon Baker City is a city in and the county seat of Baker County, Oregon, United States. It was named after Edward D. Baker, the only U.S. Senator ever killed in military combat. The population was 10,099 at the time of the 2020 census. History Pl ...

, in 1903, another club formed in

Conneaut, Ohio Conneaut ( ) is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, along Lake Erie at the mouth of Conneaut Creek northeast of Cleveland. The population was 12,841 at the 2010 Census. Conneaut is located at the far northeast ...

in 1903. The ''MacDowell Club of Canton'' was founded in 1908; its members donated funds for construction of the Gail Watson Cable Recital Hall. The ''MacDowell Club of Allied Arts of Los Angeles'' was established in 1918. In Cincinnati, not a club, but the ''Cincinnati MacDowell Society'' was founded in 1913, which formed significant ties with the

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowell ...

. At the peak of their popularity before and during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, about 400 independent clubs functioned in the nation. In 1955,

Marian MacDowell Marian MacDowell (maiden name Marian Griswold Nevins) (November 22, 1857 – August 23, 1956) was an American pianist and philanthropist. In 1907, she and her husband Edward MacDowell founded the MacDowell Colony for artists in Peterborough, Ne ...

wrote in a letter, "I suppose in the last forty years there must have been nearly 400; probably there are 300 now." War-time entry of women into the workforce and later social developments decreased the membership, and combined with advances in transportation and communication diminished the role of MacDowell Clubs both as social hubs and entertainment venues. In 2008, fifteen MacDowell Clubs continued to operate, including, in

Altus, Oklahoma Altus () is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 19,813 at the 2010 census, a loss of 7.7 percent compared to 21,454 in 2000. Altus is home to Altus Air Force Base, the United States Air F ...

;

Dyersburg, Tennessee Dyersburg is a city and the county seat of Dyer County, Tennessee, United States. It is located in northwest Tennessee, northeast of Memphis on the Forked Deer River. The population was 16,164 at the 2020 census, down 5.72% from the 2010 census. ...

;

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

;

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

;

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

;

Chickasha, Oklahoma Chickasha is a city in and the county seat of Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,036 at the 2010 census. Chickasha is home to the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The city is named for and strongly connecte ...

;

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jane ...

; and

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. As of 2015, such clubs, as the ''MacDowell Club of Mountain Lakes'' in New Jersey (established in 1916 by Lazelle Crooks Whitmore), the ''MacDowell Club of Allied Arts'' in Oklahoma City (established in 1920 by Hyla Florence Long), the ''MacDowell Music Club in Janesville'', Wisconsin, the ''MacDowell Music Club of Chattanooga'' (founded in 1916), and the ''MacDowell Club of Milwaukee'' (established in 2008) were functioning. A typical small club gathering would feature a privately held meeting with invited talks, piano and vocal solos and duets of local performers. Bigger clubs were able to organize academic lectures, concerts, recitals (including

's or other well-known national performers) and art exhibitions opened to the general public, as well as private dinners, pageants, and balls. Several organizations, including clubs in New York City, Los Angeles, Austin, Illinois,

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, Oklahoma City, and

, among others, established student funds and scholarships for youth and developed outreach programs through Junior MacDowell Clubs while continuing to support financially the

. Several clubs established their own choruses, as in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Boston and

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

; other — vocal ensembles. In Boston, the MacDowell Club Orchestra consisting mainly of amateur and semiprofessional female musicians gave performances in Copley Hall; the MacDowell clubs of New York, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles also formed their own orchestras. All employed well-known conductors, such as Georges Longy, and

Arthur Fiedler Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one o ...

in Boston; in New York, orchestra was formed in 1929, led by

David Mannes David Mannes (16 February 186625 April 1959) was an American violinist, conductor, educator, and community organizer. Biography David Mannes was born in New York in 1866. He studied the violin in Harlem with composer and violinist John Thomas D ...

, a concertmaster of the

New York Symphony Orchestra The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie, ...

, and held concerts in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

and the Metropolitan Opera House. All clubs were responsible for adopting their own bylaws and acted differently in defining their membership: some were accepting musicians only, as the ''MacDowell Club of Green Bay in Wisconsin'', or the ''Macdowell Club of Mountain Lakes'' in New Jersey, other subscribed to an allied arts organization philosophy championed by

as the ''MacDowell Club of New York City''; some were operating strictly as

women's clubs The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a par ...

, i.e., the ''MacDowell Club of Mountain Lakes'', the ''MacDowell Club of Los Angeles'', or the ''MacDowell Club of Milwaukee'', while other accepted men, as clubs in Boston and New York did. However, most of the MacDowell clubs were "female-only organizations." Many clubs joined the

National Federation of Music Clubs The National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) is an American non-profit philanthropic music organization that promotes American music, performers, and composers. NFMC endeavors to strengthen quality music education by supporting "high standards o ...

MacDowell Club of New York

The MacDowell Club of New York City was established in 1905 and disbanded in 1942. It was among the biggest clubs by the same name around the country honoring the legacy of

and supporting the

, the artists' retreat in

Peterborough, New Hampshire Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the 2020 census, is defined as the Peterborough census-designated place (CDP) and ...

. The Club funded and awarded a resident scholarship at the MacDowell Colony and made regular financial contributions.Guide to the MacDowell Club of New York City Records, 1905-1942
''New York Historical Society'' The club charter declared the main goals of the club as following: In a few years the membership of the club grew to 600. Club membership included writers, musicians, performing and visual artists, theate and film actors, sculptors, and architects:

Hamlin Garland Hannibal Hamlin Garland (September 14, 1860 – March 4, 1940) was an American novelist, poet, essayist, short story writer, Georgist, and psychical researcher. He is best known for his fiction involving hard-working Midwestern farmers. Biog ...

Richard Watson Gilder Richard Watson Gilder (February 8, 1844 – November 19, 1909) was an American poet and editor. Life and career Gilder was born on February 8, 1844 at Bordentown, New Jersey. He was the son of Jane (Nutt) Gilder and the Rev. William Henry Gi ...

Edwin Arlington Robinson Edwin Arlington Robinson (December 22, 1869 – April 6, 1935) was an American poet and playwright. Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on three occasions and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times. Early life Robins ...

James Harvey Robinson James Harvey Robinson (June 29, 1863 – February 16, 1936) was an American scholar of history who, with Charles Austin Beard, founded New History, a disciplinary approach that attempts to use history to understand contemporary problems, which ...

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...

Leonora Speyer Leonora Speyer, Lady Speyer (née von Stosch; 7 November 1872 – 10 February 1956), was an American poet and violinist. Life She was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Count Ferdinand von Stosch of Mantze in Silesia, who fought for th ...

, Herbert Adams, Robert Aitken, Hobart Nichols,

Irving Ramsey Wiles Irving Ramsey Wiles (April 8, 1861 – July 29, 1948) was an American artist, born in Utica, New York. In the early 20th century, Wiles was a popular exponent of American grand manner portraiture as redefined by the work of John Singer Sargent, ...

, Ivan Olinsky,

F. Luis Mora Francis Luis Mora (July 27, 1874 – June 5, 1940) was a Uruguayan-born American figural painter. Mora worked in watercolor, oils and tempera. He produced drawings in pen and ink, and graphite; and etchings and monotypes. He is known for his pain ...

Robert Henri Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher. As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...

George Bellows George Wesley Bellows (August 12 or August 19, 1882 – January 8, 1925) was an American realism, American realist painting, painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City. He became, according to the Columbus Museum of Art ...

Louise Homer Louise Beatty Homer (April 30, 1871May 6, 1947) was an American operatic contralto who had an active international career in concert halls and opera houses from 1895 until her retirement in 1932. After a brief stint as a vaudeville entertainer ...

David Bispham David Scull Bispham (January 5, 1857 – October 2, 1921) was an American operatic baritone. Biography Bispham was born on January 5, 1857 in Philadelphia, the only child of William Danforth Bispham and Jane Lippincott Scull.W. Bispham, 274 Bo ...

, Katherine Bacon (1896-1952), Francis Stetson Rogers (1870-1951),

Charles Coburn Charles Douville Coburn (June 19, 1877 – August 30, 1961) was an American actor and theatrical producer. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award three times – in ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941), ''The More the Me ...

, Harriet Rogers (Otis) Dellenbaugh,

Beatrice Cameron Beatrice Cameron (born Susan Hegeman, 1868 – July 12, 1940) was an American stage actress. She was the leading lady for the company of actor Richard Mansfield, whom she married in 1892. She retired from acting in 1898. Career Cameron's first a ...

Harold Van Buren Magonigle Harold Van Buren Magonigle (1867–1935) was an American architect, artist, and author best known for his memorials. He achieved his greatest success as a designer of monuments, but his artistic practices included sculpture, painting, writing, ...

, and May Riley Smith, among others.

Facilities

The MacDowell Club was initially located in the

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

studio (1905-1909), then at the old Metropolitan Opera House (1909-1911). In 1911, the Club moved to a spacious building at 108 W 55th Street,''An Art Exhibition Without a Jury System of Award''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, May 14, 1911 which featured a large vaulted gallery. In 1924, the MacDowell Club purchased the old converted Marquand stable — located at 166 East 73rd Street — from the

Joseph Pulitzer Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born Pulitzer József, ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in ...

estate.

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance fa� ...

had designed the original building for art collector

Henry Gurdon Marquand Henry Gurdon Marquand (April 11, 1819 – February 26, 1902) was an American financier, philanthropist and art collector known for his extensive collection. Early life Marquand was born in New York City on April 11, 1819, not long after the dea ...

in 1883. Shortly after Marquand's death in 1902, the building had been sold to

, then publisher of the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...

'', who lived several blocks to the east at 73rd and Park. A fire swept the building in 1935 and destroyed prints by Whistler, Hassam and others. In 1979, the Landmarks Preservation Commission proposed 12 of the 13 stable and garage buildings on the block for designation as part of the East 73rd Street Historic District, excluding the Marquand building. A year later Halina Rosenthal, head of the block association and later founder of the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, lobbied the commission to include the Marquand stable in the designation, which it did in 1981.

MacDowell Chorus

The MacDowell Chorus was formed in November 1909, under the direction of

Kurt Schindler Kurt Schindler (17 February 1882 – 16 November 1935) was a German-born American composer and conductor. Biography He was born on 17 February 1882. He came to the United States in 1905 to serve as an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera ...

. Two months after its founding,

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

, then the conductor of The

New York Philharmonic Orchestra The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

, invited the chorus to perform with the orchestra.Gustav Stickley, ''The MacDowell Chorus, A New Music Development in New York''
''

The Craftsman Craftsman may refer to: A profession *Artisan, a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative *Master craftsman, an artisan who has achieved such a standard that he may establish his own workshop and take o ...

'', Vol. 19, pg. 316, Oct 1910–Mar 1911, New York In 1912, Schindler changed the name to ''Schola Cantorum.'' Schindler continued to conduct the Schola Cantorum until January 1926, when he accepted an offer to take charge of the Roxy Theatre. Hugh Ross later became the director of the chorus.

Student Fund Committee

The MacDowell Club established a scholarship fund to support aspiring talented young artists, and funded a resident scholarship in Professor George Baker's Drama Workshop at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and a resident fellowship at the

Notable art exhibitors

In 1911, John W. Alexander, the Club's second president, instituted a revolutionary for the time change by introducing an ''open exhibition'', or ''no jury'' policy. Group of artists started to select works for exhibition in the MacDowell Club galleries by themselves. Many talented, but previously unrecognized artists, such as Stuart Davis,

Edward Hopper Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realist painter and printmaker. While he is widely known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching. Hopper created subdued drama ...

Yasuo Kuniyoshi was a Japanese-American painter, photographer and printmaker. Biography Kuniyoshi was born on September 1, 1889 in Okayama, Japan. He immigrated to the United States in 1906, choosing not to attend military school in Japan. Kuniyoshi original ...

, among others, received an opportunity to promote their works. Among the notable art exhibitors were: *

, 1912 *

Colin Campbell Cooper Colin Campbell Cooper, Jr. (March 8, 1856 – November 6, 1937) was an American Impressionism, American Impressionist painter, perhaps most renowned for his architectural paintings, especially of skyscrapers in New York City, Philadelphia, and Ch ...

, 1912 *

, 1917 * C.K. Chatterton, 1917 * William Laurel Harris, ''Saint Francis de Sales before Pope Clement VIII'' *

Helen Farnsworth Mears Helen Farnsworth Mears (; December 21, 1872 – February 17, 1916) was an American sculptor. Early years Mears was born December 21, 1872, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, daughter of John Hall Mears and Elizabeth Farnsworth Mears (pen names "Nellie Wildw ...

, one of 3 bronze ''

bas-reliefs Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

'' of

Abraham Jacob Bogdanove Abraham Jacob Bogdanove (September 2, 1888 – August 1946) was an American artist, mural painter, and teacher best known for his seascape paintings of the Maine coast, particularly around Monhegan Island. Bogdanove was born in Minsk, (Russian ...

, 1918

Presidents

* Eugene Heffley *

John White Alexander John White Alexander (7 October 1856 – 31 May 1915) was an American portrait, figure, and decorative painter and illustrator. Early life Alexander was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, now a part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Orphaned in in ...

* Frederick Stokes *

Ernest Peixotto Ernest Clifford Peixotto (1869–1940) was an American artist, illustrator, and author. Although he was known mainly for his murals and his travel literature, his artwork also regularly appeared in ''Scribner's Magazine''. His 1916 work ''Our His ...

Frederick S. Dellenbaugh Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh (September 13, 1853 – January 29, 1935) was an American explorer. Biography He was born in McConnelsville, Ohio on September 13, 1853, and was educated in the United States and in Europe. An explorer of the Amer ...

* Benjamin Prince * Cecil Smith * Hartwell Cahell

Charter members

* Kate Sara Chittenden * Mrs. Edgar L. Street (b.

Somerset, Pennsylvania Somerset is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Somerset County, Pennsylvania, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,046 at the 2020 census. The borough is surrounded by Somerset Township, Som ...

; d. 1935

)