The Salmagundi Club, sometimes referred to as the Salmagundi Art Club, is a fine arts center founded in 1871 in the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

section of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

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 ...

. Since 1917, it has been located at 47

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

. , its membership roster totals roughly 1,100 members. The Salmagundi Club has served as a center for

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

s and collectors, with

art exhibition An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhib ...

s, art classes, artist demonstrations, art auctions and many other types of events. It is also a sponsor of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

Art Program (COGAP).

History

It was founded in 1871. Originally called the ''New York Sketch Class'', and later the ''New York Sketch Club'', the Salmagundi Club had its beginnings at the eastern edge of

in sculptor

Jonathan Scott Hartley Jonathan Scott Hartley (September 23, 1845 – December 6, 1912) was an American sculptor. Biography Jonathan Scott Hartley was born in Albany, New York on September 23, 1845. He was educated at The Albany Academy, and married Helen Inness in ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

studio, where a group of artists, students, and friends at the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

, which at the time was located at Fourth Avenue and Twenty-third Street, gathered weekly on Saturday evenings. The club formally changed its name to The Salmagundi Sketch Club in January 1877. The name has variously been attributed to

salmagundi Salmagundi (or salmagundy or sallid magundi) is a cold dish or salad made from different ingredients which may include meat, seafood, eggs, cooked vegetables, raw vegetables, fruits or pickles. In English culture, the term does not refer to a s ...

, a stew which the group has served from its earliest years, or to

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

's ''Salmagundi Papers.'' Growing rapidly, the organization was housed in a series of rented properties including 121 Fifth Avenue, 49 West 22nd Street, 40 West 22nd Street and finally 14 West Twelfth Street, where it remained for 22 years. In April 1917, following a three-year search, the club purchased Irad and Sarah Hawley's 1853 Italianate-style

brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Type ...

townhouse at 47

between East Eleventh and East Twelfth Streets from the estate of William G. Park for $100,000.00 and erected a two-story annex in the rear at an additional cost of $20,000.00 to house its primary art gallery and a billiard room. A housewarming event on February 5, 1918 was attended by more than 500 persons. In 1918, the club spearheaded a national effort to produce

range-finder painting A range-finder painting, sometimes called range-finding painting, is a large landscape painting produced as a training device to help gunners improve their accuracy. Historically, the best-documented use of such paintings was in the United States d ...

s used to train military gunners for World War I. The club provided the canvas and painting materials for these special-purpose paintings. In 1969 the building was designated a city landmark by the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

. In 1975 it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Membership

The Salmagundi Club was a male-only club for its first century, although artworks by women were accepted and praised. A sister club for women artists, the Pen and Brush Club, was formed around the corner from Salmagundi in 1894. Salmagundi began admitting women members in 1973. Members of the Salmagundi Club have included

Thomas P. Barnett Thomas P. Barnett (February 11, 1870 – September 23, 1929), also known professionally as Tom Barnett and Tom P. Barnett, was an American architect and painter from St. Louis, Missouri. Barnett was nationally recognized for both his work in ar ...

William Richardson Belknap William Richardson Belknap (March 28, 1849 – June 2, 1914), for 28 years was president of the Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Company''The Cincinnati Enquirer'', June 2, 1914, p. 2. based in Louisville, Kentucky, one of the largest hardware Am ...

, Alon Bement, Ralph Blakelock, A. J. Bogdanove,

Charles Bosseron Chambers Charles Bosseron Chambers (C. Bosseron Chambers) (1880 - 1964) was a painter, illustrator and teacher. ''The Reading Eagl''e describes Chambers as the "Norman Rockwell of Catholic art" and reports that his paintings have become collectible. He is ...

, James Wells Champney,

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...

, C.K. Chatterton,

Frederick Stuart Church Frederick Stuart Church (1842–1924) was an American artist, working mainly as an illustrator and especially known for his (often allegorical) depiction of animals. Biography He was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His father was an impor ...

Jay Hall Connaway Jay Hall Connaway (1893–1970) was a realist painter and art teacher, with a muscular painterly style, renowned primarily for scenes of sea and surf around Monhegan Island, Maine. The Portland Museum of Art said of him in a posthumous exhibit ...

John Henry Dolph John Henry Dolph (April 18, 1835 – September 28, 1903) was an American painter. Eventually based in New York City, he became notable for his depictions of pets such as dogs and kittens. Life John Henry Dolph was born on April 18, 1835, in Fort ...

Charles Dana Gibson Charles Dana Gibson (September 14, 1867 – December 23, 1944) was an American illustrator. He was best known for his creation of the Gibson Girl, an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent Euro-American woman at the turn of the ...

, Gordon H. Grant,

Walter Granville-Smith Walter Granville-Smith (1870–1938) was an illustrator and painter who was born in South Granville, New York on January 28, 1870. He is notable for producing the first colored illustration that appeared in the United States. Granville-Smith and hi ...

Edmund Greacen Edmund William Greacen (1876–1949) was an American Impressionist painter. His active career extended from 1905 to 1935, during which he created many colorful works in oil on canvas and board. One of his works, a reproduction of which is at the ...

, Charles P. Gruppé,

Emile Gruppe Emile Albert Gruppé (1896–1978) was an American painter, known for impressionistic landscapes and Massachusetts coastal and marine paintings. William Hart,

Childe Hassam Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressioni ...

Ernest Martin Hennings Ernest Martin Hennings (1886–1956) was an American artist and member of the Taos Society of Artists. Biography E. Martin Hennings was born in Penns Grove, New Jersey on February 5, 1886 to German immigrant parents. Two years after he was bor ...

Harry Hoffman Harry Leslie Hoffman (1871–1964) was an American Impressionist painter best known for his brightly colored paintings of underwater marine life. Life Harry Leslie Morris Hoffman was born in Cressona, Pennsylvania. He attended the Yale Universit ...

, Alexander Pope Humphrey,

George Inness Jr. George Inness Jr. (January 5, 1854 – July 27, 1926), was one of America's foremost figure and landscape artists and the son of George Inness, an important American landscape painter. Biography He studied with his father and Léon Bonnat i ...

, Lajos "Louis" Jambor,

John LaFarge John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge is best known for ...

Ernest Lawson Ernest Lawson (March 22, 1873 – December 18, 1939) was a Canadian-American painter and exhibited his work at the Canadian Art Club and as a member of the American group The Eight, artists who formed a loose association in 1908 to protes ...

Austin W. Lord Austin Willard Lord FAIA (June 27, 1860 – January 19, 1922) was an American architect and painter. He was a partner in the firm of Lord & Hewlett, best known for their work on the design of the former William A. Clark House on Fifth Ave ...

, Frank Mason,

Leopold Matzal Leopold Charles Matzal (August 13, 1890 – November 22, 1956) was a 20th-century Austrian-American visual artist. He was a Realism (arts), realistic painter, known in New York City and northern New Jersey for his society Portrait painting, port ...

, Samizu Matsuki,

John Francis Murphy John Francis Murphy (December 11, 1853 – January 30, 1921) was an American Irish landscape painter. His style moved from poetic Tonalism to the innovative application of multiple layers of pigment, in order to create a sparse, brooding lands ...

, Spencer Baird Nichols, Richard C. Pionk,

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began ...

, Will J. Quinlan,

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

Harry Roseland Harry Herman Roseland (c. 1867–1950) was an American painter of genre in the early 20th century. He was known primarily for paintings centered on poor African-Americans. Roseland himself was white. Roseland was largely self-taught, and never t ...

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he trave ...

, Rudolph Schabelitz,

Leopold Seyffert Leopold Seyffert ca. 1910 Leopold Gould Seyffert (January 6, 1887 – June 13, 1956) was an American artist. Born in California, Missouri and raised as a child in Colorado and then Pittsburgh, his career brought him eventually to New York City, ...

Channel Pickering Townsley Channel "Chan" Pickering Townsley or C.P. Townsley (1867–1921) was an American painter, art administrator, and educator. The subject and genre of his California Impressionist paintings were landscapes, portraits and still lives. He served a ...

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

Edward Charles Volkert Edward Charles Volkert (1871–1935) was an American Impressionist artist best known for his colorful and richly painted impressionist landscapes. His trademark subject was that of cattle and plowmen. His style is noted for its impressionist u ...

, J. Alden Weir, Jack Wemp,

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...

, William Wilson (physicist), Stuart Williamson, Joseph

Mortimer Lichtenauer Mortimer Lichtenauer (May 11, 1876 – May 30, 1966) was an American painter. His work was part of the Art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics#Painting, painting event in the Art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics, art competition ...

and

N.C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

. Honorary members have included

Paul Cadmus Paul Cadmus (December 17, 1904 – December 12, 1999) was an American artist widely known for his egg tempera paintings of gritty social interactions in urban settings. He also produced many highly finished drawings of single nude male figures ...

Schuyler Chapin Schuyler Garrison Chapin (February 13, 1923 – March 7, 2009) was a General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, and later Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for New York City during the administration of Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He also served as the de ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...

Al Hirschfeld Albert Hirschfeld (June 21, 1903 – January 20, 2003) was an American caricaturist best known for his black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars. Personal life Al Hirschfeld was born in 1903 in a two-story duplex at 1313 Carr ...

, and

Thomas Hoving Thomas Pearsall Field Hoving (January 15, 1931 – December 10, 2009) was an American museum executive and consultant and the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Early life He was born in New York City to Walter Hoving, the head of Ti ...

. Salmagundi curatorial committee is responsible for maintaining Salmagundi’s permanent representational art collection of approximately 1,800 works from the 1840s to today, including: paintings, sculpture, objects and works on paper by its past and present artist members. The collection consists of exhibition purchase prizes, competition purchase prizes, artist donations, and estate bequests. The works are rotated on a continual basis throughout the townhouse and are featured in live shows and online exhibitions throughout the year.

Club presidents

* Joseph Hartley, 1871–1889 *

George W. Maynard George Willoughby Maynard (March 5, 1843 – April 5, 1923) was an American painter, illustrator and muralist. Biography George W. Maynard was born in Washington, D.C. He studied at the National Academy of Design in New York City, and the Roy ...

, 1888–1889 *

Charles Yardley Turner Charles Yardley "C. Y." Turner (November 25, 1850 – January 1, 1919) was an American painter, illustrator, muralist and teacher. His genre scenes and American historical paintings were popularized through engravings and book illustrations. Bio ...

, 1883–1889 *

Thomas Moran Thomas Moran (February 12, 1837 – August 25, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family, wife Mary Nimmo Moran and daughter Ruth too ...

, 1893–1896 * W. Lewis Fraser, 1896–1897 * Alexander Theobald Van Laer, 1897–1898 * Robert C. Minor, 1898–1899 * Alexander Theobald Van Laer, 1899–1900 * George H. McCord, 1900–1901 * George Inness Jr., 1901–1903 * J. Scott Hartley, 1903–1905 * Alexander Theobald Van Laer, 1905–1908 *

Henry B. Snell Henry Bayley Snell (September 29, 1858 – January 17, 1943) was an American Impressionist painter and educator. Snell's paintings are in museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Albright–Knox Art Galle ...

, 1908–1910 * Frank Knox Morton Rehn, 1910–1911 * Carleton Wiggins, 1911–1913 * Charles Vezin, 1913–1914 * F. Ballard Williams, 1914–1919 *

Emil Carlsen Soren Emil Carlsen (October 19, 1853 – January 2, 1932, New York City, U.S.) was an American Impressionist painter who emigrated to the United States from Denmark. He became known for his still lifes. Later in his career, Carlsen expanded his ...

, 1919–1920 * J. Massey Rhind, 1920–1922 * Hobart Nichols, 1922–1924 * W. Granville-Smith, 1924–1926 * Franklin De Haven, 1926–1929 *

Bruce Crane Robert Bruce Crane (1857 – October 30, 1937) was an American painter. He joined the Lyme Art Colony in the early 1900s. His most active period, though, came after 1920, when for more than a decade he did oil sketches of woods, meadows, ...

, 1929–1933 *

Louis Betts Louis Betts (October 5, 1873 – August 13, 1961) was an American portrait painter. Biography Betts was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. His father was an artist who remarried after Louis' mother died. His family moved to Chicago where his three y ...

, 1933–1935 * George Elmer Brown, 1935–1937 * Frederick W. Hutchinson, 1937–1939 * Gordon Grant, 1939–1941 * George Lober, 1941–1944 * Frederick K. Detwiller, 1944–1946 * Henry O' Connor, 1946–1947 * Silvio B. Valerio, 1947–1949 * Percy Albee, 1949–1953 * Russell Rypsam, 1953–1955 * Henry Laussucq, 1955–1957 * Junius Allen, 1957–1959 * A. Henry Nordhausen, 1959–1963 * Francis Vandeveer Kughler, 1963–1966 * Martin Hannon, 1966–1970 * John N. Lewis, 1970–1976 * Martin Hannon, 1976–1977 * Raymond R. Goldberg, 1977–1979 * Richard Clive, 1979–1981 * Carl L. Thomson, 1981–1983 * Ruth B. Reininghaus, 1983–1987 * Edward A. Brennan, 1987–1990 * Kenneth W. Fitch, 1990–1991 * Robert Volpe, 1991–1994 * Richard C. Pionk, 1994–2007 * Claudia Seymour, 2007–2013 * Robert Pillsbury, 2013–2019 * Elizabeth Spencer, 2019-2021

References

External links

*
Salmagundi Museum of American Art

Documenting the Gilded Age: New York City Exhibitions at the Turn of the 20th Century
A

New York Art Resources Consortium The New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC) consists of the research libraries of three leading art museums in New York City: The Brooklyn Museum, The Frick Collection, and The Museum of Modern Art. With funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundatio ...

project. Exhibition catalogs from the Salmagundi Club.
The Salmagundi Club Photograph Collection at the New York Historical Society

{{Authority control 1871 establishments in New York (state) American artist groups and collectives Arts organizations established in 1871 Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Cultural infrastructure completed in 1852 Greenwich Village Italianate architecture in New York City New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Non-profit organizations based in New York (state)