The Pasadena Society of Artists is a nonprofit arts organization in southern California, United States. It holds annual art exhibitions of its members' art works.
Overview
Pasadena Society of Artists, from its founding, attracted practitioners of a variety of artistic styles, including impressionists, modernists, abstract artists and traditionalists.
During its formative years, the Pasadena Society of Artists was associated with the Pasadena Arts Institute. As a result, its membership had close ties with the Pasadena Museum of Art (which later became the
Norton Simon Museum
The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds.
Overview
The Norton Si ...
) and the
Pacific Asia Museum.
History
In 1925, Pasadena Society of Artists was founded with 15 members.
1920s to 1950s
PSA's formation closely followed the founding of the Pasadena Arts Institute, and many of its first members were involved in the creation of both institutions. Its first president was landscape artist
Edward B. Butler, a successful businessman who retired to pursue his career as an oil painter. Early members of the Society included nationally renowned artists, including California
impressionists
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...
Alson S. Clark
Alson Skinner Clark (March 25, 1876 – March 23, 1949) was an American Impressionist painter best remembered for his landscapes. He was also a photographer, '' plein aire'' painter, art educator and muralist.
Early life and education
On ...
and
Marion Wachtel
Marion Kavanaugh Wachtel (June 10, 1873/77 – May 22, 1954) was an American plein air painter in watercolors and Oil painting, oils. She lived and worked with her artist husband Elmer Wachtel in the Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County), Arroyo ...
, and the noted adherent of the
Arts and Crafts movement Ernest A. Batchelder,
From the 1920s into the 1950s, Pasadena Society of Artists was given an office and exhibit space in the
Grace Nicholson
Grace Nicholson (December 31, 1877 – August 31, 1948) was an American art collector and art dealer, specializing in Native American and Chinese handicrafts. The space she originally designed for her shop is now home to the USC Pacific Asia M ...
Galleries, located at 46 North Los Robles Avenue. However, the society eventually lost the space when the Nicholson gallery became the
Pacific Asia Museum.
Exhibitions
Pasadena Society of Artists continues to hold frequent
juried exhibitions of its members works, and its Annual Exhibitions have taken place without interruption since 1925.
Despite the lack of a permanent exhibition space, the Pasadena Society of Artists holds annual exhibitions of its members art works.
In 2020, it held an Inaugural Digital Exhibition from July 20, 2020, to August 20, 2020.
References
External links
Pasadena Society of Artists Homepage
Organizations based in Pasadena, California
Arts organizations based in California
Arts organizations established in 1925
1925 establishments in California
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