The Plastic Club is an arts organization located in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Founded in 1897 for women only, the Plastic Club is one of the oldest art clubs in the United States. It is located on the 200 block of Camac Street, the "Little Street of Clubs" that was a cultural destination in the early 1900s. Since 1991, the club's membership also includes men.

History

The Plastic Club was founded by art educator

Emily Sartain Emily Sartain (March 17, 1841 – June 17, 1927) was an American painter and engraver. She was the first woman in Europe and the United States to practice the art of mezzotint engraving, and the only woman to win a gold medal at the 1876 World F ...

. It was founded as an arts organization for women to promote collaboration and members' works, partly in response to the

Philadelphia Sketch Club The Philadelphia Sketch Club, founded on November 20, 1860, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of America's oldest artists' clubs. The club's own web page proclaims it ''the'' oldest. Prominent members have included Joseph Pennell, Thomas Eaki ...

, an exclusively male arts club. The first President was the etcher Blanche Dillaye. The motto of the club was taken from a poem by

Theophile Gautier Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (God) and φιλία (love or affection) can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend of God", i.e., it is a theoph ...

The Plastic Club insignia was designed by Elisabeth Hallowell Saunders. The club offered art classes, social events, and exhibitions. Its annual masquerade party was called "the Rabbit."''The Plastic Club.''
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Retrieved March 4, 2014. Early members included Elenore Plaisted Abbott, Paula Himmelsbach Balano,

Cecilia Beaux Eliza Cecilia Beaux (May 1, 1855 – September 17, 1942) was an American society portraitist, whose subjects included First Lady Edith Roosevelt, Admiral Sir David Beatty and Georges Clemenceau. Trained in Philadelphia, she went on to study ...

, Fern Coppedge, Elizabeth Shippen Green,

Charlotte Harding Charlotte Harding (1873–1951) was an American illustrator. She signed her work with her maiden name, but her name in her personal life was Charlotte Harding Brown after she married James A. Brown in 1905. She illustrated magazines, such as ''The ...

, Frances Tipton Hunter,

Violet Oakley Violet Oakley (June 10, 1874 – February 25, 1961) was an American artist. She was the first American woman to receive a public mural commission. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, she was renowned as a pathbreaker in mural dec ...

, Emily and Harriet Sartain,

Jessie Willcox Smith Jessie Willcox Smith (September 6, 1863 – May 3, 1935) was an American illustrator during the Golden Age of American illustration. She was considered "one of the greatest pure illustrators". A contributor to books and magazines during the lat ...

, and

Alice Barber Stephens Alice Barber Stephens (July 1, 1858 – July 13, 1932) was an American painter and engraver, best remembered for her illustrations. Her work regularly appeared in magazines such as ''Scribner's Monthly'', ''Harper's Weekly'', and ''The Ladies Ho ...

, many of whom had been students of

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 ...

. When the fall exhibition was held in 1898, the works of Pyle's former students—

Elizabeth Fearne Bonsall Elizabeth Fearne Bonsall (September 12, 1861 – September 25, 1956) was an American painter and illustrator. She illustrated ''The Book of Cats'' (1903), ''The Book of Dogs'', ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' (1927), and other books. She created ill ...

, Elizabeth Shippen Green, Jessie Willcox Smith, Charlotte Harding, Violet Oakley, and Angela De Cora—were singled out. In 1918, the club was involved in the founding of the Philadelphia School of Occupational Therapy, reflecting the connection between occupational therapy and the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States between the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.Peloquin, S. (2005). The 2005 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture-Embracing our methods, reclaiming our heart. ''American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59'', 611–625 In 1991 the organization opened its membership to include men. During the 1990s the club also sought to attract art students, offering free membership to two recent graduates a year. The Plastic Club building at 247 South Camac Street was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1962.

Noted past members

The Plastic Club has identified the following noted past members: * Elenore Plaisted Abbott * Paula Himmelsbach Balano *

* Mary Carnell * Fern T. Coppedge * Blanche Dillaye * Grace Gebbie Wiederseim Drayton * Beatrice Fenton * Beatrice Fox * Elizabeth Shippen Green *

* Amy Otis * Esther Richards * Harriet Roosevelt Richards * Harriet Sartain *

* Wuanita Smith *

* Alice Kent Stoddard * Beatrice Pastorius Turner * Sarah Stilwell Weber * Mathilde Weil

References

External links

*
Finding Aid for The Plastic Club Records, 1888-2007
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. {{DEFAULTSORT:Plastic Club Feminist art organizations in the United States Women's organizations based in the United States Women's clubs in the United States Arts organizations based in Pennsylvania Organizations based in Philadelphia Arts organizations established in the 1890s Organizations established in 1897 1897 establishments in Pennsylvania History of women in Pennsylvania

History

Noted past members

References

Further reading

External links