Society of American Graphic Artists

Society of American Graphic Artists
source
Name	Society of American Graphic Artists
Formed	1915
Type	Professional association
Location	New York City, United States
Headquarters	New York City
Region served	United States

Contents

Society of American Graphic Artists The Society of American Graphic Artists is an American professional association for printmakers founded in 1915. It has played a role in the careers of artists who exhibited alongside figures associated with institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (New York City), Art Institute of Chicago, Whitney Museum of American Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Smithsonian American Art Museum. The organization has connections with exhibitions and collections at venues like the Brooklyn Museum, Phillips Collection, National Academy of Design, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and educational institutions such as Columbia University, Pratt Institute, and Cooper Union.

History

Founded during the Progressive Era, the organization emerged amid contemporaneous movements involving groups such as the Ashcan School, Armory Show (1913), and collectives linked to the Society of Illustrators, Salons of America, and the National Academy of Design. Early 20th-century members exhibited alongside artists associated with the Guggenheim Museum, Carnegie Museum of Art, Union League Club of New York, and the Delaware Art Museum. Over decades the society intersected with public art initiatives connected to the Works Progress Administration, exhibitions at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and academic programs at Yale University, Harvard University, and the New York University art departments.

The association advances printmaking practice through membership models similar to those of the American Federation of Arts, National Academy Museum, and artist affiliations seen in organizations like the Society of Illustrators and the Art Students League of New York. Membership has included artists who taught at institutions such as the School of Visual Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, MICA, Pratt Institute, and who participated in residencies at places like Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the MacDowell Colony. Membership criteria and juried processes reflect practices common to groups connected with the National Endowment for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, and regional arts councils.

The society organizes juried annual exhibitions that have been held in venues comparable to shows at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art (New York City), Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum, and university galleries at Columbia University and Yale University. Collaborative projects have paralleled initiatives by the Print Council of America, International Print Center New York, and exhibitions touring through institutions like the Philadelphia Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Portland Art Museum. Educational programs echo partnerships seen with the Smithsonian Institution, Cooper Union, and artist-run spaces affiliated with the New Museum and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Historically notable figures associated with the society include artists whose careers intersected with names exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art (New York City), Tate Modern, National Gallery of Art (United States), Guggenheim Museum, and university art collections at Yale University and Harvard University. Leadership has included curators and artists who worked with institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Art, and cultural organizations like the National Academy of Design and the American Federation of Arts.

The society issues exhibition catalogues and bulletins comparable to publications from the Print Council of America, American Craft Council, Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Gallery of Art (United States), and university presses such as Yale University Press and Princeton University Press. Catalogues documenting annual juried shows have been acquired by libraries and archives including those at Library of Congress, New York Public Library, Museum of Modern Art (New York City), and the research collections of Columbia University, Harvard University, and the Getty Research Institute.

Works by members have entered public and private collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art (New York City), Whitney Museum of American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, National Gallery of Art (United States), Art Institute of Chicago, and international venues such as the Tate Modern and National Gallery (London). The society’s influence can be traced through acquisition records of institutions like the Carnegie Museum of Art, Fogg Museum, Williams College Museum of Art, and regional museums including the Portland Museum of Art and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

The organization confers awards and purchase prizes similar in function to honors given by the National Endowment for the Arts, Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Guggenheim Fellowship, and institutional awards from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Recipients have translated awards into acquisitions and fellowships with galleries and programs affiliated with the International Print Center New York, Print Council of America, and university residency programs at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the MacDowell Colony.

Category:Artist groups and collectives in the United States