Cincinnati Art Club

Frank Duveneck's presidency starting in 1896 is credited with attracting a large number of members to the club.

In the latter part of the 1800s a strong colony of working artists had established a small 'Montmartre' on the upper end of Vine Street in Cincinnati.[3] One group of artists gathered informally as the Cincinnati Sketch Club and had its origins in the studio of John Rettig in 1883. The loose collection of artists became the Cincinnati Art Club on 15 March 1890.[4] Its first president was John Rettig and consisted of 14 members (which included a pet dog so the membership number wasn't an unlucky 13).[5] The founding members were: Rettig, Clarence D. Bartlett,[6] James McLaughlin, Edward S. Butler, Matthew A. Daly, Albert O. Elzner, Edward Johnson, Remmington Lane, Leon van Loo, Lewis C. Lutz, William A. McCord, Perry Morris and Joseph Henry Sharp.[7]

The club grew rapidly and within a year of its founding growing to 32 active members and 36 associate members.[1]

Initially the club was bohemian in nature and did not have a fixed abode and met in the homes or studios of members. The host of the meeting would become the owner of all sketches made.[4] In 1907, the club moved to a new home in the Harrison building and was considered the most attractive home to artists in the Middle West.[8] A club house was eventually purchased in 1923 on Third Street.[9]

A regular constitution was adopted in 1892 “to advance the knowledge and love of art through exhibitions of works of art, lectures on subjects pertaining to art, and to promote social intercourse amongst its members.”[5]

The club became an advocate for artists and in 1908, the CAC President John Ritter submitted a letter which was presented at a congressional hearing on the arts tariff in Washington DC before the Ways and Means Committee.[10]

The club was restricted to males until 1979 when women were allowed to become members.[11][12]

• Frank Duveneck, club president - 1896–98. Cincinnati's best-known artist in the late 1800s and early 1900s, was appointed the club's critic.[7]
• Henry Farny, club president - 1892–94, creator of the club's trademark, the dragonfly.[9] A famed painter of American Indians.
• John Hauser, one of the club's earliest members. Painter best known for his portraits of American Indians and Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
• Charles S. Kaelin, an American Impressionist painter.
• Winsor McCay, an American cartoonist and animator.
• Lewis Henry Meakin, club president - 1912–14. An American Impressionist landscape artist.
• Frank Harmon Myers, Impressionist painter known for seascapes.
• Edward Henry Potthast, an American Impressionist painter.
• John A. Ruthven, an American wildlife painter.
• Joseph Henry Sharp, a painter of the American West.
• Leon Van Loo, the club's third and eighth president. Belgian-born photographer and art promoter.

• Official site
• Facebook