Chronology of the Painters’ Club – 1906
March 10, 1906: “A number of the painters of Los Angeles met together for the purpose of starting a club.” (PC Minutes)
March 17, 1906: “On the evening of March 17, eleven of those same men assembled again, at the studio of W. S. Daniell.” (PC Minutes) This was the first meeting, and those eleven men were listed in the first roster as Charter Members. There are also thirty-one other men listed as “New Members” in the same roster, although it isn’t known when some joined.
March 31, 1906: The second regular meeting of the Painters’ Club was held at William Henry Cole’s house on Saturday, March 31. (PC Minutes) This meeting presumably included the addition of some New Members to the club, listed in the first roster as such (light blue above). [Minutes to this meeting are missing.]
April 14, 1906: “The next meeting of the Painters’ Club will be held at the studio of Carl Oscar Borg, on South Flower Street. The club has gained a new member, Martin J. Jackson.” (L. A. Times, Apr. 8, 1906; Apr. 22, 1906)
“The Painters’ Club is for men only. It may be that women painters will be admitted later on, but at present they are not eligible. Any man who paints may become a member by making his desire known to the club through some member, who will submit his name to be voted on. At each meeting, every member of the club brings some recent original sketch, study or picture, in oils or water colors, which must pass under the fire of the candid and unbiased, yet always friendly and good-natured, criticism of those present. So far, nobody’s feelings have been hurt, though all have been criticised unmercifully. The work brough in each week shows splendid results from this raking fire of criticism. Further information regarding the Painters’ Club may be had from Antony E. Anderson, the secretary, at No. 413 Blanchard Hall.” (L. A. Times, Apr. 22, 1906)
April 28, 1906: The meeting on this date was held at the Art Students’ League. Guy P. Goodwin (of Pasadena) became a new member. (L. A. Times, Apr. 22, 1906; Apr. 29, 1906)
May 12, 1906: The meeting on this date was held at the studio of William Swift Daniell, 2620 Manitou Avenue. (L. A. Times, May 6, 1906)
June 2, 1906: The meeting on this date was held at the studio of Frank Liddell, No. 4665 Pasadena Avenue. Two more new members joined at the May 12 meeting, Charles A. Ward and S. E. Bierach. (L. A. Times, May 20, 1906)
June 9, 1906: The meeting on this date was again held at the studio of Frank Liddell. Norman St. Clair joined at the previous meeting. (L. A. Times, June 3, 1906; June 10, 1906)
July 7, 1906: The Painters’ Club decides to meet only once a month during the summer. The July meeting was held at the studio of Martin J. Jackson. The club decided to have an exhibition in October, and appointed a committee consisting of Daniell, Jackson and Bierach, to find a venue. (L. A. Times, June 17, 1906; July 15, 1906)
August 4, 1906: The August meeting was held at the home studio of Hanson Puthuff, 401 North Avenue 53. Discussion of the exhibition in October. (L. A. Times, July 29, 1906; Aug. 12, 1906)
September 1, 1906: The September meeting was held at the Art Students’ League, and members desiring to exhibit in the fall were urged to attend. The first show was arranged for the first two weeks of November at the Blanchard Gallery. Each member will be allowed to exhibit 5 pictures. Hobart Bosworth and Randal W. Borough became new members. (L. A. Times, Aug. 26, 1906; Sept. 9, 1906)
October, 1906: New members: Warren T. Hedges, Benjamin Chambers Brown, and John W. Nicoll, all of Pasadena. (L. A. Times, Oct. 7, 1906)
November 17, 1906: The November meeting was held at the Art Students’ League, and members were requested to bring one or more framed pictures for the club’s inspection. “The small gallery in the art store of Ford, Smith, & Little Co., No. 313 Broadway, will hereafter be turned over to the club for its exclusive use. Their pictures will hang there the year for Angelenos – and outsiders, too – to see and to buy. These pictures will be changed from time to time (in all probability every two months), so there will be no dearth of new pictures from the facile brushes of our own home painters. Drawings in black and white will also be shown, and everything, it is promised, will be of the best.” (L. A. Times, Nov. 11, 1906)
November 25, 1906: “The Painters’ Club has taken possession of its new permanent gallery at Ford Smith & Little’s, No. 313 Broadway. About thirty pictures are already hung. A complete list of new ones will be shown every month. There will be no admission fee, and the Los Angeles public is always cordially welcomed.” (L.A. Times, Nov. 25, 1906 6,2,5)
December 1-31, 1906: The December small exhibition, consisting of twenty-eight pictures by seventeen artists, is held at the new club gallery at Ford Smith & Little’s; the guestbook there showed that “hundreds and hundreds” of visitors came. Club membership now numbered about thirty male painters. There was no jury – the entire club passed judgement on whether or not a picture should be shown; but each artist ultimately determined what he wanted to exhibit.
“The exhibition, on the whole, is a very creditable one, and there can be no doubt, that our painters are growing technically stronger day by day. As for their equipment – where, indeed, should a man become an artist if not in Southern California?” (L.A. Times, Dec. 2, 1906; Dec. 9, 1906; Jan. 6, 1907 6, 2, 3-5)
Small Exhibition at Ford Smith & Little’s
December 1 – 31, 1906
- Antony E. Anderson
[Unnamed artwork] - Charles P. Austin
Resting - S. E. Bierach
The Flirt – pastel - S. E. Bierach
Going for the Mail – oil - Carl Oscar Borg
In the Fog – watercolor - Benjamin Chambers Brown
Venetian Canal – sunset sketch - A.C. Conner
The Oaks […] A Gray Day - Frank Conner
Afternoon in the Cañon - William Swift Daniell
Autumn – watercolor - William Swift Daniell
Capistrano – watercolor - David Dunn
Twilight Hour – study from nature - David Dunn
A Quiet Nook – study from nature - Frank Elwin Evans
The Scissor’s Grinder – “a watercolor in delicate grays and browns” - Joseph Greenbaum
Eucalypts – chalk drawing on brown paper - Joseph Greenbaum
Eastlake Park – chalk drawing on brown paper - Martin J. Jackson
Autumn in the Adirondacks - Frank R. Liddell
Wood Interior - C.P. Neilson
In Old Mexico – watercolor - C.P. Neilson
Morning Near Monterey – watercolor - C.P. Neilson
Hilltops in Spring – watercolor - John W. Nicoll
Old Baldy in Winter - Hanson Puthuff
Drizzle - Hanson Puthuff
Oaks and Sycamores - Norman St. Clair
Arroyo Seco – watercolor
December 30, 1906: “The Painters’ Club met at the Art Students’ League last night, to review the pictures for their January exhibition. About twenty-five canvases will be hung.”
(L.A. Times, Dec. 30, 1906)