Overview
Year Established: 1909
Club Founding:
Created by members of the Painters’ Club of Los Angeles, which had been established in 1906 as an informal group of male artists. A significant impetus to form the California Art Club was to allow both sculptors and women artists to participate.
Club Activities
Gold Medal Exhibitions: The Club’s Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibitions, considered to be one of the country’s premier exhibitions of contemporary-traditional fine art, enjoy a long history of being presented at prominent museums throughout the Golden State
Ongoing Exhibitions include:
- Rotating exhibitions of paintings at the Club’s permanent gallery at the historic El Molino Viejo (The Old Mill) in San Marino, Calif.
- A selection of scenic paintings of Northern and Southern California at the historic Maxwell House, the Pasadena-based headquarters of the Western Justice Center Foundation.
- Themed exhibitions of artwork at myriad venues throughout California, which have included the Altadena Town & Country Club (Altadena, CA), Hennessey + Ingalls Art & Architecture Bookstore (Santa Monica, CA), the Pacific Asia Museum (Pasadena, CA), the California Historical Society (San Francisco, CA), the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (San Luis Obispo, CA), Oceanside Art Museum (Oceanside, CA) and Carnegie Art Museum (Oxnard, CA).
Special Events and Exhibitions: The Club collaborates with museums and cultural organizations to present exhibitions and programs that showcase aspects of California’s rich history. Included among these institutions are:
- Academy of Art University, San Francisco
- Alameda County Law Library
- American Artist Magazine – Weekend with the Masters
- American Society of Portrait Artists
- Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
- Arroyo Seco Foundation
- Art Center College of Design
- The Autry National Center
- Bakersfield Museum of Art
- Bennington Center for the Arts, Vermont
- Bowers Museum of Cultural Art
- California Historical Society
- Carnegie Art Museum
- Carnegie Observatories
- Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
- Chinatown Business Improvement District
- Descanso Gardens
- Eaton Canyon Nature Center
- The Ebell Club of Los Angeles
- Fine Art Dealers Association
- Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy
- Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art
- The Gamble House
- The Getty Center
- Haggin Museum
- The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
- The Irvine Museum
- Kidspace Children’s Museum
- Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art
- La Casita del Arroyo
- Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County
- Los Angeles Arboretum
- L.A. Fine Arts Building
- Laguna Art Museum
- Laguna Plein Air Painters Association (LPAPA)
- Long Beach Museum of Art
- Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
- Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs
- Los Angeles Opera
- Loyola Marymount University-Laband Art Gallery
- Luckman Fine Arts Complex
- Maranatha High School
- Mission San Juan Capistrano
- Muckenthaler Cultural Center
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
- Norton Simon Museum
- Oceanside Museum of Art
- Oil Painters of America (OPA)
- Old Mill Foundation
- Pacific Asia Museum
- Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division
- Pasadena Museum of California Art
- Pasadena Museum of History
- Pasadena Public Library
- Pasadena Garden Club
- Phippen Museum, Arizona
- Plein Air Painters of America (PAPA)
- San Luis Obispo Museum of Art
- Sequoia Riverlands Trust
- South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce
- Springville Museum of Art
- University of Southern California
- Turtle Bay Art Museum
- Women’s City Club of Pasadena
Collectors’ Circle Events: Special activities for this category of membership include the Annual Collectors’ Circle Preview of the Gold Medal Juried Exhibition, and “behind-the-scenes” tours of artist studios, private collections, and other art-related venues.
Master Artist Workshops: Renowned artists teach and demonstrate traditional fine art skills of painting, sculpture and drawing
Publication of the quarterly California Art Club Newsletter
“Art Insiders: Learn & Mingle” Programs: Topics for these programs range from discussion and demonstrations on traditional fine arts, to lectures on California art history, conservation, framing, and more, while they also allow attendees to converse with fellow members.
Paint/Sculpt-Outs: These events enable art patrons to watch Club artists at work at different scenic locations throughout the Golden State.
Family and Youth Programs: These programs strive to provide children and teens – notably those in underserved communities – with much needed arts education at a time when school budgets for art are continually being cut, or even worse, non-existent.
Membership Categories
Artist Member – Professional fine art painter residing in California; selected by the membership jury. Number of Artist Members is limited.
Sculptor Member – Professional fine art sculptor residing in California; selected by the membership jury. Number of Sculptor Members is limited.
Signature Artist Member – Artist or Sculptor Member recognized for outstanding achievement as a fine artist and approved by a majority of the board. Signature Membership is limited.
Mentorship Program Member – Art student or professional artist under age of 30 years residing in California; selected by the membership jury.
Out-of-State Artist Member – Nationally renowned fine artists invited to join the Club based on upstanding recognition and reputation for high traditional art standards.
Associate Artist Member – Supporter of the Club recognized as an artist but not an Artist or Sculptor Member.
Honorary Life Member – Designated by the board in recognition for services rendered to the club.
Collectors’ Circle Member – Patrons of the Club interested in providing greater financial support, while receiving exclusive opportunities to learn more about traditional fine and building relationships with artists and others who share their passion for art.
Patron Member – Supporter of the Club.
International Patron Member – Supporter of the Club outside the United States.