The Founding of the California Art Club: December 1909

The Painters’ Club of Los Angeles disbanded in mid-December of 1909 after its members felt it had outgrown its usefulness.

After this, Los Angeles Times art critic Antony Anderson revealed that a small group of artists who had belonged to the former association had regrouped to form the California Art Club. They believed there was a need for artists living in Southern California to meet and share their ideas, and to exhibit together. Frank Rennsselear Liddell, a businessman and part-time painter, was elected as its first president, and Charles Percy Austin was named as corresponding secretary.

No longer limited to male painters based in L.A., the Club opened its membership to women, sculptors and artists living as far away as New York.

(Antony Anderson, Exit the Painters’ Club, Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1909, III17)

 


1909

The California Art Club is founded (2 Members)
December 12, 1909: Charles Percy Austin (1883-1948), corresponding secretary, and Frank Renssellear Liddell (1864 – 1923), the first president, are the only members named in this article.
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1909)

1910

First monthly meeting (4 New Members)
January 5, 1910: Presumably held on or about this date, unknown location or attendees. [Though it probably included at least Anderson, Austin, Franz Anton Bischoff (1864-1929), Carl Oscar Borg (1879-1947), Aaron E. Kilpatrick (1872 – 1953), Liddell, and William Wendt (1865 – 1946); based upon later columns by Antony Anderson.]

Second monthly meeting (7 new members)
February 5, 1910: Held on Saturday evening at Franz Bischoff’s home, 320 Pasadena Avenue, South Pasadena. A constitution similar to that of the Society of Western Artists was adopted, “so that the club can send its exhibitions over a circuit of cities in California.” John Hubbard Rich (1876-1954) and Rob Wagner (1872-1942) became Active Members; Allen Durand (1865 – 1939), Mauritz DeHaaff (1877 – 1948), William A. Matern (1867 – 1923), Frederick Roland Miner (1876 – 1935), and Jack Wells [or Welles] joined as Associate Members. A permanent Exhibition Committee was established, consisting of Austin, Bischoff, Borg, Wagner and Wendt; they were to secure a space for an upcoming exhibition (postponed at the third meeting).
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, February 13, 1910)

(3 new members)
February 27, 1910: Elected Honorary Members of the new club: Hector Alliot (1862-1919), Antony E. Anderson (1863-1939) and Everett Carroll Maxwell.
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, February 27, 1910)
Third monthly meeting
March 5, 1910: Held on Saturday evening at Aaron Kilpatrick’s home, No. 1307 East Twenty-Eighth Street. (Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, February 13 & March 6, 1910)The CAC postponed its first exhibition until the end of October, when members would have been back from summer sketching trips.
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, March 13, 1910)

Fourth monthly meeting
April 2, 1910: “The California Art Club will meet at the Art Students’ League next Saturday evening.”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, March 27, 1910)

Gallery owner J. F. Kanst was the guest speaker at the April 2 meeting, giving a thorough talk on the expectations and problems of artist/gallery relationships.
(Lengthy coverage by Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, April l0, 1910)

Fifth monthly meeting (1 new member)
April 30, 1910: “The California Art Club met at the San Pedro studio of Ralph Fullerton Mocine (1875 – 1953) last night.”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, May 1, 1910)

June 4, 1910: “The California Art Club met at the home of its president, Frank R. Liddell, No. 1323 South Burlington Avenue, last night.”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, June 5, 1910)

July 2, 1910: The California Art Club will meet at the Art Students’ League, Blanchard Hall, on Saturday, July 2, at 8 o’clock.”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, June 26, 1910)

First exhibition of the newly formed CAC (5 new members)
July 16 – September 15, 1910: The CAC was a part of the First Annual Art Exhibit of the Chautauqua Association of Southern California, which opened in the galleries of the Long Beach Public Library through September 15 with free admission, open weekdays 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., Sundays, 2:00 – 9:00 p.m. This multi-group exhibition consisted of 63 pictures, with one wall containing work by CAC members; the CAC had their own jury.
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, July 24, 1910)

New members by the First Annual Chautauqua Exhibition: Benjamin Chambers Brown (1865 – 1942), Val Costello (1875-1937), Hanson Puthuff (1875-1972), John W. [Jack] Smith (1873-1949), and Julia Bracken Wendt (1868-1942).

(1 new member)
August 6, 1910: “The California Art Club met last night at the studio of Putnam & Valentine, No. 208 North Spring Street. Mr. [Arion] Putnam (1870 – 1949) is a member of the club.”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, August. 7, 1910)

August 13, 1910: was “California Art Club” night at the Long Beach public library, and the rooms were thrown open to the public, the artists, and their friends. Charles P. Austin recounted many of his student days in New York City, London and Paris for the attendants.
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, August 14, 1910)

September 3, 1910: “The California Art Club met last night at the home of Val Costello, No. 518 West Fifty-third Street.”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, September 4, 1910)

November 12, 1910: “The California Art Club gave a “Bohemian dinner” last night at one of the French restaurants near the river. There were speeches, toasts… ”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, November 13, 1910)


1911

First Annual Exhibition (4 new members)
January 30 – February 25, 1911: “An exhibition looked forward to with eager anticipation by all who are interested in the progress of art in Southern California is the first annual exhibition of the California Art Club, which will open in Hotel Ivins, Figueroa and Tenth streets, on January 31, to continue for three weeks, possibly longer.”

“The California Art Club, which was organized about a year ago, has just come into possession of a permanent gallery in Hotel Ivins. This gallery, 40 x 40 feet in dimensions, will also be the club room and meeting place. It is a handsome room, in the basement of the hotel, with wall spaces judiciously tinted, which will hold more than sixty pictures without crowding. It may also be used for other exhibitions than those of the California Art Club. It will be managed by Frank R. Liddell, president of the club, who is also manager of the hotel.”

“All pictures for exhibition must be in before January 25, when the art jury, selected by the club, will meet for its decision.”

“The probabilities are that pictures by the California Art Club will be shown at the new gallery throughout the year.” (Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, January 22, 1911)

“The new gallery, which is also the club-room of the California Art Club, is commodious and attractive, and its lighting is exceptionally good. Some fifty or sixty pictures will be shown…”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, January 29, 1911)

Nineteen exhibiting CAC members named in the article: Julia Wendt, Kenneth Newell Avery (1882 – 1949), Jean Mannheim (1863 – 1945), Antony Anderson, Frederick G. Johnson (1890 – 1953), Arion Putnam, Charles Percy Austin, William Wendt, Carl Oscar Borg, Hanson Puthuff, Franz A. Bischoff, Frank R. Liddell, Ralph Fullerton Mocine, Aaron E. Kilpatrick, Jack W. Smith, Albert Clinton Conner, Val Costello, R. Barton Manbert (1876 – 1945), Frederick R. Miner, and others.

April 1, 1911: “The California Art Club held its regular monthly meeting last night at the home of M. [Mauritz] de Haaff, No. 2601 Santa Monica Boulevard.”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, April 2, 1911)

(2 new members)
June 18, 1911: [George] Gardner Symons [1861 – 1930] and [Joseph Henry] Sharp [1859 – 1953] have both been made active members of the California Art Club.”

“The California Art Club has decided to publish in folder form the article on the methods of fake picture dealers, printed two weeks ago in the Times. The article will be reprinted almost exactly as it stands, with perhaps a few excisions, and will be distributed among clubs, friends and patrons of art.”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, June 18, 1911)

Second Annual Exhibition (30 new members)
November 22 – December 6 , 1911: “For the first time in the history of Los Angeles, a local art exhibition will be sent on tour. At the close of the forthcoming exhibition of the California Art Club to be held in Blanchard Hall, ‘the last end’ of this …, the exhibit will be packed in toto and shipped to San Francisco, where it will be shown at the San Francisco Institute of Art. In what other cities the pictures will be shown has not as yet been fully determined, but it is probable that they will make other stops before reaching home.”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, November 19, 1911, 3, 18, 2-3)

After the L.A. County Museum and the San Francisco Institute of Art, the Second Annual Exhibition traveled to a third venue, the Kingsley Art Club of Sacramento, sometime around January 1913.
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 28, 1912, III20)

New Active Members in the Second Annual Exhibition: Helena Adele Dunlap (1876-1955), Ben Foster, Helma Heynsen Jahn (1874-1925), William Frederick Ritschel (1864-1949), Detleff Sammann (1857-1938), Jack Gage Stark (1882-1950)New Associate Members: Jon J. Byrne, Carl Birchfield, Charles Clarence Cristodoro (1881-1967), Walter Lewis Cheever (1880-1951), Wiliam Swift Daniell (1865-1933), Arthur Burnside Dodge (1863-1952), Godfrey Edwards, J. P. Gardner, William Alexander Sharp (1864-1944), Sidney Dale Shaw (1879-1946), John Franklin Thwing (1867-1944)

Honorary Members: Mary Ann Van Alstine Bartow (1848-1924), Frederick Winslow Blanchard (1878-1948), Albert Clinton Conner (1848-1929), Alma May Cook (1884-1973), Eugene C. Frank (1844-1914), S. Henrietta Dorn [Mrs. William H.] Housh (1855-1919), Helen [wife of Dr. Randall] Hutchinson (1866-?), William Lees Judson (1842-1928), Mrs. Louise Elizabeth Garden MacLeod (1857-1944), Lydie G. Price, Charles Albert Rogers (1848-1918), Norman St. Clair (1863-1912), Elizabeth Waggoner.

56 Members: At the time of the Second Annual Exhibition, two years into the CAC’s existence, it had twenty-six Active Members (three female), fifteen Associate Members, and fifteen Honorary Members (seven female); Albert Clinton Conner is listed as both Active and Honorary. (Second Annual Exhibition Pamphlet, 1911)


1912

January 6, 1912: “The regular monthly meeting of the California Art Club was held last night at the quarters of the Sketch Club, No. 109 Temple Block.”(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, January 7, 1912)

Kingsley Art Club, Sacramento (Second Annual CAC Exhibition)
January 1912: “The traveling [Second Annual] exhibition of the California Art Club, which has been exhibiting in San Francisco, will soon be held in Sacramento under the auspices of the Kingsley Art Club, whose president is Miss Anna Gilbert.

On the 5th of February Royar and Neighbours, No. 744 South Hill Street, will open an attractive new gallery, now being remodeled and furnished. The first exhibition will consist of work by a few of the members of the California Art Club.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, January 14, 1912, III20)

January 20, 1912: “An interesting feature of last night’s monthly meeting of the California Art Club was an exhibition of “Manbertypes,” all artistic invention of one of the members of the club. Another was the artistic decorations along the stairs leading to the room of the Sketch Club, at No. 109 Temple Block.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, January 21, 1912, III23)

January 1912: “Miss Annie Gilbert, president of the Kingsley Art Club of Sacramento, was in Los Angeles last week. She gave a talk on art, in Hollywood. Miss Gilbert is in charge of the [Kingsley Art Club, third venue for the Second Annual] exhibition of the California Art Club [traveling] in Sacramento.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, January 28, 1912, III20)

February 4 , 1912: “Royar and Neighbours have opened a new art gallery in their place at No. 744 South Hill Street. Tomorrow they will open with an exhibition of twenty-five pictures by Elmer and Marion Kavanaugh Wachtel, William Wendt, Franz Bischoff, Jean Mannheim, Hanson Puthuff and by many other members of the California Art Club. A remarkable interesting showing may be expected.

The California Art Club held their regular monthly meeting at No. 109 Temple Block last night [Feb. 3].”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1912, III18)

Royar & Neighbours Gallery, Los Angeles (8 new members)
February 5, 1912: Anderson’s February 11 column lists the artists and their artwork in the Royar Exhibition. This exhibit (and accompanying articles, see Jan. 14 & Feb. 4, above) lists some newcomers among the CAC members.

New members by the Royars Exhibition: Frank Coburn (1862-1938), John Bond Francisco (1863-1931), Martin Jacob Jackson (1871-1955), Jacob Koch, Charles Hamilton Owens (1881-1958), and Xarifa Hamilton Towner (1881-?). While Elmer Wachtel (1864-1929) and Marion Ida Kavanaugh Wachtel (1870-1954) participated in the Royar exhibition along with other known CAC members, there is no conclusive evidence either Elmer or Marion were ever members of the Club themselves.

Also, “The California Art Club sold four pictures from the [2nd Annual] exhibition recently in Sacramento.”
(Antony Anderson, In the Royar Gallery, Los Angeles Times, February 11, 1912, III23)

March 10, 1912:The California Art Club will hold an exhibition of sketches at the Blanchard gallery from March 21, to March 30. Works suitably framed must be delivered to the gallery on Tuesday, March 20, only. The following are the jury: William Wendt, Benjamin Chambers Brown, Franz Bischoff, Hanson Puthuff, Aaron Kilpatrick, Jack Smith and Charles Percy Austin.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, March 10, 1912, III20; March 17, 1912, III22)

Blanchard Exhibition (3 new members)
March 24, 1912: Anderson’s March 24 column lists the twenty-five artists and their artwork in the Blanchard Exhibition. (Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1912, III18)

New members by the Blanchard Exhibition: Maurice Braun (1877-1941), Margaret Taylor (1883-1972), and Marco Zim (1880-1963).

April 6, 1912: A monthly meeting is held. Anderson also gives some details about the upcoming Spring Exhibition at the Friday Morning Club, which opened on May 3. (Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, April 28, 1912, III23) Further info about the exhibition in this column.
(Antony Anderson, The Spring Exhibitions, Los Angeles Times, May 5, 1912, III24)

May 4, 1912: “The regular meeting of the California Art Club took place in the rooms of the Sketch Club, No. 109 Temple Block, last night.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, May 5, 1912, III24)

Spring Exhibition, 1912 (3 new members)
May 12, 1912: Anderson reviews the Spring Exhibition, mentioning artist names and artwork titles.
(Antony Anderson, California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, May 12, 1912, III19; California Art Club Again, Los Angeles Times, May 19, 1912, III20)

New members by the 1912 Spring Exhibition: Charles Arthur Fries (1854-1940), Edgar Martin Keller (1868-1932), Karl Julius Heinrich Yens (1868-1945)

May 19, 1912: “Following the decision of the Executive Committee made on May 4, the business of the California Art Club will be suspended until September, when the members will be called together to prepare for the third annual exhibition.”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, May 19, 1912, III20)

September 7, 1912: “Next Saturday evening [Sept. 7] there will be a regular meeting of the California Art Club in the quarters of the Sketch Club, room 222, Copp building. Important business concerning the autumn exhibition will be discussed and all members are urged to attend.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, September 1, 1912, III13)

“Already the painters have begun to plan their campaign. Last night the California Art Club met in the rooms of the Sketch Club, in the Copp building, to consider the question of its fall exhibition, which will be the biggest and most important of the year.”
(Antony Anderson, Artistic Activities, Los Angeles Times, September 8, 1912, III18)

September 22, 1912: “Sidney Shaw, who has been painting in Southern California all summer, with a studio in Pasadena, will leave for New York this week. Some of his landscapes will be shown in the coming exhibition of the California Art Club, of which he is a member.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, September 22, 1912, III19)

October 12, 1912: “The California Art Club held an important business meeting last night at their rooms in the Copp building. The question of their forthcoming exhibition was up for discussion.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, October 13, 1912, III19)

November 2, 1912: “The regular monthly meeting of the California Art Club was held last night at the Sketch Club. The forthcoming exhibition of the club was under consideration. Entry cards for this, the third exhibition, should be sent to the secretary of the club, Charles Percy Austin, No. 222 Copp building, at No. 218 Broadway. They must reach him not later than November 14.”
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, November 3, 1912, III18)

November 17, 1912: “The third annual exhibition of the California Art Club will take place in the Blanchard Hall gallery, November 18 to December 30. The private view will be given tomorrow night. On Tuesday, and on every weekday following till the end of the show, the gallery will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This will be the strongest exhibition yet held by this strong young club of painters, among the exhibitors being many famous men from the East.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, November 17, 1912, III17)

Third Annual Exhibition (7 new members)
November 18 – December 30, 1912: Anderson gives a thorough account of artists and artwork in the exhibition. This exhibit had a second venue after Blanchard, traveling to the San Francisco Institute of Art just as the Second Annual had.
(Antony Anderson, Art Club’s Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, November 24, 1912, III18)

New members in the Third Annual Exhibition: Harry Lewis Bailey (1879-1933), Carlton Theodore Chapman (1860-1925), Frank William Cuprien (1971-1948), Susie May Berry Dando (1873-1934), Henry E. Lovins (1883-1960), Raffaello Montalboddi (1879-1972), Warren Eliphalet Rollins (1861-1962)

1913

[There is only one extant column by Anderson, Jan. 12, 1913, between Dec. 29, 1912 and June 1, 1913.]

Everett C. Maxwell, Honorary CAC Member and Curator of the County Museum Art Gallery, wrote a review of the Third Annual Exhibition that was published in the Jan. – June 1913 issue, v. 28 of the Fine Arts Journal, accompanied by images of members’ work. (CAC Archives)

June 1913: The regular meetings of the California Art Club were postponed until September. However, the Sketch Club rooms in the Copp building were open for informal social gathering on these Saturday evenings: June 7, July 5, and August 2. All members as well as guests were invited to attend.
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, June 8, 1913, III4)

Los Angeles County Museum of History, Science and Art is Founded
July 4, 1913 (Ancient Relics in New Setting, Los Angeles Times, July 5, 1913, II8)

September 1913: “At their last meeting in the Copp Building the California Art Club discussed plans for the fall exhibition.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, September 14, 1913, III22)

October 1913: The Fourth Annual Exhibition begins to take shape. Blanchard gallery was selected as a venue because it had the “largest available exhibition room.” The CAC’s jury of selection was comprised of Franz Bischoff, Benjamin Brown, Edgar Kellar, Aaron Kilpatrick, Hanson Puthuff, Jean Mannheim, Jack Smith and Karl Yens.
(Antony Anderson, California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, October 12, 1913, III5)

The CAC appears to have considered presenting the Fourth Annual at the new Los Angeles County Museum, but ended up opting for Blanchard instead because they were told they would have to submit their paintings to a separate Museum jury individually, not as a club. The CAC also wanted the exhibit to be subject to the rules of the Club. [The Museum jury was composed of Rob Wagner, Elmer Wachtel, Jean Mannheim, J. Bond Francisco and Franz Bischoff – it isn’t clear why submitting to this jury was an issue, unless it was on principle. All except Francisco were CAC members, and by 1922 he had joined too.]

60 Members: Membership in the club now “consists of about sixty members and includes nearly all the leading exponents of the brush and pencil between Santa Barbara and San Diego.” (Great Gallery Not for Them, Los Angeles Times, November 10, 1913, II1)

Fourth Annual Exhibition (5 new members)
October 21 – November 1, 1913: See comments and link above; extensive coverage of the Fourth Annual Exhibit as well as the debate between the Club and the County Museum is covered in the local papers of the time.
(Antony Anderson, California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, October 12, 1912, III5; Artist’s Gather with Handiwork, Los Angeles Times, October 20, 1913, II2; Antony Anderson, Various Points of View, Los Angeles Times, October 26, 1913, III6; Great Gallery Not for Them, Los Angeles Times, November 10, 1913, II1; T. R. Barrabee, Letters to the Times, The Art Quarrel, Los Angeles Times, November 14, 1913; Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, November 16, 1913, III6)

New members by the Fourth Annual Exhibition: Cora E. Cowan (1883-1944), Fannie Eliza Duvall (1861-1934), Anna Althea Hills (1882-1930), Arthur Russell Hurtt (1861 – 1938), and Kathryn Herndon McManaman (1887-?)

Los Angeles County Museum of History, Science and Art is Dedicated
November 6, 1913: (Happy Dedication of the Public Institutions, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 6, 1913, II3)

November 1913: The Fourth Annual travels to San Francisco.
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, November 16, 1913, III6)

December 1913: “The new Art Committee of the [L.A. Co. Museum’s] Gallery of Fine Arts now stands as follows: Mrs. S. Henrietta Dorn Housh [Honorary CAC Member, 1911], William [M.] Bowen [president of the board], F. J. Rosenheim, Frank L. Loftus, Rob Wagner, Marion Kavanaugh Wachtel, Edgar Kellar, Julia Bracken Wendt, and Everett C. Maxwell. This committee, which meets once a month, will act for the board of governors of the museum…The committee believes in encouraging native artists…”
(Antony Anderson, American Painters, Los Angeles Times, December 28, 1913, III5; This City as a Center of Art, Los Angeles Times, November 7, 1913, II3)

Cornerstone laid at the new Southwest Museum
December 6, 1913: (Great Museum, Historic Day, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 7, 1913, I7)

December 6, 1913: “The meeting place of the California Art Club has been moved to No. 424 Copp building. The regular meeting and annual election of officers took place on the evening of December 6.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 7, 1913, III7)

“The meeting place of the California Art Club has been moved from the Copp building to the Cannon Art School on South Hill Street, almost directly above the Pacific Electric station.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, December 14, 1913, III4)

“The meeting place of the California Art Club has been moved from the third floor of the Copp building to the fourth. The new quarters are in the Manbert School of Applied Art. At the last meeting of the club the incumbent officers were re-elected for the year 1914. Mrs. Randolph [Helen] Hutchinson [Honorary CAC Member, 1911] was made honorary vice-president.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, December 21, 1913, III7)

December 27, 1913: “The California Art Club held a good fellowship meeting and house-warming on the evening of December 27, in their new quarters in the Copp building.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 4, 1914, III4)


1914

Planning an Exhibition of Sketches
January 3, 1914: The club held its regular monthly meeting and decided to hold a non-juried exhibition of members’ sketches (either at the Club’s gallery, No. 424 Copp building, or the “little gallery of the Sketch Club, Copp building, No. 218 South Broadway”) the goal being to raise money for future exhibitions. The exhibition ran from February 16-28. The current officers of the club are listed also: William Wendt, president; Jean Mannheim, first vice-president; Jack W. Smith, second vice-president; Charles Percy Austin, secretary and Chairman of the Exhibition Committee; Barton Manbert, recording secretary; and Aaron E. Kilpatrick, treasurer.
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 4, 1914, III4; Antony Anderson, Art Club Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 18, 1914, III6; Antony Anderson, Art Club’s Sketches, Los Angeles Times, February 15, 1914, III4; Antony Anderson, Sketches, Los Angeles Times, February 22, 1914, III4)

February 7, 1914: The club held is regular monthly meeting on this date in the Copp Building clubrooms. Members turned in sketches for the upcoming exhibiton.
(Antony Anderson, California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, May 3, 1914, III5)

Exhibition of Sketches at Club Gallery
February 16-28, 1914: Held at the CAC Gallery, No. 424 Copp Building.

Spring Exhibition 1914 (5 new members)
April 2 – 30, 1914: The second Spring Exhibition is held at the Friday Morning Club, the auditorium of the venue being donated free of charge. [The first Spring Exhibition was in 1912; there is no evidence of a Spring Exhibition occuring in 1913.]
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1914, III6; Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1914, III4; Antony Anderson, Spring Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, April 5, 1914; Antony Anderson, Art Club’s Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, April 12, 1914; Florence N. Levy, Editor, American Art Annual, Volume XII, 1915)

New members by the 1914 Spring Exhibition: Esther Anna Hunt (1875-1951), Nell Cole Danely Brooker Mayhew (1875-1940), May Mott-Smith (1879-1952), William Posey Silva (1859-1948), and Hamilton Achilles Wolf (1883-1967).

May 2, 1914: The club held is regular monthly meeting on May 2, and “the constitution came up for final revision before being printed.” Also, “the committee on the exhibition at San Diego, 1915, made its report.”
(Antony Anderson, California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, May 3, 1914, III5)

“The Women’s Club of Phoenix is taking an active interest in art. In January, 1916, it will conduct a general exhibition to which the California Art Club of Los Angeles will be invited to contribute.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, May 10, 1914, III4)

May 16, 1914: Julia Bracken Wendt’s “colossal group in bronze” was unveiled and dedicated in the entrance gallery at the Museum of History, Science and Art in Exposition Park.
(Antony Anderson, Art and Artists, Los Angeles Times, May 17, 1914, III6)

Panama-California Exposition Preparations; CAC Roster issued
June 14, 1914: The CAC is given authority by the Southern California Panama Exhibition Commission to set the standard and oversee all aspects of jurying, hanging and displaying artwork that will be included in the upcoming (1915) Panama-California Exposition in San Diego, CA.
(Antony Anderson, Southern California Art Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, July 14, 1914, III25)

Also, the “little book of the California Art Club” is issued, which include the club’s constitution, exhibition rules, and a list of members. The membership at this point includes: 29 Active members, 28 Associate Exhibiting Members, 5 Non-Exhibiting Associate Members, 5 Honorary Members, and 12 Non-Exhibiting Honorary Members (79 total members).

August 29, 1914: The first regular meeting of the fall season was held Saturday evening in the clubroom, No. 424 Copp Building. Arrangements were made for the fifth annual exhibition as well as the Panama-California Exposition.
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, Aug. 30, 1914, III6)

Fifth Annual Exhibition (1 new member)
October 7 -31, 1914: “The fifth annual exhibition of the California Art Club will open in the art gallery of Exposition Park on October 6, to continue to the end of the month.”
(Antony Anderson, Fifth Annual Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 13, 1914, III10; Anderson, Fifth Annual Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 11, 1914, III10; Anderson, Fifth Annual Exhibition Again, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 18, 1914, III6)

New members by the Fifth Annual Exhibition: Aime Baxter Titus (1883-1941).

Proposed Club Yearbook
October 25, 1914: A proposed yearbook for the club was put into preparation by Barton Manbert, secretary. It was comprised of originals (watercolors) and photographs of members’ works, plus four letterpress articles, authored by Charles Percy Austin (“Picturesque Aspects”) and three L.A. art reviewers: Antony Anderson – “Historical Phases,” Alma May Cook – “Women Artists,” and Everett Carroll – “Growth of Appreciation.” Only 30 copies were to be made and sold at $20 apiece.
(Antony Anderson, Book of the Club, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 25, 1914, III10)

November 7, 1914: The club met in the Copp building.
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 8, 1914, III6)


1915

January 16, 1915: Special meeting held at the Copp building.
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 17, 1915, III14)

June 5, 1915: Monthly meeting at the Copp building.
(Antony Anderson, A Few Notes, Los Angeles Times, June 6, 1915, III17)

June 19, 1915: The club met in their rooms at the Copp building; Alma May Cook proposed an art campaign consisting of a traveling exhibit and accompanying lectures.
(Antony Anderson, Plans of the Art Club, Los Angeles Times, June 27, 1915, III2)

Traveling Exhibition announced; club rooms moved to Normal School
August 22, 1915: The upcoming “traveling exhibition of the club” is announced. The intention was not sales for the club members, but art education on the part of the public. Any club, school or organization was able to ask for the exhibition to come to them.
(Antony Anderson, Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles Times, Aug. 22, 1915, III2)

The club moved from their rooms at the Copp building, where they had been meeting “for some years,” to one of the buildings of the old Normal School on Fifth Street. One entire floor was made available to them.
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, Aug. 22, 1915, III2)

September 12, 1915: The Civic Outlook Club of Redondo Beach applied to have the CAC Traveling Exhibit in their newly converted space, but the club’s pictures weren’t all ready yet so another exhibition by four artists was assembled instead.
(Antony Anderson, Exhibitions in Redondo, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 12, 1915, III2)

The sixth annual exhibition is announced, to be held in Exposition Park during October. The jury consisted of William Wendt, Benjamin Brown, Hanson Puthuff, Aaron E. Kilpatrick and Jack W. Smith. Alma May Cook delivered a series of lectures.
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 12, 1915, III2; Antony Anderson, Coming Events, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 19, 1915, III4 )

September 26, 1915: Anderson tells us that none of the work in the Sixth Annual had been previously exhibited in Los Angeles. The jury was revised; for painting: Gardner Symons, Fernand Harvey Lungren (1857-1932), Hanson Puthuff, Aaron E. Kilpatrick, Jack W. Smith, J. Duncan Gleason (1881-1959) and William Wendt; for sculpture: Julia B. Wendt and Maud Daggett (1883-1941). (Antony Anderson, California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 26, 1915, III2)

Sixth Annual Exhibition (25 new members, including 3 jurors above)
October 5 -31, 1915: The club opened their Sixth Annual Exhibition with an reception on October 4, attended by 500 artists and friends.

It was reported that fourty-four paintings had been assembled for the upcoming Traveling Exhibition, many of a smaller size to accomodate easier transport.
(Antony Anderson, In the Galleries; Traveling Exhibition; California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 26, 1915, III2)

These members appear by the Sixth Annual Exhibition: Helen A. Blum (1886-??), Anne M. Bremer (1868-1923), William V. Cahill (1878-1924), Helen E. Coan (1859-1938), Bert Cressey (1883-1944), Meta S. Cressey (1882-1964), Maud Daggett, Elizabeth Edmond (1887-1918), J. Duncan Gleason, Bessie Hazen (1862-1946), Marie Runkle Johnson (1861-1943), Helen Louise Kohlmeier (1882-1955), Kathryn Leighton (1875-1952), Fernand Lungren, Theodore Modra (1873-1930), Lawrence M. Murphy (1872-1947), Henry Varnum Poor (1888-1970), Julie E. Raymond (1859-1955), Guy Rose (1867-1925), Donna Schuster (1883-1953), Louis Hovey Sharp (1874-1946), Henrietta Shore (1880-1963), Ernest Browning Smith (1866-1951), Channel P. Townsley (1867-1921), Max Wieczorek (1863-1955).

October 9, 1915: The first meeting of the California Art Club in its new quarters in Normal Hill Annex.
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 24, 1915, III22)

November 6, 1915: The regular meeting of the CAC is held in the Normal Hill Annex, where the “lumiere exhibition of members’ work in color was shown.” The CAC organized a supplementary traveling exhibition (consisting of small oils, watercolors, etchings, etc.) to go with the exhibition of the Print Makers.*

*(The 2nd Annual Arizona Art Exhibition was held in Phoenix from Nov. 15-20, 1915, under the auspices of the art dept. of the Woman’s Club of Phoenix. It included local artists, 50 prints sent by the Print Makers of L.A., and paintings sent by 11 Southern California artists: C. O. Borg, B. C. Brown, M. Braun, W. V. Cahill, A. A. Hills, H. Puthuff, J. H. Rich, C. P. Townsley, the Wachtels, and William Wendt. Despite the other nine artists being CAC members, we have no conclusive evidence that the Wachtels were ever CAC members.
(Antony Anderson, Arizona Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 5, 1915, III21)

Everett C. Maxwell, Honorary CAC Member and Curator of the County Museum Art Gallery, prepared a special review of the Sixth Annual Exhibition to be published in the Fine Arts Journal, accompanied by images of members’ work.
(Antony Anderson, Maxwell’s Activities, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 7, 1915, III2)

1st Traveling Exhibition opens (1 new member)
November 16, 1915: The first showing of the CAC’s traveling exhibition (including 50 paintings and sculpture) opened on this date under the auspices of the South Side Ebell Club in the Vernon branch of the Public Library, Forty-first Street and Central Avenue. This exhibit was opened for about a week, with plans for it to travel around Southern California the next year. (Bringing Art to the People, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 16, 1915, II5)

These members appear by the 1st Traveling Exhibition: James E. McBurney (1868-1955).

New club officers elected (Brown becomes President)
December (4 or 11), 1915: The regular meeting of the CAC is held in the Normal Hill Annex, and new officers are chosen: Benjamin Brown elected President of the Club (Wm. Wendt declined a renomination), Jack W. Smith becomes Vice-President, Hanson Puthuff elected as Second Vice-President, A. B. Titus selected as Recording Secretary, while Charles P. Austin and Aaron E. Kilpatrick remained Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. A new board of directors was also chosen which included the aforementioned officers plus four Active Members: Arthur B. Dodge, William V. Cahill, Barton Manbert and Julia Bracken Wendt.
(Antony Anderson, California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 12, 1915, III28)


1916

January 1916: Exhibition at the Women’s Club of Phoenix(?).
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, May 10, 1914, III4)

Exhibition at the Friday Morning Club
March 14, 1916: Members of the CAC presented a small exhibition and reception at the Friday Morning Club, hosted by the latter’s Art Committee. Afterwards, “these pictures, with others, are to be shown in the music room of the public library, Metropolitan Building, where they will make small group exhibitions that will later go to various clubrooms for the current year.”
(Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, March 12, 1916, III3)

Thomas Moran, painting in Pasadena, was supposed to have been a guest at the reception but couldn’t make it.

New CAC exhibition space at the L.A. Public Library
April 15 (?), 1916: The club held a meeting sometime during the week. Most of the members were present and many new paintings were shown, presented on walls that had been “tinted to a neutral hue” in their clubrooms at the Normal School.

The club was also given an exhibition room on the mezzanine floor of the L.A. Public Library. The space was shared with other groups, such as the Print Makers, who opened the first exhibit there.
(Antony Anderson, News and Notes, Los Angeles Times, April 16, 1916, III2)

May 13, 1916: The club held a social meeting on this Saturday in their clubrooms at the Normal Hill Annex.
(Antony Anderson, Thumb Tacks, Los Angeles Times, May 21, 1916, III18)

First exhibit at L.A. Public Library opens (Duncan Gleason)
May 22 – June 17, 1916: The “first step towards a municipal art gallery for Los Angeles” was taken when the L.A. Public Library formally opened the remodeled music-room on the mezzanine floor, transformed into a small art gallery. Viewers could see paintings of California, music students (at certain hours) could try out musical scores, and societies had a new meeting place available to them. The CAC was placed in charge of the gallery, and as the first exhibitor J. Duncan Gleason showed nineteen paintings.

June 17 (?), 1916: The club held a special meeting at which Miss Alma May Cook gave a report on the traveling exhibition. She also showed the “lumiere plate exhibition by stereopticon.”
(Antony Anderson, News and Notes, Los Angeles Times, June 18, 1916, III4)

Second exhibit at L.A. Public Library (Benjamin Brown)
July ?? – August 7 (?), 1916: The second in a series of CAC exhibitors at their new gallery space in the L.A. Public Library was Benjamin C. Brown, who showed small oil paintings “through the month of July and one week in August.”
(Antony Anderson, Pictures by Brown, Los Angeles Times, July 23, 1916, III4)

Plans for 7th Annual, Second Traveling Exhibitions
August 27, 1916: A prospectus for the upcoming 7th Annual (Fall) Exhibition was issued, a “handsomely-printed folder.” The jury of selection is listed as five: William Wendt, Hanson Puthuff, William V. Cahill, Benjamin Brown and Jack W. Smith. The jury, along with Museum Director Frank S. Daggett, were working to assemble a second traveling exhibition of work to go to “eastern and northwestern” cities during th winter season, comprised of work from the 7th Annual.
(Antony Anderson, Prospectus of Exhibitions, Los Angeles Times, August 27, 1916, III3)

7th Annual Exhibition (13 new members)
October 5 – 31, 1916: In preparation for the opening of the autumn exhibition, members of the hanging committee met on October 3 and 4, the press view on October 4, and the invitation view on October 5.
(Antony Anderson, California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, September 24, 1916, III2)

The club now included in its membership “many of the strongest painters on the Pacific Coast, with some from Arizona and New Mexico and not a few from New York City.”
(Antony Anderson, Annual Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, October 1, 1916, III2)

These members appear by the Seventh Annual Exhibition: Dana Bartlett (1882-1957), Andrew Bjurman (1876-1943), Mary C. W. Black (1872-1943), Mary E. Call (1864-1957), Casper Gruenfeld (1872-1954), Beulah May (1883-1959), Lon Megargee (1883-1960), Richard E. Miller (1875-1943), Helen G. Norton (1882-1965), George Westfall Reynolds (1887-1966), Doris Rosenthal (1889-1971), Edna M. Scofield (1879-1956), Edouard A. Vysekal (1890-1939).

Second Traveling Exhibition (2 new members)
November 1, 1916: The second Traveling Exhibition opens at the art department of the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix. Hannah Tempest Jenkins (1854-1927) and Evelyna Nunn [Miller] (1888-1966) participate in this CAC exhibit.
(Antony Anderson, The Passing Show, Los Angeles Times, December 10, 1916, III2)

November 11, 1916: The club held a meeting at which a presentation about color landscape photography was given by Messrs. William and Sheehan.
(Antony Anderson, News and Notes, Los Angeles Times, November 12, 1916, III2)

?? – December 2, 1916: A special exhibition of paintings and sculpture from the club’s 7th Annual Exhibition was held in the West Hall of the old Throop Academy in Pasadena, under the auspices of the Pasadena Music and Art Association. “A number of recent pictures” by Richard Miller were also shown. (Antony Anderson, Art Notes, Los Angeles Times, November 26, 1916, III2)


1917

Spring Exhibition Announced; Wendt elected President for 2nd time
January, 1917: Due to a growing membership, the club decided to hold two exhibitions every year instead of just one [adding Spring to the pre-existing “Annual” or “Fall” exhibitions]. The recent [late Dec. 1916/early Jan. 1917] club elections showed the following results: President – William Wendt; Vice-Presidents – Jack W. Smith and Hanson Puthuff; Corresponding Secretary – A. B. Titus; Recording Secretary – J. Duncan Gleason; Treasurer – Aaron Kilpatrick.
(Antony Anderson, News and Notes, Los Angeles Times, January 14, 1917, III4)

The jury for the 1917 Spring Exhibition consisted of Julia Bracken Wendt, William V. Cahill, Hanson Puthuff, Benjamin Brown, Jack Wilkinson Smith, Maud Daggett, Guy Rose, C.P. Townsley and John Rich.
(Antony Anderson, Spring Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1917, III14)

Spring Exhibition Opens (11 new members)
April 5 – 30, 1917: Three awards initially given by Clarence A. Black of Santa Barbara ($100, $50, $25) will become established prizes at future CAC Spring Exhibitions; the Ackerman prize ($100) was given by the Pig’n Whistle Company of Los Angeles. Nearly 1,000 patrons of art attended the opening reception, including art collector William Preston Harrison of Chicago and Mayor Woodman.
(Antony Anderson, California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, April 1, 1917, III4; Art Lovers Greet Club Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, April 6, 1917, 3,4, 8; Antony Anderson, The Spring Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, April 8, 1917, III4; Antony Anderson, Spring Exhibition Once More, Los Angeles Times, April 15, 1917, III4; Antony Anderson, Last of the Spring Exhibitors, Los Angeles Times, April 22, 1917, III4)

New members in the Spring 1917 Exhibition: Caroline Hutchinson Bowles (1865-1923), Ella Buchanan (1869-1951), Edward Burgess Butler (1853-1928), Wallace Leroy DeWolf (1854-1930), Lillian Gertrude Prest Ferguson (1869-1955), Marie Boening Kendall (1885-1953), Thorwald Albert Probst (1886-1948) Hovsep T. Pushman (1877-1966), George Curtin Stanson [a.k.a. Gjura Stojana] (1885-1974), Marguerite [Margaret] Rose Tew (1885-1975), and Arthur G. Vernon (1885-1919).

September 1, 1917: The club held a meeting at their club rooms; amendments were made to provide for a “sustaining membership.”
(Antony Anderson, News and Notes, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 2, 1917, III20)

8th Annual Exhibition (?? new members)
October 4 – 31, 1917: “Exhibitions by this strong club of painters and sculptors are among the main art events of the year, and they have been steadily growing in interest and importance. The standard of admission has been advancing year by year, almost by leaps and bounds, until now there is hardly an art association in the country that can give a better account of itself.”
(Antony Anderson, Eighth Annual Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 30, 1917, III16; Antony Anderson, Eighth Annual Exhibition, Los Angeles Times, October 7, 1917, III16; Antony Anderson, Eighth Annual Exhibit Again, Los Angeles Times, October 14, 1917, III20; Antony Anderson, Third and Last, Los Angeles Times, October 21, 1917, III22)

These members appear by the Eighth Annual Exhibition: Luvena Buchanan [Vysekal] (1873 – 1954), Ella Shepard Bush (1861 – 1948), Ada Belle Champlin (1875 – 1950), Elsa Falk Escherich (1888 – 1977), Edgar Alwin Payne (1883 – 1947) and Orrin Augustine White (1883 – 1969).

Third Traveling Exhibition Announced
October 7, 1917: 25 paintings would be a part of the upcoming third Traveling Exhibit of CAC members’ work, opening November 1, 1917. Alma May Cook was again given charge of the exhibition, traveling and giving lectures at each of the venues. “Many clubs [had] already sent inquiries” regarding the exhibition, and plans were being made to produce reproductions of the paintings included.
(Interest Shown in Art Club Exhibit, Los Angeles Times, October 7, 1917, II5)

Third Traveling Exhibition Opens
November 1, 1917: As reported above.
(Interest Shown in Art Club Exhibit, Los Angeles Times, October 7, 1917, II5)

Annual Club elections, Wendt re-elected President
December 1, 1917: The club elections produced the following results: President – William Wendt; First Vice-President – Channel P. Townsley; Second Vice-President – Helena Dunlap; [Corresponding] Secretary -Charles P. Austin; Recording Secretary – J. Duncan Gleason; Treasurer – Arthur B. Dodge. “Members-at-large, board of directors:” William V. Cahill, Jack W. Smith, Benjamin C. Brown, Guy Rose. Jury: Donna Schuster, Helena Dunlap, Julia B. Wendt, William V. Cahill, Guy Rose, Benjamin C. Brown, William Wendt, Hanson Puthuff and Jack W. Smith.
(Antony Anderson, California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, December 16, 1917, III22)

December 15, 1917: A special meeting was held in the clubrooms with a reception for outgoing and incoming club officers.
(Antony Anderson, California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, December 16, 1917, III22)

News of a new downtown art gallery to be established by the Red Cross workers of Los Angeles was brought up at the meeting. Overseeing the gallery would be Clarence Hoblitzelle, formerly an assistant curator at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Artwork in the gallery would be contributed by Southern California artists, with all sales benefitting the Red Cross. The news was received enthusiastically by club members, many promising to contribute several works.
(Antony Anderson, Doing Their Bit, Los Angeles Times, December 23, 1917, III12; Antony Anderson, Red Cross Gallery, Los Angeles Times, December 30, 1917, III15)


1918

Spring Exhibition Announced (15 new members)
March 10, 1918: The awards were announced for the upcoming Spring Exhibition: three awards were again given by Clarence A. Black of Santa Barbara ($100 – best landscape, $50 – best painting regardless of subject; $25 – honorable mention), as well as the Ackerman prize ($100 – best figure study) from the Pig’n Whistle Company of Los Angeles. Also, Florence G. Moore of Los Angeles offered a prize for best sculpture ($50), and William Preston Harrison of Chicago offered a prize for “the most popular work” ($100 worth of War Saving Certificates).
(Antony Anderson, Exhibition of California Art Club, Los Angeles Times, March 10, 1918, III17)

These members appear by the 1918 Spring Exhibition: Maxine Albro (1893 – 1966), Mabel Alvarez (1891 – 1985), Helen Johnston Balfour (1847 – 1925), Eben Farrington Comins (1875 – 1949), John Earle Coolidge (1882 – 1947), Esther Mabel Crawford (1872 – 1958), Edwin Munott Dawes (1872 – 1945), Clarence Keiser Hinkle (1880 – 1960), Cora Dell Teter Meadows (1868 – 1946), Helen Ruth [Orb] Orbe [Dawes] (1894-1989), Edwin Roscoe Shrader (1878 – 1960), Frederick Carl Smith (1868 – 1955), Hannah Thompson (1888 – ?), Christian von Schneidau (1893 – 1976), and Frances Jeanette Whitlock (1870-1952).