|
The National Arts Club is a private club in Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1898 by Charles DeKay, an art and literary critic of the ''New York Times'' to "stimulate, foster, and promote public interest in the arts and to educate the American people in the fine arts". Since 1906 the organization has occupied the Samuel J. Tilden House, a landmarked Victorian Gothic Revival〔("National Arts Club Designation Report" ) New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (March 15, 1966)〕 brownstone at 15 Gramercy Park, next door to the The Players, a club with similar interests. The National Arts club offers a variety of shows, educational programs, and awards in areas including theater, visual arts, film, literature and music. It is noted for allowing members access to a Gramercy Park key. The club's mansion headquarters was designated a New York City landmark in 1966,〔, p.86〕 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976. It is located in the Gramercy Park Historic District. ==History== The last decade of the 19th century saw a proliferation of clubs in New York City. A group of friends, all of them involved in architecture, art, or civic affairs, discussed the possibility of a new kind of club that would embrace all the arts. The establishment of the Club came at a time when American artists were increasingly turning to their own nation rather than exclusively to Europe as a center of work and creativity. Significantly, the Club would offer full membership for women at the onset, reflecting their accomplishment in the arts. While the group was working out an organizational plan, Charles DeKay, the literary and art critic of the ''New York Times'' for 18 years, returned from a diplomatic post abroad. An inspired organizer and entrepreneur, he sent letters to men and women of importance in the New York area as well as in metropolitan areas across the country. The response was so enthusiastic that the Club was able to apply to Albany for its charter in 1898. With the application went a list of the officers, Board of Trustees, and members totaling more than 1200. The list included such collectors as Henry Frick, William T. Evans, Benjamin Altman, Jules Bache and Henry Walters. Though not a charter member, J. Pierpont Morgan joined the Club early in its development and later was made an Honorary Vice President. Among the artists of the period, earlier charter members, or those joined in the early days of the Club were Frederic Remington, William Merritt Chase, Robert Henri and George Bellows. The Club's first home was a brownstone on West 34th Street. Commerce, meanwhile, was moving up from downtown, and the neighborhood of brownstones was changing. Spencer Trask, its treasurer, was asked to find the Club a new home. He found that 14 and 15 Gramercy Park South, the former home of Samuel Tilden, was on the market. Legend has it that he was so afraid that some other buyer would also find it that he put down some money of his own to bind the bargain. In 1906, the Club acquired the Samuel J. Tilden House. Since the Summer 2006, the Mansion's stoop at 14 Gramercy Park has been under restoration. Recently, New York artist Sergio Rossetti Morosini sculpted a bust of Michelangelo for its façade. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「National Arts Club」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|