Society of Western Artists (1896–1914)

A 1909 poster for an exhibit by the society in Indianapolis.

The Society of Western Artists was founded by William Forsyth, T. C. Steele, J. Ottis Adams, John Elwood Bundy and fourteen other artists in 1896. Most of these were painters, Impressionists, primarily active in the American Midwest.

Other members included Frank J. Girardin, Frank Reaugh and Mathias Alten, and the miniature portraitist Edward William Carlson.

The Society of Western Artists "was organized in 1896 for the purpose of uniting artists in fellowship and of combining their efforts in the advancement of Art. As one of the means to this end the Society gathers together, annually, a collection of representative works, chiefly done in the middle west, and exhibits the collection in various cities."[1]

Development as a society

"The Society of Western Artists feels that it has passed beyond its first youth, and that it can afford to take upon itself a more critical and dignified attitude."—Edmund H. Wuerpel[2][3]

Exhibitions

Annual exhibitions traveled to U.S. cities which included Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, St. Louis and later Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Toledo.[4]

Among these exhibitions were:

• Sixth Annual Exhibition of the Society of Western Artists - March 4 to March 20, 1902 - The Art Institute of Chicago[5]

• Eighteenth Annual Exhibition of the Society of Western Artists - December 31st to January 25th, 1914 - The Art Institute of Chicago[6]

References

1. "Catalogue of the Eleventh Annual Exhibition of the Society of Western Artists", The Art Institute of Chicago, December 6 to December 26, 1906, page 3.
2. "The Fourth Annual Exhibition of the Society of Western Artists". Brush & Pencil. 5 (4): 165. January 1900. JSTOR 25505502.
3. See also Perry, Rachel Berenson, T. C. Steele and the Society of Western Artists, 1896–1914, Indiana University Press, June 23, 2009.
4. Doss, Erika. T.C. Steele and the Society of Western Artists by Rachel Berenson Perry. Indiana Magazine of History, [S.l.], June 2010. ISSN 1942-9711. Available at: https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/12551/18772. Date accessed: 10 December 2017.
5. "Catalogue of the Sixth Annual Exhibition of the Society of Western Artists: March 4 to March 20, 1902." Chicago, Illinois, USA: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1902.
6. "Catalogue of the Eighteenth Annual Exhibition of the Society of Western Artists: December 31st to January 25th, 1914." Chicago, Illinois, USA: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1902.