Origin & Name
A group of 40 graduates of the Columbus Art School
formed the Columbus Art Students League in 1909
for the purpose of organizing artists with an objective
of “Mutual and Public benefit.” In 1917
the name changed to the League of Columbus Artists
and again in 1918 to the Columbus Art League to
include artists in the greater community. In 1998
the League again changed its name to the Ohio Art
League to accommodate its expanding membership.
Distinguished Members
A number of Ohio Art League members have distinguished
themselves including Alice Schille, Roy Lichtenstein,
Emerson Burkhardt, Erwin Frye, Hoyt L. Sherman,
George Bellows, Robert Chadeayne, Chester R. Nicodemus,
Arthur E. Baggs, Leland McClelland, Gilbert Hall,
David Black and Sidney Chafetz.
Charter Members
Charter members include William D, Harris, supervisor
of Art in the Columbus Public Schools (1960) and
Harriet Dunn, his assistant and later his wife,
Alice Schille who taught Watercolor painting at
the Columbus Art School, and Mrs. E. C. Derby who
was a patroness of the Arts and benefactress of
the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts. The first chairman
of the League was John E. Hussey who also served
as Director of the Columbus Art School; Alice Fay
Potter was secretary. Carl Howell was president
and Miss Effie Duncan, a teacher at Columbus School
for Girls, was vice president. Harriet Kirkpatrick
and Anna Schreiber were both continuous members
for 50 years.
Early Years
In the early years of the League, annual exhibitions
were held not only at the library, but also at the
University Club, then in the Seneca Hotel, the Z.
L. White Company, banks and empty store rooms, and
wherever space was available. In 1919 and 1920 the
League held Club Rooms at 108 1/2 South High Street,
Thumb Box Shows were given in the 20’s. In
1928 some 5,000 people attended the Spring Exhibition.
The Thirties brought the first and only “Fake
Irrational Exhibit,” which required entrants
to parody a work exhibited during the season at
the Gallery of Fine Arts. The show was received
with uproarious laughter and an auction of works
raised $7.93 for the League. During the Depression
years, as president of the League Lydia Reeter brought
a successful saleswoman from Cleveland, Mrs. Paul
Smith, who sold many of the works from Art League
Shows. During the war years the League was held
together by sheer determination and president Chester
Nicodemus.
Exhibition Sites
Sites for Annual Juried Exhibitions have included
the Columbus Museum of Art, the Columbus Cultural
Arts Center, Upper Arlington Municipal Center, Capital
University, Batelle Memorial Institute, and Fort
Hayes School for the Visual Arts Shot Tower Gallery.
Jurors
Art professionals of international renown have served
as jurors for these competitions including Edward
Hopper, Max Weber, Henry Varnum Poor, Rockwell Kent,
Grant Wood, Homer St. Gaudens, Philip Pearlstein,
Robert Indiana, David Smith, Marsha Tucker, George
Sugarman, Audrey Flack, Klaus Kertess, David Reed,
Mark Mayer and Paola Morsiani.
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Awards
The Ohio Art League’s award for Outstanding
Contribution to the Arts is awarded annually to
an individual or organization who has given exceptional
or voluntary efforts in time and expertise to
a specific art project or organization and whose
service might otherwise go unnoticed by the community
at large. The League also gives an Outstanding
Service Award to an individual who has given exceptional
voluntary efforts in time and expertise to the
Ohio Art League.
Archive
The Ohio Art League, recognizing its past role
in Central Ohio’s history and its future
obligations to influence this history, sponsored
an archival project in its 75th anniversary year
in cooperation with the Ohioana Library, the Junior
League of Columbus, and the IBM Corporation. Pertinent
information about arts and artists including reviews,
catalogs and other memorabilia was preserved and
deposited in the Ohioana Library, the OSU Fine
Arts Library, the CCAD Library, the main branch
of the Columbus Public Library, The Grandview
Library, the Columbus Museum of Art and the Ohio
Historical Center Library. The Gallery and Archive
Fund was recently initiated to raise funds necessary
to organize and house the League’s own ever-expanding
archive in time for the centennial celebration
in 2009.
Home Base
The League opened its first exhibition space at
the First Avenue Office Center, 929 Harrison Avenue,
Columbus, in February 1987 to focus on a challenge
grant from the Wexner Art Fund through the Columbus
Foundation. In 1996 a move was made to 765 Summit
Street, where the League occupied a small gallery
and office space closer to Columbus’ Arts
District. Today the Ohio Art League maintains
its offices and changing monthly exhibitions at
954 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43201, in
the heart of the Capital City’s Short North
Arts District.
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