Providence Art Club
The Providence Art Club has studios, galleries, eateries, and a clubhouse in a "picturesque procession of historic houses," which are across the street from the First Baptist Church in America.
[2] After many years of discussion the difficulty of displaying their works, a small group of artists including Edward Mitchell Bannister, Charles Walter Stetson, Sydney Burleigh, George William Whitaker, and Rosa Peckham came together to form the Club.
[2] Not much is known about founding member Rosa Peckham; she studied with William Rimmer in New York and Jules Joseph Lefebvre in Paris.
[2] The first exhibition at the Club was on May 11, 1880 and was considered a critical success with favorable reviews in a series of nine long articles in the Providence Journal.
Within a year after the creation of the Club, it had attracted over two hundred members and had found a suitable gallery space, though it continually underwent expansion and renovation, especially in its first decade of existence.
The Club quickly became a space for socializing as members played music, had lively conversations, and heard lectures about culture.
[2] In 1886, the club purchased the former Seril Dodge House at 11 Thomas Street, built in 1791, to be its headquarters and gallery space.
The building was raised one story above street level and a Colonial Revival storefront was added to sell art supplies.
As time went on, the expenses for the exhibitions began to be paid out of the general Club fund and the gallery was opened all year long.
On February 19, 1880, six women signed the Club's original compact: Katherine H. Austin, Etta Belcher, Harriet R. Chace, Lottie F. Dailey, Rosa F. Peckham, and Eleanor W. Talbot.
"[4] A week after the signing, the group again met, at the home of Lottie Dailey, to adopt a constitution characterized by gender-neutral language.
Despite the societal barriers that being a woman in the male-dominated art world presented, many of these women made a name for themselves in the profession, even achieving economic independence through selling their work.
[5] As a result of their success, these female artists challenged the "discriminatory myths of their time," namely that women making art was always simply a hobby, never a profession.
In the early 1990s, the autonomy of the Ladies' Board was dissolved as their responsibilities were diffused among all members of the Club and they were no longer excluded from traditional men's activities.
Sarah Doyle, Clifton Hall, and William Weeden, all RISD trustees, were early and active members of the Providence Art Club.
He believed that it was paramount that the Providence Art Club have its own space in order to avoid the risk of being overshadowed and enveloped by RISD.
In 1963, the decision was made to donate many of these bound volumes to RISD and Roger Williams College to clear space for a new display case.
After being accepted, members get to attend monthly social events, including dinners, artist panel discussions, lectures, art lessons, and music programs.
