Here's how it was compiled. First, I tried variations of Internet, Google, searches. This was very frustrating because of the design of the display. If you type "Art Clubs" and "your city," you will receive a number of hits. As you scroll from the top of the list to the bottom, the top third will be ads, the middle results, and the bottom third the search engine's help for people who have made this inquiry before. The 15 or so results, listed in the middle are duplicates, making the final inquiry many screens long; I stopped at 10 pages.
Second, I asked everyone I know. This is not that silly, because my Facebook contacts have 200+ artists, most are successful working artists and I belong to three of the organizations listed. This effort produced a handful of results.
I was fortunate to find a compiled list of 501(c)3 non profits classified as ART through Art-Support.com. Their list is 500 or so all organizations that have Art as their function, it is broken down by state. I went through the entire list and contacted over 200 of the organizations. This produced the bulk of the results.
I became concerned that the three organizations I belong to: Palette and Chisel, Oak Park Art League and Plein Air Chicago are not listed listed in Illinois. I sought out a second listing and found one ArtModelsTips.com. This second list about a 100 or so organizations produced a handful of results.
Finally, I retried my search engine inquiry this time using query language suggested by Google. This produced very little, but did list my 3 organizations, once again I stopped at 10 pages of output.
After I compiled the list and contacted every organization on the list, 173 Art organizations, I went through the list a second time and re-read every web page to verify that the organization met the criteria and to learn the cost of regular artist membership. I contacted about 50 organizations a second time.
My criteria
- 501(c)3 non-profit corporation
- managed by or for artists and provides benefits to its members (open studio, gallery space, instruction)
- Is not principly a museum or gallery
- Is not principly supported by government funding
- Is not an all inclusive Arts organizations(covering all of the Arts writing, dance, visual and acting)
- Is not a colleges or university
- Does not have restricted admissions
At this point, I compiled the list below. The organizations listed in color and not numbered did not meet the criteria. I left them in the list for two reasons, the growth of art organizations is stimulated by societal changes and the individual organization has a life cycle. It became clear to me that each organization had to make a conscience choice to remain centered on the development of the artist instead of moving over to being centered on the community.
| FINE ART CLUBS USA | |||
| Rank | YEAR | NAME | LOCATION |
| 1825 | National Academy of Design | NYC | |
| 1 | 1860 | Philadelphia Sketch Club | PA |
| 2 | 1871 | Salmagundi Art Club | NYC |
| 3 | 1871 | Duluth Art Institute | Duluth, MN |
| 1875 | Art Students League | NYC | |
| 4 | 1879 | Copley Soc of Art | Boston |
| 5 | 1880 | Providence Arts Club | RI |
| 1886 | St Louis Artists' Guild and Galleries | St Louis, MO | |
| 6 | 1890 | Cincinnati Art Club | OH |
| 7 | 1895 | Palette & Chisel | Chicago |
| 8 | 1897 | The Plastic Club | Philadelphia |
| 1897 | Society of Arts and Crafts | Boston, MA | |
| 1898 | National Arts Club | NYC | |
| 9 | 1901 | Seven Oaks Art League | Columbia, SC |
| 10 | 1902 | Lyme Art Association | CT |
| 11 | 1906 | California Art Club | CA |
| 12 | 1909 | Ohio Art League | Columbus Ohio |
| 1911 | Fine Arts Club of Fargo | Fargo, ND | |
| 1913 | FA Club of Pasadena | CA | |
| 13 | 1914 | Guild of Boston Artists | Boston |
| 1915 | Louisville Visual Art | Louisville, KY | |
| 1919 | Santa Cruz Art League | Santa Cruz, CA | |
| 14 | 1921 | Oak Park Art League | Oak Park, IL |
| 1922 | Silvermine Guild of Artists | NewCanaan, CT | |
| 15 | 1928 | Arizona Artist Guild | Phoenix, AZ |
| 1926 | Art Center Sarasota | Sarasota, Fla | |
| 16 | 1928 | Ogunquit Art Association | Ogunquit, ME |
| 17 | 1929 | New Mexico Art League | Alburqueque, NM |
| 18 | 1931 | DaVinci Art Alliance | Philadelphia |
| 19 | 1933 | LaGrange Art League | |
| 20 | 1934 | Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center | Makawao, HI |
| 1934 | West Hartford Art League | CT | |
| 1935 | Morris County Art Association | Morristown, NJ | |
| 21 | 1936 | Mesa Art League | Mesa, AZ |
| 22 | 1936 | Vero Beach AC (Sketch club) | Florida |
| 23 | 1936 | Richmond AC | Richmond, CA |
| 24 | 1938 | Rehoboth Art League | Rehoboth, DE |
| 25 | 1946 | Elmhurst Artists' Guild | |
| 26 | 1947 | Grand Marias Art Colony | Grand Marias, MN |
| 1948 | Art League of Huston | Huston, TX | |
| 27 | 1950 | Broward Art Guild | FLA |
| 1951 | Peoria Art Guild | Peoria, IL | |
| 28 | 1952 | Washington Art Association | Washington Depot, CT |
| 29 | 1954 | Glenview Art League | IL |
| 30 | 1954 | Eastern Shore Art Center | Fairhope, AL |
| 1954 | The Art League | Alexandria, VA | |
| 31 | 1955 | Associated Creative Artists | Dallas, TX |
| 32 | 1955 | Atlanta Artists Center | Atlanta, GA |
| 33 | 1956 | Chico Art Center | Chico, CA |
| 34 | 1956 | Venice Art Center | Venice,FL |
| 1956 | Associated Artists of Winston Salem | Winston Salem, NC | |
| 35 | 1956 | Deer Isle Artists Association | Deer Isle, Maine |
| 36 | 1956 | Naples Art Center | Naples, FL |
| 37 | 1956 | Art League of Ft. Myers | Ft. Myers, FL |
| 38 | 1957 | Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center | Birmingham, MI |
| 1957 | Fine Arts Assoc | Willoughby, OH | |
| 39 | 1957 | Huntsville Art League | AL |
| 1958 | Old Town Artists | St Paul, MN | |
| 1958 | Sedona Arts Center | AZ | |
| 40 | 1958 | Kittery Art Association | Kittery Point, Maine |
| 41 | 1961 | SCVAA, Tubac Center of the Arts | Santa Cruz, AZ |
| 42 | 1961 | Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen | Berea, KY |
| 43 | 1964 | South Mississippi Art Association | Hattiesburg, MS |
| 44 | 1964 | Anderson Artist Guild | Anderson, SC |
| 1965 | DCCAH | Fairhope, AL | |
| 1967 | Arizona Clay Association | Phoenix, AZ | |
| 45 | 1958 | Art Guild of Pacifica | Pacifica, CA |
| 1960 | Fremont Area Art Association/Gallery 92 West | Fremont, NB | |
| 46 | 1960 | Guild of Creative Art | Shrewsbury, NJ |
| 47 | 1961 | Naperville Art League | IL |
| 48 | 1961 | Coeur d'Alene Art Association | Coeur d'Alene, ID |
| 49 | 1962 | Glastonbury Arts | CT |
| 50 | 1962 | York Art Association | PA |
| 1962 | Arkansas Craft Guild | Mountain View, Ark | |
| 51 | 1963 | Vacaville Art League | Vacaville, CA |
| 1963 | Art League of Ocean City | Ocean City, MD | |
| 1964 | Southwestern Watercolor Society | Dallas, TX | |
| 52 | 1964 | Willingboro Art Alliance | NJ |
| 1965 | Intersection for the Arts | San Francisco | |
| 53 | 1966 | Arlington Visual Arts Association | Arlington, TX |
| 54 | 1967 | Berkeley Art Center | Berkeley, CA |
| 55 | 1966 | Anderson Ranch Art Center | Aspen, CO |
| 56 | 1968 | White Bear Center for the Arts | White Bear Lake, MN |
| 57 | 1969 | O'Hanlon Center for the Arts | Mill Valley, CA |
| 1969 | Plano Art Association | Plano, TX | |
| 58 | 1969 | Intermountain Society of Artists | SLC, Utah |
| 1970 | Galeria de la Raza | San Francisco | |
| 59 | 1970 | Mountainside Art Guild | Lakewood, CO |
| 60 | 1970 | Guild of Artists and Artisans | MI |
| 1971 | Sierra Arts Foundation | Reno, NV | |
| 61 | 1971 | Stamford Arts Association | Stamford, CT |
| 62 | 1971 | Roswell Fine Arts Alliance | Roswell, GA |
| 1973 | Alliance for the Visual Arts (AVA) | Lebonon, NH | |
| 1973 | Atlanta Contempory | Atlanta, GA | |
| 1974 | Ridgefield Guild of Artists | Ridgefield, CT | |
| 1974 | The Torpedo Factory | Alexandria, VA | |
| 1974 | SF Camerawork | San Francisco | |
| 1975 | Kansas City Artist Coalition | KCMO | |
| 1975 | Spruill Center for the Arts | Atlanta, GA | |
| 63 | 1975 | Kaua'i Society of Artists | Kaua'i, HI |
| 64 | 1976 | Transparent Watercolor Society of America | |
| 1977 | Austin Visual Arts Association | Austin, TX | |
| 1977 | Works San Jose | San Jose, CA | |
| 1977 | Maine Women in the Arts | Kennebunkport, ME | |
| 1978 | Havasu Art Guild | Havasu, AZ | |
| 65 | 1979 | Pastel Society of the Southwest | Plano, TX |
| 1979 | SOMarts | San Francisco | |
| 66 | 1980 | Louisville Art Association | Louisville, CO |
| 67 | 1981 | Illinois watercolor society | |
| 68 | 1981 | Mt Washington Valley Arts Association | North Conway, NH |
| 1981 | Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center for the Arts | Duluth, GA | |
| 69 | 1981 | Pine Shores Art Association | Manahawkin, NJ |
| 70 | 1981 | Wellington Art Society | Royal Palm Beach, FL |
| 1981 | Park City Professional Artists Association | Park City, Utah | |
| 1981 | Society for Arts | Chicago | |
| 1982 | Headlands Center for the Arts | Marin, CA | |
| 71 | 1983 | Montana Watercolor Society | Missoula, MT |
| 72 | 1984 | Washington Sculptors Group | DC |
| 1985 | Art Saint Louis | St Louis, MO | |
| 1985 | Central Texas Watercolor Society | Waco, TX | |
| 73 | 1985 | Sonoran Arts League | Cave Creek, AZ |
| 74 | 1986 | Sacramento Fine Arts Center | Sacramento, CA |
| 75 | 1986 | Bakehouse Art Complez | Maimi, FL |
| 1986 | Space OneEleven | Birmingham AL | |
| 76 | 1988 | Wilmette Arts Guild | |
| 77 | 1988 | Center for Photographic Art | Carmel, CA |
| 78 | 1988 | Milton Artists Guild | Milton, VT |
| 1989 | MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana | SAn Jose, CA | |
| 79 | 1990 | Delaware Foundation for the Visual Arts | Claymont, SE |
| 80 | 1992 | The Drawing Studio | Tucson, AZ |
| 1991 | Lana'i Art Center | Lana'i, HI | |
| 1991 | Springboard for the Arts | StPaul, MN | |
| 1992 | Traffic Zone (TZCVA) | Minneapolis | |
| 1993 | Artel | Pensacola, Fla | |
| 1993 | Newark Arts Alliance | Newark, DE | |
| 1994 | Arizona Pastel Artist Association | Sedona, AZ | |
| 81 | 1996 | Sedona Visual Artist Coalition | Sedona, AZ |
| 1995 | Center for Contempory Printmaking | Norwalk, CT | |
| 1996 | Fountain Street Studios | Framington, MA | |
| 82 | 1997 | Art Guild New Jersey | Rahway, NJ |
| 1997 | Carbondale Clay Center | Carbondale, CO | |
| 1999 | Brighton Art Guild | Brighton, MI | |
| 1999 | CFAAM | Maine | |
| 83 | 2000 | Pawtucket Arts Collaborative | Pawtucket, RI |
| 84 | 2000 | Anton Art Center | MtClemens, MI |
| 85 | 2001 | Arlington Artists Alliance | Arlington, VA |
| 2001 | Cross Timbers Artist Guild | Flower Mound, TX | |
| 2001 | Grand Arts | KCMO | |
| 2001 | Northside Art Collective (NAC) | Minneapolis | |
| 86 | 2002 | Abbeville Artist Guild | Abbeville, SC |
| 2002 | DamienB Contempory Art | Maimi. FL | |
| 87 | 2003 | Midway Art Association | Utah |
| 2004 | Center for Fine Arts Photography | Ft Collins, CO | |
| 2003 | Gilbert Visual Arts League | Gilbert AZ | |
| 88 | 2007 | Arizona Plein Air Painters | web, AZ |
| 89 | ? | Laramie Art Guild | Laramie, WY |
| 90 | ? | North Cobb Arts League | Acworth, GA |
| 91 | ? | Louisana Art and Artist Guild | Baton Rouge, LA |
| 2008 | The Compound Gallery | Berkeley, CA | |
| 2008 | RedLine | Denver/Milwaukee | |
| 2011 | Central Illinois Art Organization | Peoria, IL | |
| ? | Kentuck Art Center | Northport AL | |
| ? | The Button Factory Artists' Studios | Portsmouth, NH | |
| ? | Art League of Rhode Island | Providence, RI | |
| ? | Pump Project | Austin, TX | |
| ? | Tucson Artist Colony | Tucson, AZ | |
| ? | Art Students Legue of Denver | Denver | |
| ? | Cottonwood Center for the Arts | Colorado Springs, CO | |
| ? | Thompson Valley Art League | Loveland, CO | |
| ? | Hoosier Salon | Indianapolis | |
| ? | Lexington Art League | Lexington, KY | |
| ? | WARM Womens Art Resources Minnesota | Minneapolis | |
| 92 | ? | Scottsdale Artists League | Scottsdale, AZ |
| 93 | ? | Dover Art League | Dover, DE |
