Salmagundi Art Club - Greenwich Village, NYC - Center for American Art since 1871

Founded in 1871, the Salmagundi Club is one of the oldest art organizations in the United States. Housed in a historic brownstone mansion off of Fifth Avenue, in Greenwich Village, New York City.

The Club offers programs including art classes, exhibitions, painting demonstrations, and art auctions throughout the year for members and the general public.

The Salmagundi facilities include three galleries, a library, an elegant period parlor, and a restaurant and bar with vintage pool tables.

All facilities are available for special events and private rentals.

The Club owns a collection of over 1,500 works of art spanning its 149-year history and has a membership of over 1,000 artists and patrons. Today the Club builds on this legacy by providing a center for the resurgence of representational art in America.

The Salmagundi Club originated as a sketch class in Johnathan Scott Hartley's studio and purchased this mid-nineteenth century brownstone house in 1917 as its second home.

It was cited in 1957 for its architectural distinction by the Society of Architectural Historians and the Municipal Art Society.

Formed initially as the Salmagundi Sketch Club in 1871, the Club adopted its present name a hundred years ago after Washington Irving published his potpourri of wit and wisdom called "The Salmagundi Papers."

The name also serves as the club dining room's famous "Salmagundi Stew."

The Club fosters an atmosphere of conviviality that encourages discussions on art and other topics and leads to lasting friendships among both artists members and patrons.

While members are mainly residents of the Tri-State area, Salmagundian's are to be found throughout the United States and Canada, as well as faraway places such as London, Amsterdam, and Lisbon.

Through the years, the Club has been the singular gathering place for such great artists as Childe Hassam, William Merrit Chase, Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, Ogden Pleisner, and many others. Honorary members have included such luminaries as Sir Winston Churchill, Buckminister Fuller, Paul Cadmus, Al Hirschfeld, Thomas Hoving, and Schuyler Chapin.

For more information, you can check the website at www.salmagundi.org and social media @salmagundiclub.

Photo and article by Joseph Ralph Fraia