, NEW YORK Salmagundi Club Honors Eight Living Legends

by Allison Malafronte as the Salmagundi Club. Founded in 1871 couraging dialogue in the fields of , and located in a landmark brownstone illustration, design, and architecture. For- anhattan boasts a long list of mansion on since 1917, the mer members include such important M storied clubs, communities, Club has a more than 147-year history of American artists as , and associations, but few stand as im- fostering a familial environment for mem- , , Carl memorial in the minds of traditional artists bers to exhibit their work, while also en- Rungius, , and N.C.

American Art Review Vol. XXX No. 5 2018 92 American Masters is on view from October 8 through 26, 2018, at the Salmagundi Club, 47 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York, 10003, 212-255-7740, www.salma- gundi.org. To commemorate the tenth an- niversary of American Masters, there are several special events planned, including Living Legends Live, held on Saturday, Oc- tober 13. This tribute will honor eight artists: Douglas Allen, Max Ginsburg, Daniel E. Greene, Everett Raymond Kin- stler, David A. Leffel, Richard Schmid, Burton Silverman, and John Stobart. Living Legends Live will take a look back over their long careers, highlighting not only their im- portant role in American Masters, but also the innumerable contributions they have made to the realist-art community. ABOVE: John Stobart, Whaling Bark, Charles W. Morgan, 1971, o/c, 24 x 38. RIGHT: Daniel E. Greene, Lot 97, Wall St., Williams St. Exit, 2015, o/linen, 43 x 50. LEFT: Max Ginsburg, Flags for Sale, 2002, oil, 39 x 42.

Wyeth, as well as honorary member Sir Winston Churchill. their event offerings. Those shows, howev- an avid art collector, visited the Club for From the Salmagundi Club’s inception, er, were typically limited to members and the first time in 2002. He immediately ap- exhibitions have been an ongoing staple of were rarely national in scope. Tim Newton, plied for membership after falling in love

93 Vol. XXX No. 5 2018 American Art Review ABOVE: Richard Schmid, David Wells, Cel- list, 2005, o/c, 26 x 22. ABOVE LEFT: Everett Raymond Kinstler, My Friend, Tony, 2006, oil, 36 x 24. LEFT: David A. Leffel, Red, Orange, Green, and Chinese Vase, oil, 9 x 14. ABOVE RIGHT: Douglas Allen, Moose Pond, 2018, o/c, 16 x 20. RIGHT: Burton Silverman, Afternoon in Tus- cany, 1983, oil, 39 x 47.

of $412,000, the first American Masters was a resounding success. The annual exhi- bition has since gone on to become a mar- quee event for the Salmagundi Club. Not only does American Masters continue to raise the bar for the quality of artwork shown at the club but it has also become an instrumental fund-raiser for the organiza- tion’s future. The monies raised at Ameri- can Masters from 2008 through 2014 with its legendary history. Greatly inspired an exhibition of national significance, show- helped fund the $1.5M gallery restoration, by such prestigious shows as Prix de West casing the highest quality representational which was unveiled on April 1, 2014. The and Masters of the American West, Newton art, held at and for the benefit of the Club. renovated gallery is now one of the pre- wondered why something of this caliber With approval from the Club, Newton’s miere art-exhibition spaces in New York couldn’t be curated in New York. He pro- idea American Masters was born, and the City and boasts new walls and floors, state- posed the idea of an invitational group first exhibition was held in May of 2008. of-the-art LED lighting, a museum-quality show to the Salmagundi Club. It would be With quality artwork and gross art-sales hanging system, and a new glass ceiling.

American Art Review Vol. XXX No. 5 2018 94 This year’s American Masters features nearly seventy leading artists for the exhi- bition’s tenth anniversary. As in years past, it will offer collectors and connoisseurs the opportunity to view and purchase a diverse range of genres and subject matter, includ- ing figurative, portrait, still life, landscape, maritime/coastal, cityscapes, and wildlife. The exhibiting artists work in a broad range of media as well, including graphite and charcoal, oil, watercolor, pastel, etch- ing, woodblock, and more. American Masters’ stylistic diversity brings the exhi- bition full circle to the Salmagundi Club’s nineteenth-century beginnings, when the organization was known for exhibiting the work of everyone from illustrator Dean Cornwell to American Impressionist Childe Hassam to wildlife artist Carl Rungius under the same roof.

95 Vol. XXX No. 5 2018 American Art Review