The Galleries at Salmagundi unveiled its Annual Members’ Exhibition in the Artsy Showroom. The online exhibition showcases its club members’ finest works of art in all media ~ oil, watercolor, pastel, graphics, sculpture, photography and mixed media.
As one of the oldest art organizations in the United States, The Salmagundi club began as the New York Sketch Club in 1871. The club was renamed in 1877 in honor of Washington Irving’s publication ‘The Salmagundi Papers‘ and for the famous ‘Salmagundi Stew‘ that was often served in the club’s dining room. After meeting in a variety of locations throughout Greenwich Village, including 14 West Twelfth Street, the club purchased its current residence at 47 Fifth Avenue in 1917 from the president of the Pennsylvania Coal Company.
The Club’s four-story townhouse consists of three art galleries, a library, parlor, dining room, and bar area. And we think this might be the only townhouse on Fifth Avenue from Washington Square Park all the way up to Marcus Garvey Park on 120th Street.
In addition to its historic art collection, the Club also displays a historic palette collection, vintage monotype printing presses, a unique mug collection, and rare Union League pool tables in the lower gallery that members regularly use.
Members of the club have included such well-known figures as Childe Hassam, William Merritt Chase, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, John LaFarge, N.C. Wyeth and Guy Wiggens, to name a few.
The building was designated a Historical Landmark in 1969, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Over the years, changes have been made to the building, with a major restoration project taking place in 2013.
The Salmagundi Club has been the setting for such films as ‘The Good Shepherd’ and in series such as ‘Bluebloods,’ ‘Blacklist.’ and ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.’
The SCNY Annual Members’ Exhibition will be on view in the Artsy Showroom from April 27 through May 21, 2020. This is an ‘online only’ exhibition. The Salmagundi Club is located at 47 Fifth Avenue, between 11th/12th Streets, looks forward to reopening its doors soon.
Read an interview with Guy Arthur Wiggins, son of renowned cityscape painter, Guy Carleton Wiggins, and grandson of landscape artist, John Carleton Wiggins, by the New York Times in 2011 when the junior Wiggins was 90.