Concord Art Association is a membership-based arts center in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...

that conducts exhibits, lectures, classes, and tours. It was founded in 1917 by Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts and moved into its permanent location, the former John Ball House, in 1923. It has exhibited works of noted artists, such as

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side (Pittsburgh), North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, whe ...

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...

, and

Cecilia Beaux Eliza Cecilia Beaux (May 1, 1855 – September 17, 1942) was an American artist and the first woman to teach art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Known for her elegant and sensitive portraits of friends, relatives, and Gilded Age p ...

. Its current artist members work in a wide range of media.

History

The Concord Art Association was founded in 1917 by Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts. It is located within the John Ball House, built in 1753 or 1761, and on a site that was built in 1657. The house was an overnight stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. Roberts purchased the John Ball House next to the town center in 1922 and hired architect

Lois Howe Lois Lilley Howe (September 25, 1864 – September 13, 1964) was an American architect and founder of the first all female architecture firm in Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Howe was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Howe studied at the ...

to remodel the residential building into the Concord Art Centre. Galleries were positioned on the first floor and the upper floors became open exhibition space. A sky-light was installed to provide natural light for the gallery. The steel reinforced building was completed in 1923. The grand opening was held on May 6, 1923, with sixty painters and eighteen sculptors from Europe and the United States in attendance. Among the noted artists were

Robert Henri Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher. As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...

, and

. It has exhibited the works of

Rockwell Kent Rockwell Kent (June 21, 1882 – March 13, 1971) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer, sailor, adventurer and voyager. Biography Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York. Kent was of English American, English descent. ...

Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculpture, sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works include ''The Minute Man'', an 1874 statue in Concord, Massachusetts, and his Statue of Abr ...

, and

Childe Hassam Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressionis ...

. In 1924, Concord Art Association inaugurated the bronze Medal of Honor, with an eagle on one side and a pine cone on the other, for meritorious works of art. Mary Ogden Abbott was the president from 1942 to 1971. She was the granddaughter of

Charles Francis Adams Jr. Charles Francis Adams Jr. (May 27, 1835 – March 20, 1915) was an American author, historian, and railroad and park commissioner who served as the president of the Union Pacific Railroad from 1884 to 1890. He served as a colonel in the Union Ar ...

Overview

Concard Art Association holds up to 25 annual exhibits and conducts classes, lectures, and tours. It is a non-profit, membership-based organization. Its members include students, professionals, and educators who work in a variety of media. Supporters of the arts are also members of Concord Art.

References

External links

* {{External images , float=left , width=600px , image
Concord Art Association Medal of Honor
, video
''Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts, Creating a Legacy''
Concord Art Association , video
''Concord Art Association Today''
1917 establishments in Massachusetts Arts organizations based in Massachusetts Arts organizations established in 1917 Concord, Massachusetts