The Copley Society of Art is the oldest non-profit art association in the United States. It was founded in 1879 by the first graduating class of the

School of the Museum of Fine Arts The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (Museum School, SMFA at Tufts, or SMFA; formerly the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) is a dedicated art school within Tufts University, a private research university in Massa ...

and continues to play an important role in promoting its member artists and the visual arts in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. The Society is named after the renowned

John Singleton Copley John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was believed to be born in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley ...

. The gallery currently represents over 400 living artist members, ranging in experience from students to nationally recognized artists and in style from traditional and academic realists to contemporary and abstract painters, photographers, sculptors, and printmakers. Several of the artists working in the tradition of the Boston School of painters exhibit at the Copley Society of Art, along with the

Guild Of Boston Artists The Guild of Boston Artists (The Guild) was founded in 1914 by a handful of Boston artists working in the academic and realist traditions. Among the founding members were Frank Weston Benson, William McGregor Paxton and Edmund C. Tarbell, who ...

a few doors down from the Copley Society of Art's

Newbury Street Newbury Street is located in the Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts, Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It runs roughly east–west, from the Public Garden (Boston, Massachusetts), Boston Public ...

location. The gallery hosts between 15 and 20 exhibitions each year, including solo exhibitions, thematic group shows, juried competitions, and fundraising events. The most well known of these events is the annual "Fresh Paint" auction. Several artist members are chosen by the gallery to spend one day together painting outside in the city. The paintings are brought back to the gallery while still wet, placed directly into frames and mounted on the walls for sale through silent auction. The final night of the week-long event, A few selected pieces are included in a live auction. Although usual commission split for the gallery is 60 percent to the artist and 40 percent to the Copley Society, for this event the artists are required to donate 50 percent of the sale, and encouraged to donate up to 100 percent of the selling price to the non-profit organization. The Copley Society has helped establish the careers of many of Boston's prominent full-time professional fine artists.

Notable artists

* Rick Fleury * Annie Hurlburt Jackson * Candace Whittemore Lovely * Dianne Panarelli-Miller * Sergio Roffo * Janis Saunders * Charles Tersolo * Sam Vokey *

Wheeler Williams Wheeler Williams (November 30, 1897 – August 12, 1972) was an American sculptor. Early life and education Williams was born in Chicago and studied sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago. He attended Yale University, where he graduat ...

John Wilson (sculptor) John Albert Wilson (1877 – December 8, 1954) was a Canadian sculptor who produced public art for commissions throughout North America. He was a professor in the School of Architecture at Harvard University for 32 years. He is most famous for hi ...

- Instructor * Mikel Wintermantel

References

External links

Culture of Boston Clubs and societies in Boston Arts organizations based in Massachusetts Arts organizations established in 1879 1879 establishments in Massachusetts {{US-arts-org-stub

Notable artists

See also

References

External links