Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Washington Society of Landscape Painters Records, 1917-2000, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.washsocl
Creators:
Washington Society of Landscape Painters
Dates:
1917-2000
Languages:
Collection is in English
Physical Description:
1 Linear foot
Repository:
The records of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters measure 1 linear foot and date from 1917 to 2000. The collection documents the activities of the society through scrapbooks, general records, printed matter, correspondence, and photographs.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The records of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters (WSLP) measure 1 linear foot and date from 1917 to 2000. The collection documents the activities of the society through scrapbooks, general records, printed matter, correspondence, and photographs.
General records consist of administrative records such as the WSLP constitution and by-laws, meeting minutes, and membership lists, as well as miscellaneous material such as logbooks, guest registers, and scattered notes.
There is limited correspondence mostly on the subject of exhibitions, field trips, and membership.
Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs, announcements, reviews, newsletters, and clippings about the WSLP and its members.
There are several scrapbooks in this collection. The "W.S.L.P. Archives" consists of three volumes of material compiled by the club historian and contains photographs, clippings, and printed material about the organization, its activities, and its members. There is also one other scrapbook about WSLP members that is arranged alphabetically by name.
The photographic material includes a few snapshots of people painting at their easels outdoors and a few slides of an unidentified backyard.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 5 series. Unless otherwise specified in the series descriptions, material within each folder is arranged chronologically.
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: General Records, 1917-1997 (Box 1, 0.2 linear feet)
  • Series 2: Correspondence, 1958-1993 (Box 1, 0.1 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Printed Matter, 1929-2000 (Box 1, 0.1 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Scrapbooks, 1919-circa 1976 (Box 1, 0.5 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Photographs, 1967-1979 (Box 1, 0.1 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
The Washington Society of Landscape Painters is an art society based in Washington, D.C. Organized in 1919, it is one of the oldest artists organization in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The Washington Society of Landscape Painters actually traces its inception to 1916, when Charles Seaton and Winfield Scott Cline and other landscape painters formed a group called the Ramblers.
By 1919, the organization was formally named the Landscape Club of Washington. It met at 1221 15th Street, N.W., in a wing of the home of Florida's Senator Fletcher, where they began holding exhibitions, an arrangement that lasted until the late 1920s.
Activities were curtailed during World War II, but exhibitions continued on a slightly reduced schedule. The annual banquet, a tradition begun in 1927, continued until the start of World War II; more than 35 years later, in 1976, another annual dinner was held. In 1996, the annual luncheon/dinner was reinstated as an annual event, although it is no longer a formal affair.
During the 1950s several outspoken members of the Landscape Club were vocal about their dissatisfaction with modern art, making newspaper headlines. Membership and local press coverage of their exhibitions declined during the 1960s and 1970s, though the group remained active during this period. At various times in the society's history, there has been a club historian who collected material produced by or about the organization and its members that was assembled in a set of scrapbooks titled "W.S.L.P. Archives," covering the years 1919-circa 1976. From the mid 1970s until the mid 1980s recordkeeping was less systematic and very few items have survived to fully document activities of the organization during this period. With a resurgence of interest in the club around the mid 1980s came improved attention to recordkeeping.
In the mid 1980s Landscape Club activities increased. There were more painting excursions, the exhibition schedule expanded, and a number of memorial prizes were established. The organization formally changed its name to the Washington Society of Landscape Painters in 1986. Painting on location and critiques of members work were held quarterly. Field trips, sometimes called "paint outs," sometimes extended longer than a weekend and might be in locations farther from home than previously. The group commemorated its 80th anniversary in 1993, at which time its constitution was amended, opening membership to women.

Administration

Author
Catherine S. Gaines
Sponsor
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters, via its past historian and archivist, 1999 and 2004.
Existence and Location of Copies
The collection was digitized in 2016 and is available on the Archives of American Art's website. Materials which have not been scanned include blank pages, blank versos of photographs, and duplicates.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Catherine S. Gaines in 2001. The finding aid was modified by Stephanie Ashley in 2001 prior to EAD conversion. The 2004 addition was incorporated in 2006, and the finding aid revised at that time. The collection was prepared for digitization and the finding aid was updated by Rihoko Ueno in 2016 with funding provided by the Walton Family Foundation and Terra Foundation for American Art.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Terms of Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Preferred Citation
Washington Society of Landscape Painters records, 1917-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arts organizations -- Washington (D.C.) Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Landscape painters -- Washington (D.C.) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Visitors' books Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Landscape painting -- 20th century -- Washington (D.C.) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Landscape Club of Washington, D.C. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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