Society of Western Artists Celebrates 75 Years of Fine Art
This year the San Francisco Chapter of SWA is celebrating 75 years of its dedication to the exhibition, instruction and dissemination of representational art. Originally named "The Society for Sanity in Art," our organization was founded by Josephine Hancock Logan, and incorporated in Chicago in 1936. Subsequently, several branches of the Society were established in various parts of the United States, including San Franciso, Boston and Los Angeles. The San Francisco Chapter started in 1939. The purpose of the Society for Sanity in Art was to encourage and promote sane and competent art, regardless of "school" or style. The forward for our 18th Annual Exhibition of Art in 1957 was written by former President of the United States, Herbert Hoover. He wrote, "To the Society of Western Artists, you still have a great job to do if you completely transform everything from billboards to art galleries into good taste - and real art. I wish you Godspeed. The first meeting of the members of the Society for Sanity in Art, Inc., took place on March 9, 1938 at the residence of the President, Josephine Hancock Logan and the first National Sanity in Art Exhibition was held in May, 1939 at the Stevens Hotel in Chicago.
Branches were subsequently opened in Des Moines, Iowa, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New England, St. Louis, Missouri and San Francisco. In 1939, Edgar Payne volunteered to become the President of the Society for Sanity in Art at our sister chapter in Los Angeles.
By the mid-40’s most of the chapters had closed down but after the death of Mrs. Logan in 1945, our organization changed its name to Society of Western Artists in 1947 with Mr. John Garth serving as the first President in San Francisco under it’s new name. The Los Angeles Chapter also changed its name to Artists of the Southwest.
After 75 years, the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Chapters remain the legacy of those many artists before us committed to a vision of sane and respresentational art. We look forward to another 75 years. The San Francisco Chapter, along with our San Joaquin Valley Chapter that serves the Central Valley, strives to further art education and exhibitions for the purpose of sustaining the highest quality of representational art to the public through our featured artist demonstrators, workshops with local and national artists, and our exhibitions.
SWA is open to everyone interested in the arts. Visit our pages to see the art education and exhibitions that we offer.
