Catalog Production Team

Exhibition Chair: Lawrence D. Rodgers Director of Communications: Debbi Swanson Patrick

Editors: Alison Davies & Danny Mattijetz Treasurer: Kathleen Swaydan

Technical Lead: Rhonda Raulston

Instagram Content: Emily Suñez Facebook Content: George Paul Miller Webmaster: Fred Chuang Catalog Designer: Lawrence D. Rodgers Cover Design: Karen Hochman Brown

A Short History of the Pasadena Society of Artists

The Pasadena Society of Artists came into being in early 1925. Benjamin C. Brown, the “dean of Pasadena painters,” sent out a notice to local painters to discuss the formation of a society for local artists. In addition to Mr. Brown, attending this meeting were Edward B. Butler, Maud Daggett, Antoinette De Forest Merwin, Louis Hovey Sharp, F. Carl Smith, Orrin A. White, Wallace LeRoy De Wolff, and Frederick A. Zimmerman. The consensus was that the Pasadena Society of Artists should be formed. Seven more artists then joined PSA to form the founding charter members. They were Herbert V. B. Acker, F. Tolles Chamberlin, Alson S. Clark, John “Jack” Frost, Jean Mannheim, Katherine B. Stetson and Marion Wachtel.

It has been suggested that PSA was formed out of the desire of the founders to exhibit their contemporary work, which was not acceptable in exhibitions of the California Art Club. The first Annual Juried Exhibition was presented in April 1925 at the Pasadena Art Institute located in Carmelita Park, now the site of the Norton Simon Art Museum. The PSA founders stated that “the standard will be high and only work of real merit will be accepted.” Every year since 1925 PSA has presented an Annual Juried Exhibition.

PSA continues to adhere to the guiding statement of the founders by accepting new members by juried submission. www.PasadenaSocietyofArtists.org Facebook: PasadenaSocietyofArtists Instagram: @pasadenasocietyofartists85