Kansas City Society of Artists

The Kansas City Society of Artists was incorporated in 1923, with sixteen charter members. The first officers of the organization were Norman Tolson, President, Austin Ketcham, vice-president, Florence Olson, treasurer, and Wallace Rosenbauer, secretary. The purpose of the society was to promote the appreciation of the fine arts in Kansas City. In the beginning, membership was limited to artists working in oil or watercolor painting, sculpture, or etching. New members were admitted to the society after they exhibited their work in two exhibitions where participants were selected by a jury. New members were proposed by current members, and they were admitted only after their work was examined by a jury. In the 1920’s the society held two annual exhibitions; one in April and one in October. In November they held a “Thumb-Box Exhibition” where the works exhibited were limited to 10 x 12 inches. This exhibition was held until 1933, when the members voted to increase the size of works in the November exhibition. In 1926, the society began offering associate memberships which granted all the privileges of membership except for exhibiting. 

In 1932 and 1933 the Kansas City Society of Artists was involved in organizing the Plaza Art Fair. Then known in the _Kansas City Star _ as the “Outdoor Art Fair”, the exhibition in September was held at the corner of Alameda Road and Central Street. Around 100 artists exhibited their work at the first fair, and the booths and easels for displaying their work were provided by the artists. Ilah Marian Kibbey was the manager of the fair. 

The headquarters for the society was at Getrude Lighton’s Lighton Studio, at 1718 Holly Street. In 1934, the society opened a public art gallery in downtown Kansas City at 1010 Walnut Street.  At the downtown gallery, the work of a member of the society was exhibited every two weeks as a solo exhibition. 

In 1937, the society was dissolved by a vote of the members. The last elected president was Anna Allenbach; after she left Kansas City, Walter Alexander Bailey was president, Marian Blakeslee Walker, vice-president, Ilah Marian Kibbey, secretary, and Ivan Ganzer, treasurer. 

Artists who belonged to the society included: Wallace Rosenbauer, Delle Miller, Fred Geary, Gertrude Lighton, Gale Stockwell, Gertrude Freyman,  Elise Hoelzel, Coah Henry,  Ruth Harris Bohan, and Emmet J. Craig, along with numerous other artists.

Select Sources

American Art Annual (New York: MacMillan Co, 1926), v. 23, 160.

“In Gallery and Studio: News and Views of the Week in Art,” Kansas City Star, June 25, 1937, 17.

“In Gallery and Studio: News and Views of the Week in Art,” Kansas City Star, October 19, 1934, 18.

“In Gallery and Studio,” Kansas City Star, November 11, 1933, 14.

“An Outdoor Art Fair: Kansas City to Have Unusual Event September 10 to 17,” Kansas City Star, August 24, 1932, 10.

“Show Thumb Box Paintings: An Exhibit by Kansas City Society of Artists Tonight,” Kansas City Times, November 4, 1926, 4.

“Form Society of Artists: Sixteen Charter Members Named in Incorporation Papers,” Kansas City Times, May 10, 1923, 2.

Contributors

Roberta Wagener, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Record Published

Published on September 20, 2021