Artists' Choice Museum
| Company type | Nonprofit organization |
|---|---|
| Industry | Art museum |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Founder | Paul Georges |
| Defunct | 1986 |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Key people | Robert Godfrey (Museum Director), Paul Georges (Chairman of Board of Artists) |
Artists’ Choice Museum, established in New York City in 1976, was initiated by emerging artists involved with the Alliance of Figurative Artists and various Figurative Coops. Its inaugural exhibition featured a selection of 146 contemporary figurative artists, chosen by peers from galleries such as Green Mountain, Bowery, Prince Street, and First Street, while also encompassing a wider spectrum of artists. Later exhibitions expanded to include veteran artists and were hosted within groups of galleries on 57th Street as well as in museum venues. Prominent shows included the “Benefit Exhibit” (1979, featuring 40 artists), “Younger Artists: Benefit Exhibit” (1980, with 61 artists), “Intimate Visions” (1982, showcasing 14 artists), “Narrative Sculpture” (1982, presenting 12 artists), “Painted Light” (1983, including 90 artists), and “Bodies and Souls” (1983, comprising 156 artists).
By 1980, the Museum had begun issuing a bimonthly newsletter, which evolved into a quarterly magazine starting in 1982. In 1984, the organization secured its own premises on West Broadway, remaining there until its closure in 1986.
Artists’ Choice Museum Publications
- ACM Newsletter April 1980 through December 1981 (bimonthly)
- Journal of the Artists’ Choice Museum Spring 1982 through Winter 1986 (quarterly)
- Artists' Choice Museum Exhibition Catalogues
- Artists' Choice Museum Benefit Exhibition (1979)
- Artists’ Choice Museum Younger Artists: Benefit Exhibition (1980)
- Painted Light (Traveling Exhibition 1982–83)
- Narrative Sculpture (1982)
- Bodies and Souls (1983)
- The First Eight Years (1984)
- Richard McDermott Miller—The Nude in Bronze: Twenty Years of Sculpture (1984)
- Art and Friendship (15 Friends of Fairfield Porter) (1984)
- George McNeil—Expressionism 1954-1984 (1984)
- Paul Resika (1985)
- Aristodimos Kaldis (1985)
- Robert Barnes: Retrospective 1956-1984 (1985)
- The Figure in the Landscape (1985)
- Artists Choosing Artists (1985)
- Rueben Kadish: Survey 1935-1985 (1986)
Foundation Members
Board of Artists: Paul Georges (chairman), William Bailey, Jack Beal, Joseph Giordano, Stephen Grillo, Howard Kalish, Marjorie Kramer, Tomar Levine, Richard Mc Dermott Miller, Donald Perlis, Marjorie Portnow, Paul Resika, Janet Schneider, Bill Sullivan, Sam Thurston.
Board of Trustees: Hans van den Houten (chairman), Franz Skyranz, Steven W. Wolfe, Patricia J. Murphy, Ann Leven, Janet Schneider.
Museum Director: Robert Godfrey
The initiative was conceived by Paul Georges and gained momentum following a 1976 exhibition coordinated by cooperative galleries. In 1979, formal boards were created alongside the first major exhibit that showcased leading figurative artists across six prominent New York galleries. That same year, the Cultural Council Foundation of New York assumed fiscal responsibility for the museum, allowing ACM to function as a tax-exempt nonprofit entity. The New York State Board of Regents officially recognized the organization as a Museum in 1980.
The Manifesto
During Spring of 1979, director Robert Godfrey together with the Board of Artists composed the institution’s initial mission statement.
Articles and Reviews 1976 to 1988
- Ashbery, John. “Two Worlds and Their Approach.” New York Magazine, September 24, 1979.
- Bass, Ruth. “Artists’ Selection: Figurative/Realist Art, A Fundraising Exhibition for the Artists’ Choice Museum.” Art News Magazine 78.10 (December 1979).
- Berlind, Robert. “Recent Developments in Realism and the Artists’ Choice Museum.” Art Journal of the College Art Association 41.2 (Summer 1981): 176-180.
- Brenson, Michael. “Art Review: Expressionism and George McNeil at the Artists’ Choice Museum.” The New York Times, October 5, 1984.
- "Aristodimos Kaldis at the Artists’ Choice Museum.” The New York Times, February 1, 1985.
- Crane, Diana. The Evolution of the Avant-Garde: The New York Art Scene, 1940-1985, The University of Chicago Press, 1987.
- de Kooning, Elaine. “Remembering A. Kaldis at the Artists’ Choice Museum.” Art World, New York 9.4 January 15–February 15, 1985.
- Gallo, Hank. “Artists’ Choice Museum: Bronze Nude,” New York Daily News, April 25, 1984.
- Godfrey, Robert. “Have Museums Neglected Certain Art Forms, Especially Figurative Art?” American Artist Magazine (October 1979) 14.
- Haggerty, Gerard. “Art and Camaraderie—Artists’ Choice Museum.” Art News Magazine 83.9 (November 1984).
- Harnett, Lila. “Realists’ Selection.” New York Cue Magazine, September 22, 1979.
- Iovine, Julie. “Traditional Art Revisited.” Connoisseur (April 1985).
- Kramer, Hilton. “Soho: Figures on Display.” The New York Times, December 10, 1976.
- “Six Gallery Exhibition.” The New York Times, September 14, 1979.
- “Five-Gallery Realist Exhibition.” The New York Times, September 12, 1980.
- Marzorati, Gerald . “Artful Dodger.” SoHo Weekly News, August 2–8, 1979.
- Muchnic, Suzanne. “Rebellious Artists Draw Boundaries.” Los Angeles Times, January 2, 1980.
- Perreault, John. “A New Museum? Seriously? It Figures...” SoHo Weekly News, September 20, 1979.
- Phillips, Deborah. “Artists’ Choice Museum and Emerging Artists.” Art News Magazine, December 1980.
- Pieszak, Devonna. “Figurative Painting—Is it the Salvation of Art?” The New Art Examiner 7.2 (November 1978) 1–9.
- Raynor, Vivian. “Paintings by Fifteen Friends of Fairfield Porter at the Artists’ Choice Museum.” The New York Times, August 3, 1984.
- Talmer, Jerry “Kitchen for the Realists.” New York Post, August 25, 1979.
- Thornton, Gene. “Artists’ Choice: Figure Exhibition.” Art World, New York 4.1 September 22–October17,1979.