Arts Club of Washington explained

Arts Club of Washington
Coordinates:38.9015°N -77.0457°W
Map:Location map Washington, D.C. central.png
Formation:May 1916
Founder:Bertha Noyes
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The Arts Club of Washington is a private club to promote the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Founded by Bertha Noyes in May 1916, its first president was Henry Kirke Bush-Brown; Mathilde Mueden Leisenring was among its original members,[1] as were Susan Brown Chase, Catharine Carter Critcher, Lola Sleeth Miller, Bertha E. Perrie, and Mary Gine Riley.[2]

It is located at the Cleveland Abbe House. Since 2006, the Club has awarded the Marfield Prize, also known as the National Award for Arts Writing, for nonfiction books about the arts written for a broad audience.

Programs

The club supports visual, performing, and literary arts in Washington, D.C.[3] It hosts a noon-time concert series.[4] It awards arts scholarships.[5]

The Marfield Prize, National Award for Arts Writing

The Marfield Prize, also known as the National Award for Arts Writing, is given annually by the Arts Club of Washington to nonfiction books about the arts written for a broad audience. Intended to help increase access to the arts, the Prize "celebrates prose that is lucid, luminous, clear, and inspiring—writing that creates a strong connection with arts and artists."

The Prize of $10,000, which the Club asserts is the only one of its kind in the country, honors nonfiction books first published in the U.S., by a single author who is living at the time of the book’s nomination. First given in 2006, the prize’s endowment was established by long-time Arts Club member Jeannie S. Marfield in honor of Florence Berryman and Helen Wharton.[6]

The award is given to the author of a nonfiction book about any artistic discipline (visual, literary, performing, or media arts, as well as cross-disciplinary works. Works of art history and criticism, biographies and memoirs, and essays are all eligible. Anthologies, creative works of fiction or poetry, books for children, exhibition catalogs and self-published books are not eligible.[7]

Members of the club noticed that there was a lack of "good, accessible writing about the arts," according to former award administrator Sarah Browning. Club members decided to use a bequest by longtime member Jeannie S. Marfield to remedy the situation. In addition to the annual winners, the Club publishes the names of several finalists.

List of winners

Year awardedWinnerTitlePublisherPublished year
2020Maggie DohertyThe Equivalents: A Story of Art, Female Friendship, and Liberation in the 1960sKnopf
2019Andrew McConnell StottWhat Blest Genius?: The Jubilee That Made ShakespeareW. W. Norton & Company
2018Wendy LesserYou say to brick : the life of Louis KahnFarrar, Straus and Girou2017 [8]
2017Rachel CorbettYou Must Change Your LifeW. W. Norton2016 [9] [10] [11] [12]
2016Michael Riedel Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for BroadwaySimon & Schuster2015 [13] [14]
2015Wagstaff: Before and After MapplethorpeLiveright2014
2014Sherill Tippins Inside the Dream Palace: The Life and Times of New York’s Legendary Chelsea HotelHoughton Mifflin Harcourt2013[15]
2013Anne-Marie O'Connor The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt’s Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-BauerKnopf2012
2012Yael Tamar LewinNight’s Dancer: The Life of Janet CollinsWesleyan University Press2011
2011R. Tripp Evans Grant Wood: A LifeKnopf2010[16]
2010Linda Gordon Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond LimitsW. W. Norton & Co.2009
2009Michael SragowVictor Fleming: An American Movie MasterPantheon Books2008
2008Brenda WineappleWhite Heat: The Friendship of Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth HigginsonKnopf2008
2008 Jenny UglowNature’s Engraver: A Life of Thomas BewickFarrar, Straus & Giroux2007
2007Scott Reynolds Nelson Steel Drivin’ Man—John Henry: The Untold StoryOxford University Press2006

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pat Moore on Mathilde Mueden Leisenring Exhibit . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/Z4ouVv4ZEx4 . 2021-12-15 . live. YouTube . 2011-12-09 . 2017-01-30.
  2. Book: Virgil E. McMahan. The Artists of Washington, D.C., 1796-1996. 1995. Artists of Washington. 978-0-9649101-0-2.
  3. News: Arts Club of Washington's quirky downtown haven of clubby culture survives the ages. Montgomery. David. 2011-05-20. Washington Post. 2018-04-05. en-US. 0190-8286.
  4. News: Friday Noon Concerts - DC Art Events DC Wedding Reception Venue. DC Art Events DC Wedding Reception Venue. 2018-04-05. en-US.
  5. Web site: The Arts Club of Washington's 2018 Scholarship Competition Corcoran School of the Arts & Design The George Washington University. corcoran.gwu.edu. en. 2018-04-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20180406041313/https://corcoran.gwu.edu/arts-club-washington%E2%80%99s-2018-scholarship-competition. 2018-04-06. dead.
  6. News: Thompson . Bob . Tale of Folk Hero Wins New Award For Arts Writing . 2013-02-27 . The Washington Post . April 27, 2007.
  7. Web site: 2014 Award Guidelines . Arts Club of Washington . 2014-12-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141225191054/http://artsclubofwashington.org/about/award-for-arts-writing/ . 2014-12-25 . dead .
  8. Web site: Wendy Lesser Receives $10,000 Marfield Prize for Arts Writing . Arts Club of Washington . 2018-04-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180405024412/https://artsclubofwashington.org/news/wendy-lesser-receives-10000-marfield-prize-arts-writing/ . 2018-04-05 . dead .
  9. News: A Conversation with Rachel Corbett . The Huffington Post . Daniel . Maidman . July 17, 2017 .
  10. Web site: Rachel Corbett Wins $10,000 Marfield Prize for Arts Writing . Sarah . Cascone . 20 March 2017 . artnet News .
  11. Web site: Auguste Rodin and Rainer Maria Rilke Had a Strange, Moody Friendship: Rachel Corbett's elegant 'You Must Change Your Life' traces the paths of the sculptor and the poet. . Jonathon . Sturgeon . September 23, 2016 . Artnet News.
  12. News: March 24, 2017 . Rachel Corbett Wins $10,000 Marfield Prize for Arts Writing . .
  13. News: April 30, 2016 . Michael Riedel's RAZZLE DAZZLE Wins $10,000 MARFIELD PRIZE National Award for Arts Writing . Broadway World .
  14. News: Imogen . Lloyd Webber . May 2, 2016 . Odds & Ends: Oprah to Star in George C. Wolfe Film, Drama Desk Awards to Add Book Category & More . broadway.com .
  15. News: Terry Teachout among finalists for $10,000 Marfield Prize for arts writing . Ron . Charles . The Washington Post . March 11, 2014 .
  16. News: Award winning biographer Tripp Evans to Read at Baker Books May 4 at 7 p.m. . South Coast Today . April 28, 2011 .