Providence Art Club, Providence

The Providence Art Club was founded in 1880 by sixteen professional artists, amateurs, and collectors who wanted to strengthen public interest in visual art. Their motto, “for art culture,” reflected plans for shared studios, exhibitions, and a meeting place for artists and patrons. The founders included landscape painter Edward Mitchell Bannister, an important Black artist and cultural figure of the period.

The club occupies four connected historic buildings with varied clapboard, brick, and traditional details. The most distinctive is the Fleur-de-Lys Building, designed in 1885 by artist Sydney Richmond Burleigh with architect Edmund R. Willson. Its half-timbered front, decorative plaster panels, and projecting windows resemble a late-medieval European studio. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1992.

Three public galleries present changing displays, mainly featuring work by the club’s many artist members. Paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures, and mixed-media pieces may be included. The clubhouse also preserves painted silhouettes begun in 1887, ornamental plasterwork, early lighting fixtures, an old kitchen, and a brick oven. Exhibitions change regularly, so visitors should check the current program before arriving.