Contemporary Art Society
Parallel Names
- Cleveland Society for Contemporary Art
History
Established in 1961, the mission of the Contemporary Art Society is to “encourage, support, and stimulate the collection and study of contemporary art at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and to foster the appreciation of contemporary art among its members and the museum’s audiences.” The Society is autonomous in its activities, with the CMA providing a venue for lectures and other programs.
The first letter of invitation to membership from the original small committee included this amusing P.S.: “You are NOT under any obligation to like ‘action painting’ or sculpture made of ‘found objects.’” Some of the active members of what was then the Cleveland Society for Contemporary Art shifted their efforts in the 1970s toward the Contemporary Arts Center of Cleveland (now the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland), founded in 1968.
The Society organized public lecture series and members-only national and international trips to see contemporary works. In March 1963, members spent three days in New York visiting galleries, collections in private apartments, and installations in corporate buildings. International tours took place largely in Europe. An objective of the Society was to encourage private collection among its members. Director Sherman Lee was the speaker for the first dinner meeting on trends in contemporary art in 1961. Henry Geldzahler, curator of contemporary art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was the speaker in 1968. In October 1973, Philip Johnson spoke at a Society event.
In 1964 the Society presented its first gift for inclusion in the CMA’s collection: a sculpture by Theodore Roszak, Mandrake (1951). Subsequent gifts in the 1960s and 70s include works by Robert Rauschenberg, Murai Masanari, Jules Olitski, Richard Diebenkorn, Mark Rothko, and Jack Tworkov. In the 1980s and 90s, its funds supported the purchase of works by Richard Stankiewiecz, Roy Lichtenstein, another work by Diebenkorn and others. In the 2000s and 2010s, acquisitions of contemporary art with Society funds expanded the media represented with video, photography and sculptural installations.
Sources
“The Contemporary Art Society,” Cleveland Museum of Art, accessed June 25, 2025, https://www.clevelandart.org/membership/affinitygroups/contemporary-art-society.
Records of the Director’s Office, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
Ingalls Library clipping file