The Ten

I recently came across an article about an interesting group called "The Ten".  It was a group of painters that banded together in the  1890's to "secede from american art society" (all men). They made an agreement to exhibit their work annually with each other. They did so until 1919. Each artists work was supposed to be represented but it never quite worked out that way with the exception of the 1908 exhibition (Catalog HERE). The group was originally made up of twelve but some backed out of the agreement.  The Ten insisted on abandoning the environment of Boston and New York and cities in general to retreat to farms, summer homes, and artist colonies. However 9 out the 10 studied in Paris. 


I thought it was a fascinating idea and I wonder if it could have happened in this day and age. In some ways it would be much easier to retreat as long as you had access to the internet. But to find the commitment to cut off completely or to have the drive to be in a selective community is something completely different.  I just thought it was an interesting story within the story of art history.

Read the full text HERE