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Below
is a reprinted article from Gustav Stickley's "The Craftsman" magazine.
The Craftsman was printed from October 1901 to December 1916
and was devoted to the American Arts and Crafts Movement.
Reprint
archives.
THE
STORY OF THE ARCHITECTURAL LEAGUE: BY SAMUEL HOWE
Vol X #1 April
1906
 he story of the development
of the Architectural League, which had its origin in the Architectural
Sketch Club, formed in the autumn of 1879, is extremely interesting,
not alone because of the men--most of whom are still living, very
active,--but because of its personal success. These Club meetings
seem to have vitalized the men, pressing them to exertions, which
even to-day make their mark upon the hillsides of many cities of
the Union. Most of these meetings were held in the rooms of Howard
Walker and William A. Bates at 45 West 35th Street. The members were
F. H. Bacon, William A. Bates, Alfred E. Barlow, P. P. Furber, Cass
Gilbert, Thomas Hastings, Clarence Johnson, John Reilly and C. H.
Walker. Most of these were members of the firm of Herter Bros., decorators.
The following year the name was changed to the Architectural League,
in view of the affiliation of decorative painters and sculptors.
In the spring of 1881, as most of the members had gone abroad to
study and travel, a new organization was formed, containing among
others Charles I. Berg, Clarence H. Blackall, Arnold W. Brenner,
Edward H. Clark, John L. DuFais, John H. Duncan, William C. Hazlett,
John Beverley Robinson, J. A. Schweinfurth, Bernard Vonnegut and
Daniel W. Willard. On February 18 the following were elected as the
first officers: Daniel W. Willard, President; Clarence H. Blackall,
Secretary; and John H. Duncan, Treasurer. The meetings were held
on the upper floor of a building on the North side of 14th Street,
between Broadway and Fifth Avenue, and were followed during the winter
of 1885 by monthly dinner meetings at Morellos' restaurant, the walls
of which were hung with foreign sketches by the members who had lived
abroad. There is a singular charm in following the history of any
movement. Who, for a moment, would connect the drawings of to-day
with the sketches of some twenty-one years ago in the days of the
old Architectural Sketch Club, consisting of some eight or nine young
men all in the employ of the leading decorator of that time, who
met at the rooms of their fellows for the informal weekly Sketch
Party? The men took turns in suggesting a project, devoting all that
evening to its solution and the sketches became the Property of the
one proposing the scheme. Was not this realistic? The direct personal
solution unaided, each man standing on his own merits, rendering
his conception with whatever material he preferred--watercolor, pen
and ink, pencil or chalk. These sketches live in the portfolios of
the same men, who to-day, singularly enough, are at the head of large
operations directing others. They believed in individual efforts,
personal endeavor. In 1892 the League, as one of the component bodies
of the American Fine Arts Society, took up permanent quarters at
215 W. 57th Street, where the Expositions and annual dinners are
now held. Membership in the Architectural League in New York is to-day
recognized by the Consuls of the United States upon presentation
of proper certificate, and the courtesy of free admission with permission
to sketch and study in foreign art galleries is granted by authorities.
It will be remembered that the Architectural League of America includes
the Architectural Clubs of all large cities; the National Sculpture
Society and the National Society of Mural Painters. It stands for
the allied arts. Its membership is not wholly practising artists,
but includes many people interested and most active in high architectural
standards and municipal affairs generally. The Architectural Club
of San Francisco which has recently accomplished a good deal of useful
work, has lately joined the organization.  Harvard
University has given three scholarships in architecture to be competed
for by members, and during the meetings just closed there has been
considerable talk of the publication of an annual, epitomizing the
work of its members during the year. The meetings in New York led
to no little discussion; to many visits to prominent buildings famous
for their engineering structural qualities, as well as aesthetic
value: to some delightful entertainments at the studios of local
workers; and to more than one somewhat startling statement of a critical
nature. Unquestionably, the presentation of architectural projects,
architectural ideas, by means of drawings and models is considered
more important every year. The members have shown a graceful consideration
for the feelings of their fellows, in the selection of drawings for
expositions. There is less display of mediocre work. Fewer feet are
given to drawings valuable for themselves rather than for the designs
they illustrate. There are fewer drawings than ever before; the standard
is higher. Attendance at the lectures has been excellent and the
lectures "Beaux Arts' Society and Atelier Work," "Architecture in
the Far East," "Technical School in Pittsburg" are singularly appropriate
and significant. The first giving a manly free statement of the best
method of self-culture in architecture; of the relation between the
master and the pupil; a side-light on the most satisfactory and wholesome
method of permitting the student to be won by skillful and conscientious
tuition as well as providing him with a vigorous critic at his elbow.
The second reminding us that the Oriental spirit still throbs in
the breast of those who have any romantic ideality in their natures.
Yet surely no one needs to be told how much American decorations
and architecture owe to the Orient. The third is so splendidly given
in the caption that it seems almost presumptuous to add any word
here, nor is it possible to say much without the repetition of description
furnished by the lecturer, who by the way, has just been appointed
professor of architecture to the College he has built--a worthy tribute.
The designs which line the walls of the American Fine Arts Galleries
reflect great credit on the Architectural League of this city. This
active society has just reached its manhood; it is celebrating its
coming of age, this being its twenty-first Annual Exhibition. Joining
other societies, its work in addition to designing large buildings
is--so we are told--shaping public character, public morals. It is
perhaps in realizing the importance of this that the society has
become more strict with itself. It is now no easy matter to join
this body of practical workers in architecture. Applicants for membership
have to submit to informal examination; they must present drawings--not
pictures,--portraying the skeleton, the geography, the philosophy
of their various designs, before their application is entertained.
The Architectural League, nothing if not practical, commences its
twenty-second year of service by reforming itself.
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