California Society of Printmakers - Origins of The California Society of Etchers (CSE)

Origins of The California Society of Etchers (CSE)

The California Society of Etchers (CSE) was founded in San Francisco in December 1912 and announced in the San Francisco Chronicle on January 19, 1913 ("Etchers Form a State Organization", p. 27). Several sources cite an earlier 1911 date, such Marilyn S. Kushner's detailed chapter, "Genesis of the Twentieth-Century Print Club", although she does not cite her source. Robert S. Harshe, founder, and later first president of California Society of Etchers, leaves the founding date ambiguous in his chapter in the 1916 book, Art in California. His chapter mentions the four years of the society, although the chapter itself is undated. Mary Millman and Dave Bohn's very thorough biography of John W. Winkler, cited above, support the CSE founding date of 1912.

The founding of CSE is intimately connected with the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition (PPIE), a world’s fair held in 1915 in San Francisco to showcase the city’s recovery from the 1906 earthquake. It was Joseph Pennell, scheduled to be a juror for this event, who inspired a handful of local printmakers to launch the California Society of Etchers in preparation for that great event. Pennell, perhaps the best known American etcher, local to New York City and London, had traveled to Panama to sketch the construction of the Canal, then traveled to San Francisco where he produced a series of etchings of San Francisco, exhibiting them in 1912 in San Francisco. It is said that his presence in San Francisco achieved its purpose: encouraging local printmakers to get prepared and organized to take advantage of the promotional opportunities afforded by the upcoming San Francisco PPIE, the largest display of original art work of its time.

The four founders of the California Society of Etchers were artist colleagues: Robert B. Harshe (1879–1938), himself an etcher and then art professor at Stanford University; Pedro J. Lemos (1882–1954), then etcher and professor at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art, the predecessor of San Francisco Institute of Art; Gottardo Piazzoni (1872–1945), painter and muralist; and Ralph Stackpole (1885–1973), a sculptor, printmaker, and at that time Piazzoni's studio assistant. Pedro Lemos legally changed his name to his family's Spanish name later in life, after his major accomplishments. One can see the insertion of "de" after his middle initial (J for Joseph) on many of his prints.

The young organization began exhibiting immediately, with its first annual exhibition in April, 1913 at Vickery, Atkins and Torrey Print Gallery, 550 Sutter Street, San Francisco. Its second annual exhibition was also held in 1913.

Admission of artist members to the Society was originally not by juried portfolio review, as it is today. Then the society was open to all artists, painters and sculptors alike, any artist who had experience with etching techniques. Artist membership was expanded beyond California in 1913 to include artists throughout the United States as well as American printmakers living abroad. It is not clear when precisely CSE began accepting international printmakers, but 1964 was CSE's first major international print competition.

The primary purpose of the Society was exhibition and education, promoting printmaking as a fine art, and sharing workspace and equipment. Non-artist members, then as now, were accepted as Associate or Patron members. Membership in both artist and associate categories grew quickly. The four founding members grew to fifteen charter members, those who were members at the time of publication of the first Constitution of the CSE in 1915. By 1925 there were 41 artist members and 107 associate members. Among the most prominent associate members were the Moore S. Achenbachs, the Sigmund Sterns, Dr. Leon Kolb, the Milton Esbergs, the Zellerbachs, Albert M. Bender, and institutions such as the De Young Museum, Oakland Public Library, and the Print Club of Albany New York.