About The Hackensack Art Club

HACKENSACK ART CLUB HISTORY  

For more than seven decades, the Hackensack Art Club has played a major role in the City’s cultural life. In 1938 a group of artists in this area held their first joint exhibit under the direction of Miss Mary Boggan, who was the head librarian of the Johnson Free Public Library at the time. Miss Boggan had been sponsoring one-man shows for a period of many years and was so impressed by the success of the joint exhibit she selected a committee to form a group and invite other artist friends to join them in creating a class.  

Considerable interest was shown in this combined effort and several organizational meetings were held. B. Spencer Newman and Carl Ramee then composed and submitted a constitution which was adopted by the group and on November 6, 1939 the Hackensack Art Club became formally organized with 24 charter members. The group’s first president was Emil Stange. The Club continued without interruption until the start of World War II.  

Meetings were discontinued until the end of the war. Activities resumed, largely through the efforts of Miss Celeste Slauson, the new librarian and successor to Miss Boggan. In 1952 the Club was incorporated and in recent years has been designated a non-profit organization.  

Over the years the Club has made itself available for all types of civic work including judging local exhibits, school children’s Halloween window painting contests along Main Street, Christmas door decorations and similar community activities. The club has also participated in local parades by preparing floats and exhibits.  

During the 10 years between the mid-fifties and the mid-sixties a tremendous interest was shown in special events. Many art exhibits were held in the former Arnold Constable store, and in recent years there has been an increase in shows at the large shopping centers, together with sidewalk shows. Activities included events such as summer painting parties in Ringwood Manor State Park, where more experienced artists provided advice and demonstrations. There were also chartered bus trips to New Hope, PA; Williamstown, MA; the Deserted Village at Allair State Park, NJ; Mystic, CT; National Art Gallery, Wash.,DC; The Metropolitan Museum in NYC; and the Brooklyn Museum of Art.  

The Club sponsored a Beaux Arts Ball from 1955 to 1965 to provide art scholarships.  

Meeting places over the years have been at the Johnson Library, the Civic Center, Peoples Trust Computer Center on Moore Street, and the Second Reformed Church on Union Street. Currently we are meeting at the United Methodist Church, at the corner of Summit and Passiac streets, on the first Monday of the month.  

The daytime workshop held every Tuesday started out in the Carlock Field House in Rochelle Park and has recently been moved to it’s current site, the Hackensack Cultural Arts Center on Broadway. There have been as many as 36 communities represented at the workshop over the years.  

The Club’s key project was, and still is, the annual Spring Show. The Show started out in the Hackensack Woman’s Club building but is now held at the Cultural Arts Center on Broadway. It is a two weekend exhibit for members and is juried, with many prizes awarded. Other activities were an annual outdoor show cosponsored with the Hackensack Chamber of Commerce, exhibits in the park by the courthouse and an outdoor show and sale in Memorial Park on North Main Street.  

Throughout its life the Hackensack Art Club has had its main focus on the promotion of fine and applied art in Hackensack and the surrounding communities. This purpose is put into action at our monthly meetings with demonstrations by Club members or outstanding artists from the entire New York City region.