Viewing page 9 of 99

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

-2-

had a one-man show at a recognized gallery, is eligible for membership.

The organization of persons in the professions, united by a common interest for the advancement of their own and the general welfare, is an established part of our national life. The most cursory study of history discloses that the organization of professional persons--lawyers, doctors, teachers, and almost all of the other professions--is almost coincident with the founding of the republic. The activity of such groups, as well as the activity of such organized groups as labor, farmers, and businessmen, has had profound and beneficial effects essential to the functioning of our democratic society. Experience has taught the artists of this country that they cannot discharge their obligations to their calling and improve their general welfare as individuals. They have found it necessary to band together, much in the same way as have writers, musicians, and actors. That the Association has a great appeal for artists is evident by its growth. On April 30, 1947, membership was 300; on April 30, 1948, 875; and on April 30, 1949, the membership exceeded 1400, representing 38 states of the union.

The importance of artists in our day to me is best expressed by the words of Dr. Raymond Fosdick, former president of the Rockefeller Foundation, in the Foundation report for 1941: 

"And particularly must we rely on the humanists--the historians, the philosophers, the artists, the posts, the