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A collection of 17 catalogues of The Brooklyn Art Association, one of the leading groups of artists, art collectors, and art enthusiastic in America during the 19th Century, dating from 1863 to 1889. Included are 14 unique catalogs, plus three variant issues, with seven not found in *OCLC* and six with few than five copies. All are octavos except for one quarto. Overall very good with age-toning, wear to the extremities and a few with detached or moderately chipped wraps. The Brooklyn Art Association began as a gathering of artists, patrons, and collectors in 1861, who met at the studio of artist John Whittaker. The Association eventually outgrew its cramped quarters, finding a home at the Brooklyn Academy of Music where painter Régis Gignoux was elected its first president. The Association held annual exhibits that became larger and more influential each year, most notably its 1872 exhibit of the first historical survey of American paintings. The Association hired architect J. Cleaveland Cady to build a headquarters next door to the Academy of Music and across the street from The Mercantile Library, creating a hub of culture in Brooklyn that for several decades rivaled New York. The Association s influence began to wane starting in 1897 with the opening of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Science Museum (now the Brooklyn Museum), which began drawing people away from the area. Five years later a fire consumed the Academy of Music further reducing the area as a destination for the cultured class. The Association limped along before finally disbanding in 1923. The collection of catalogs here encompasses the first few years of the Association s exhibition efforts at the Academy of Music, up through its historical survey of American art held during the inaugural year at its new location, and on during the height of its popularity in the greater New York art scene of the 1880s. The catalogs each list the painting on exhibit, along with the artist and the works owner. Each event was a combination of exhibition and art show, giving artist and collectors on opportunity to sell their work and an excuse for members to publicly display their collection. Notable American artist are found throughout the catalogs, often from the Hudson River School, such as Gignoux, William Hart, Jervis McEntee, William Stanley Haseltine, Frederic Edwin Church, Jasper Cropsey, John William Casilear, George Inness, and Thomas Nast. An compelling collection of 19th Century exhibition catalogs from an important and influential group of artist and collectors. Complete list: 1. *Catalog of the Fourth Exhibition of the Brooklyn Art Association. March, 1863*. New York: G.A. Whitehorne, Steam Printer 1863. Octavo. 14pp. Yellow printed wrapper. About near fine with light vertical crease, toning and tiny bump at one corner. Contemporary pencil notes on rear wrap. *OCLC* locates no copies. 2. *Catalogue of the Works of Art Exhibited at the Eighth Reception of the Brooklyn Art Association. 11th May, 1864*. Brooklyn: "The Union" Steam Pressses 1864. Octavo. 12pp. Buff printed wrappers. Near fine with rubbing, age toning and small tear on the rear wrap. *OCLC* locates no copies. 3. *Catalogue of the Works of Art Exhibited at the Eleventh Reception of the Brooklyn Art Association. 20th December, 1865*. Brooklyn: "The Union" Steam Pressses 1865. Octavo. 15pp. Glossy white printed wrappers. Near fine with light wear. *OCLC* locates no copies. 4. *Catalogue of Works of Art Exhibited at the Seventeenth Reception of the Brooklyn Art Association. 16 November, 1968*. Brooklyn: The Union Steam Pressses 1868. Octavo. 19pp. Green printed wrappers. Near fine with some age-toning and wear at the edges. *OCLC* locates no copies. 5. *[Variant Issue]*. 18pp. White printed wrappers. Very good with moderate rubbing and wear to the wrappers. *OCLC* locates no copies. 6. *Catalogue of Works of Art Exhibited at the Eighteenth Reception of the Brooklyn Art Association. 15th March, 1869*. Br.
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