52nd Annual Exhibition of the San Francisco Art Association, [May]-June 8, 1930

The San Francisco Art Association (SFAA) was founded in 1871, with open membership to artists for monthly dues of $1. It was formally incorporated in 1889. It was an organization that promoted California artists, held art exhibitions, published a periodical, and established the first art school west of Chicago. It was a predecessor to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the San Francisco Art Institute. Over its lifetime, the association helped establish a Northern California regional flavor of California Tonalism as differentiated from Southern California American Impressionism.

The California School of Design was established under the auspices of SFAA in 1874, changing its name to the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in 1893 after the Mark Hopkins mansion was given to SFAA. After the mansion was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, a smaller building was built within the year and the school was renamed the San Francisco Institute of Art in 1907. In 1917 it was again renamed as the California School of Fine Arts. From 1916-1924, SFAA retained the Palace of Fine Arts, which had been part of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. In 1921, SFAA incorporated the San Francisco Museum of Art (SFMA) into its administration although each retained autonomy.

SFAA promoted a series of civic bond issues in the mid-1920s, written to fund new museums. Their work in fact assisted with founding the Legion of Honor itself, largely thanks to the support of SFAA member Herbert Fleishhacker, who also served on the Board of Trustees of the Legion.

In 1961, SFAA merged with the School and was renamed the San Francisco Art Institute. A change in the constitutional by-laws officially dissolved the SFAA in 1966, leaving the SFAI and the SFMA. In 1976, SFMA changed its name to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. On April 8-10, 1949, the SFAA sponsored the Western Round Table of Modern Art, organized by Douglas MacAgy for the purpose of bringing together a representation of the best informed opinion to discuss questions about art of the day.

Sources:
“History.” San Francisco Art Institute. Accessed March 31, 2022. https://sfai.edu/about-sfai/sfai-history.
San Francisco Art Association and related organizational records, 1871-1978, bulk 1871-1920. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Wikipedia contributors, "Herbert Fleishhacker," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Herbert_Fleishhacker&oldid=1069618099 (accessed March 31, 2022).
Wikipedia contributors, "San Francisco Art Association," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Francisco_Art_Association&oldid=1058358093 (accessed March 31, 2022).