About Us
The Art League offers its members the opportunity to grow as fine artists and to join in a community of artists in a variety of art related activities.
The Art League of Nassau County (ALNC) is a group of over 100 painters and sculptors organized in support of our activities in the fine arts. Since 1925, we have been painting and sculpting together, studying our craft, exhibiting our work and making friends along the way.
We are dedicated to helping our members grow in their craft of fine art. We hold monthly demonstrations by the elite fine artists of the metropolitan area, organize workshops, and provide venues for members to exhibit their work.
Monthly Demonstration Meetings
ALNC hosts the metropolitan area’s premier watercolorists, oil painters, pastel artists, and drawers to demonstrate their artistic techniques. The meetings are open to the general public. Meetings are held the last Friday of the month at Clinton G. Martin Community Center, 1601 Marcus Avenue, New Hyde Park, New York 11040. Demonstrations are held from 7:00- 9:30 pm and are scheduled for September through November, January through May.
Twice yearly membership Exhibitions
The ALNC Exhibition Committee organizes Spring and Fall Membership Shows in public spaces and offers receptions, both are open to the public. Members compete for cash prizes and display their work, which is for sale. Recent exhibitions spares include Barnes Gallery in Garden City, Jericho Public Library, Manhasset Public Library, and Great Neck House.
Exhibition Space
The League offers members the opportunity to exhibit their work in a permanent exhibition space at the Clinton G. Martin Community Center, 1601 Marcus Avenue, New Hyde Park, New York 11040.
Newsletter
Members receive a monthly newsletter detailing ALNC activities, member news, art related events and art-related opportunities across Long Island.
Workshops
ALNC organizes workshops in fine art, enlisting professional fine art teachers to instruct students in a small group setting. Recent workshops have focused on floral watercolors, landscape painting, portrait painting, and plein air painting.
Plein Air Painters
ALNC members meet twice weekly from May through October at various settings: parks, cityscapes, villages, and more, to enjoy painting out-of-doors together.
We are a community of artists working together.
League activities provide a closely-knit community of artists. We work together in a wide variety of League activities like hanging exhibitions, publicity, and hospitality. Our monthly meetings, with refreshments served, provide an opportunity to share an appreciation for painting with our fellow artists.
For more information email Vivian Hershfield: HershfieldALNCPP@gmail.com
Our History
The Art League of Nassau County was founded in 1925 by 15 Long Islanders intent on exhibiting their work to the public and fostering interest in the visual arts. The board applied for New York State Incorporation that year as a 501 (c) not-for-profit association of artists. In 1926 the League mounted its first exhibition of 18 paintings at the Nassau County Court House.
In 1935 the League acquired a permanent gallery space in the Bohack Building, Hempstead, and established the Nassau Institute of Art. Aproximately 600 students passed through the school before classes were suspended at the outbreak of World War II.
League Exhibitions were held for many years in the Palm Lounge of the Garden City Hotel. Other exhibition sites have included Lever House, New York City; Adelphi University, Garden City; Chung Cheng Center, Saint John's University; Great Neck Public Library and many Long Island libraries; Lincoln Center, New York City; and Barnes Gallery, Garden City Park.
As with most organizations, the League has evolved and changed along the way. In 1997 a group of member artists began meeting in local parks to paint outdoors together and the Plein Air Painters was born. In 2010 we created our first website to announced our meetings, events, and advertised our art league to the outside world. Soon we began distributing our e-newsletter online to members while still sending paper copies to those who requested them.
In 2020, the year of the CoVid pandemic, the league quickly turned to the online Zoom platform to hold board meetings, have virtual Members' Exhibitions, hold our monthly General Meetings with demonstrations, and held our twice-yearly workshops. Many members tuned in and participated keeping communication going both ways and allowing us to connect with our members.
Today the League's home is at both the Town of North Hempstead's Clinton G. Martin Community Center and Clarke Botanical Gardens where they hold monthly demonstrations given by the best artists in the New York Metropolitan area while continuing Zoom demonstrations in the winter months. The League holds at least 2 yearly members' exhibitions in local venues, enjoys camaraderie in Plein Air Painters group; holds 2 yearly workshops, hosts an annual Members' Dinner, and publishes a monthly newsletter.
The membership averages 200 artists.