Home Page
Our Mission
The Naperville Art League, founded in 1961, provides art instruction and education, encourages interest in all forms of creative art, stimulates understanding and appreciation of art in the community, and participates in other related activities.
We are a not-for-profit, volunteer based organization sponsored by our membership and dedicated to promoting and supporting the visual arts and encouraging artists within the community.
Members are encouraged to volunteer their time and talent to expose the community to original fine art and provide education and enjoyable opportunities for all.
We are a not-for-profit, volunteer based organization sponsored by our membership and dedicated to promoting and supporting the visual arts and encouraging artists within the community.
Members are encouraged to volunteer their time and talent to expose the community to original fine art and provide education and enjoyable opportunities for all.
History of the Naperville Art League
And so we continue, to work, to play and to share our inspiration with you just as the first members of the Naperville Art League did several decades ago. We hope you will spend time enjoying the art exhibited on this website, and sometime stop in to visit our Gallery for more. But, since history grounds us, here are but a few facts about the origins of the Naperville Art League.
The Naperville Art League was chartered by the State of Illinois as a not-for profit organization in 1961. It was also incorporated that year. The League’s original membership consisted of 30 artists, with Hayman Herndon as its first president. The group met in the basement of the First National Bank of Naperville (now the Harris Bank) and classes were offered to its members in their homes.
When the League opened its classes to the public, both the meetings and classes were moved to the basement of the original Nichols Library. The members longed for a home of their own and initiated a “housing fund,” staging the first Annual Art Auction (link to auction) in the early sixties. The highest price paid was $25 for a large, framed watercolor. Over the years, the Auction has been hosted from the A&P, to Clyde Netzley’s Auto Showroom to a variety of locations as we looked forward to our current Gallery location.
In 1978, the League purchased the Bible Church building on the corner of Center and 5th Avenue, which became the League’s Gallery. The original structure is now the 'classroom' side of the current building. For the last several years, the Regency Bank on Washington Street has graciously hosted our annual event each spring.
Influenced by one of our charter members, Harold and Eva White, the owners of the Naperville Sun, grew to appreciate the work of the Art League. They paid the League’s outstanding mortgage balance and later remembered us in their estate, which allowed the League to add-on the current Gallery (link to our gallery) space to the building in 1996.
The league regularly offers a variety of classes and workshops for Adults and Children. In addition to monthly exhibits at the Gallery, we exhibit in February at Barnes and Noble and in the members’ tent at the RFAF and seek out additional opportunities to showcase our artists’ works at local restaurants, office lobbies, and other local venues.
The Naperville Art League was chartered by the State of Illinois as a not-for profit organization in 1961. It was also incorporated that year. The League’s original membership consisted of 30 artists, with Hayman Herndon as its first president. The group met in the basement of the First National Bank of Naperville (now the Harris Bank) and classes were offered to its members in their homes.
When the League opened its classes to the public, both the meetings and classes were moved to the basement of the original Nichols Library. The members longed for a home of their own and initiated a “housing fund,” staging the first Annual Art Auction (link to auction) in the early sixties. The highest price paid was $25 for a large, framed watercolor. Over the years, the Auction has been hosted from the A&P, to Clyde Netzley’s Auto Showroom to a variety of locations as we looked forward to our current Gallery location.
In 1978, the League purchased the Bible Church building on the corner of Center and 5th Avenue, which became the League’s Gallery. The original structure is now the 'classroom' side of the current building. For the last several years, the Regency Bank on Washington Street has graciously hosted our annual event each spring.
Influenced by one of our charter members, Harold and Eva White, the owners of the Naperville Sun, grew to appreciate the work of the Art League. They paid the League’s outstanding mortgage balance and later remembered us in their estate, which allowed the League to add-on the current Gallery (link to our gallery) space to the building in 1996.
The league regularly offers a variety of classes and workshops for Adults and Children. In addition to monthly exhibits at the Gallery, we exhibit in February at Barnes and Noble and in the members’ tent at the RFAF and seek out additional opportunities to showcase our artists’ works at local restaurants, office lobbies, and other local venues.
The Naperville Art League invites you to become a fan. Please click on the "Like" button.
