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39-655: Founded in 1915 by theater aficionado and philanthropist Christine Wetherill Stevenson , the Philadelphia Art Alliance was awarded its charter of operations on September 27, 1915 by Judge Ferguson in Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas No. 3. At the time, the organization had fifty members. In December 1915, the alliance purchased property at 1823-25 Walnut Street in the Rittenhouse Square section of Philadelphia , where members initially planned to establish

78-572: A Curtis-affiliated individual. Non-Curtis collections of published and unpublished materials, as well as published materials by anyone (Curtis-related or not), can be found in Special Collections. Official Curtis recordings are part of the library collection. The Dover Quartet is the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at Curtis. Their faculty residency integrates teaching and mentorship, and

117-435: A figure in a public square, especially the figure of a Negro, as te colored problem seems to be unusually great in Philadelphia." Hancock also stated that the exhibition's director had asked that Salemme considered sending a different piece to the same juried exhibition to replace the rejected Robeson figure, adding: "You may imagine how much I regret to have to convey this request to you, since I have always tremendously admired

156-634: A full scholarship. The Institute also offers needs based financial aid to help cover living expenses. The Curtis Institute of Music was founded in 1924, following the formation of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1900 and the Philadelphia Opera Company in 1908 and amidst industrial decline and political corruption in Philadelphia . The institute's founder, Mary Louise Curtis Bok , a philanthropist, administrator, and major proponent of

195-400: A letter written on behalf of the alliance by Prix de Rome -winning sculptor Walter Hancock , Hancock provided the following explanation for the executive committee's decision: "It did not of course, occur to us that there would be any objection to showing a nude figure of a well-known person. The executive committee, however, expressed their apprehension of the consequences of exhibiting such

234-411: A library in 1925 with over 5,000 volumes. Other notable original faculty included conductor Leopold Stokowski , violinist Carl Flesch , pianists David Saperton and Isabelle Vengerova , singers Marcella Sembrich and Andreas Dippel , cellist Michel Penha , and flutist William Kincaid . Under Josef Hofmann as director, Curtis made several new changes to advance the school's standards and publicize

273-416: A new series of "sociable luncheons" that were designed to familiarize prominent men and women in the Philadelphia region with fine arts and music trends. The first speaker was Olga Samaroff , an American pianist and music critic who was married to Leopold Stokowski , conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra . Samaroff, who was well known to the alliance and residents of the Philadelphia region from her work on

312-443: A preparatory division for 400 students and a conservatory for 200 students. Tuition was five hundred dollars, and the school opened with 357 students. Mary Bok became the conservatory’s first president, a position she would hold until 1969. Johann Grolle served as the first school director for one year, William E. Walter became director in 1925 and Josef Hofmann , head of the piano department, became director in 1927. The institute added

351-478: A spring art show at Texas Christian University . On March 13, 1958, alliance president Laurence H. Eldredge announced at the organization's annual dinner that Mary Louise (Curtis) Bok Zimbalist , founder of Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music , had been awarded the Philadelphia Art Alliance Medal of Achievement for "advancement of or outstanding achievement in the arts." In December 1959,

390-414: A training ground for orchestral musicians to fill the ranks of the Philadelphia Orchestra , although composers , organists , pianists , guitarists , and singers are offered courses of study as well. With the exception of composers, conductors, pianists, organists, and guitarists, admission is granted only to the number of students to fill a single orchestra and opera company. Accordingly, enrollment

429-552: Is housed in the former Samuel Price Wetherill Mansion. She died in Media, Pennsylvania , on November 21, 1922, and was interred at Philadelphia's Laurel Hill Cemetery . A memorial service was held in her honor on Sunday, November 26, 1922, at 3:00 p.m. in the Pilgrimage Theater. In pre-memorial announcements about the planned event, newspapers reported: "Hollywood is asked to attend the service, and pay tribute in all reverence to

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468-508: Is in the range of 150 to 175 students. According to statistics compiled by the U.S. News & World Report , the institute has the lowest acceptance rate of any college or university (4 percent), making it among the most selective institutions of higher education in the United States. Nina Simone claimed her application for a scholarship was rejected because of her race, despite her excellent credentials and audition performance. Simone

507-570: Is to: provide Curtis students, faculty, and staff with the best possible collection of printed music, books, periodicals, recordings, and electronic resources needed to fulfill the school's mission; promote the Rock Resource Center's holdings through forward thinking and open patron service; and preserve and make Curtis’s past accessible to the greater Curtis community. The Curtis Archives comprises largely unpublished materials whose value derives from its collection by, ownership of, or relation to,

546-642: Is used for weekly student recitals, faculty and alumni concerts, master classes, and recording sessions. It also houses a 5-manual, 116-rank Aeolian-Skinner organ. The Rock Resource Center of the Curtis Institute of Music contains more than 100,000 music scores, books, and recordings for study and performance. Comprising the John de Lancie Library and the Curtis Archives, the Rock Resource Center’s mission

585-706: The Hollywood Bowl , she bought twenty-nine acres (12 ha) of land on the other side of Cahuenga Pass to build a new amphitheater for her plays, naming it The Pilgrimage Theatre, and created the Pilgrimage Play . Today The Pilgrimage Theatre is known as the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Stevenson was also known as the founder of the Philadelphia Art Alliance , which

624-681: The Settlement Music School in Philadelphia , named the new school after her father, publishing magnate Cyrus Curtis . The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania chartered the Curtis Institute on April 18, 1924, which opened in October 1925 on three mansions on 1727 and 1720 Locust Street and 235 South 18th Street. Both the Curtis Institute and the Settlement Music School shared a building at Queen Street in South Philadelphia for

663-470: The war years . This focus caused a shift away from orchestra , opera , and chamber music and a reduction of the instrumental faculty. Due to the war, enrollment decreased from 223 in 1937 to 100 in 1942. In 1944, the Curtis Alumni Association established a concert office to assist graduates in their professions. In 2020, following credible allegations of abuse at the hands of past faculty,

702-707: The Eurydice Chorus Award to Franz Bornschein of the Peadbody Conservatory of Music for his setting of Percy Bysshe Shelley 's Arethusa to music for performance by women's voices. By the end of the decade, the alliance's membership roster numbered 2,500. In 1930, members of the executive committee of the alliance caused controversy when they cancelled a Philadelphia Art Society invitation-to-exhibit that had been extended to New York sculptor Antonio Salemme , and returned his large black bronze figure of African American actor-singer-activist Paul Robeson . In

741-789: The Robeson statue and was one of those who especially urged that it be invited, but I hope you will understand the position of the Sculptors' Committee and favor us with such other contributions as you may see fit to send." The statue in question had previously been exhibited, without controversy, in the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, California and was on display at the Brooklyn Museum in New York at

780-406: The United States or Europe. The new funds further allowed all students to study at Curtis at no cost. Since 1928, the institute has not charged tuition; it provides full scholarships to all admitted students. Instead, students pay comprehensive fees and other additional fees to cover the cost of maintaining buildings, health insurance, meal plans, a library fee, and a graduation fee. As of fall 2023,

819-570: The alliance hosted the Contemporary Israeli Art Exhibition, which featured fifty-eight paintings from across the spectrum of western art. In January 1968, alliance president Raymond S. Green presented actress Helen Hayes with the Philadelphia Art Alliance Award of Merit "in recognition of outstanding creative work of high artistic merit." Hayes, who had been given the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre,"

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858-463: The alliance's music committee, presented a lecture on "The Correlation of Music and the Fine Arts." In 1924, the alliance formed a businessmen's art club to encourage businessmen in the region to pursue amateur studies in painting and sculpture in order to develop a greater appreciation of art while also benefitting from hands-on creation activities as a form of relaxation. In 1925, the alliance awarded

897-509: The comprehensive fee for Curtis is $ 3,500, and the health insurance fee, which can be waived if a parental health insurance plan provides adequate protection, of $ 2,500. With the new endowment, the school purchased several Steinway pianos and enough instruments for an orchestra so that students would not have to pay for instruments. The school faced financial difficulties in the 1930s, decreased enrollment, and had to remove some departments and reduce salaries. Josef Hoffman resigned in 1938 and

936-406: The first year. Bok established the institute to train talented musicians for professional careers and to teach music for its own sake and not as a means to another end. In an official statement, Bok wrote about the goals and expectations of the institution: “It is my aim that earnest students shall acquire a thorough musical education not learning only to sing or play, but also the history of music,

975-483: The late 1910s and early 1920s, Stevenson formed an art alliance with Marie Rankin Clarke, and raised money with her to buy a piece of land on Cahuenga Pass called "Daisy Dell". They then rehearsed together for their first play there, Light of Asia . A second series of plays was planned, The Pilgrimage , when resistance was met from Clarke and others in the group who wanted to expand the venue's themes. Leaving them to form

1014-416: The laws of its making, languages, ear training and musical appreciation. They shall learn to think and to express their thoughts against a background of a quiet culture, with the stimulus of personal contact with artist teachers who represent the highest and finest in their art. The aim is for quality of the work rather than quick, showy results.” When the institute opened, it included two distinct divisions:

1053-541: The organization's headquarters. Models of the alliance's proposed building designs were displayed at the Philadelphia Today and Tomorrow Civic Exposition that was held in the auditorium building of the Commercial Museum in Philadelphia from May 15 to June 10, 1916. Alliance members hoped that their new building would ultimately come to be known as the "Art Center of America." In January 1917, the alliance launched

1092-407: The radio. The school held its first commencement a decade after opening, awarding Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. Starting in the late 1920s, Curtis made significant changes to fully support students financially. In 1928, Mrs. Louis Bok expanded the school's first endowment of $ 500,000 to $ 12.5 million. The school started providing summer residency programs for advanced students in

1131-454: The school ended its practice of keeping students enrolled "at the discretion of their major instrument teacher". In accepting the findings of an independent investigation of abuse allegations that found the practice was a "real threat" and a student "could be dismissed for any reason at any time", Curtis pledged several other steps to ensure students' well-being, including providing them with access to counseling. The institute formerly served as

1170-469: The school. Hofmann reduced enrollment to ensure that students would receive individualized attention. Curtis initiated weekly radio broadcasts through CBS in 1929. The Curtis String Quartet was established in 1928 and lasted until 1981. From 1931 to 1941, Fritz Reiner served as the conductor of the Curtis Orchestra, who toured with the orchestra throughout the country and broadcast the orchestra on

1209-556: The time of news reports about the incident. Several alliance members reportedly resigned in response to the executive committee's decision. In 1937, the alliance loaned fifty-two paintings by Pennsylvania artists to the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg for a summer exhibition. Philadelphia Art Alliance members also exhibited their work at other venues across the United States. In 1944, John J. Dull's watercolors were featured in

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1248-518: The woman who brought the Pilgrimage Play to Hollywood." The Hollywood Cross , a thirty-two-foot-high steel cross, at 2580 Cahuenga Boulevard was erected in 1923 to her memory. Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia . It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music , Master of Music in opera , and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on

1287-781: Was acquired by the University of the Arts in 2018, after unanimous approval from the boards of both institutions in 2017, and became known as The Philadelphia Art Alliance at University of the Arts. Although the University officially closed on June 7, 2024 the organizers of an already-installed exhibit at the Art Alliance received permission to open as scheduled from June 14th to August 9th. 39°56′54″N 75°10′15″W  /  39.94821°N 75.17090°W  / 39.94821; -75.17090 Christine Wetherill Stevenson Christine Wetherill Stevenson (April 12, 1878 – November 21, 1922)

1326-771: Was an heiress of the Pittsburgh Paint Company and founder of the Philadelphia Art Alliance . She helped fund the Daisy Dell which became the Hollywood Bowl , in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. She established the Pilgrimage Theatre (now known as the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre ) in Hollywood Hills. She played a major role in the theater's first production, Life of Christ , which received significant advance newspaper coverage and

1365-413: Was chosen unanimously for the award by the alliance's drama committee and board of directors, according to alliance executive director James Kirk Merrick who noted, "This award isn't given every year.... It is only presented when we feel someone is deserving. I don't think there can be any question as to how we arrived at choosing Miss Hayes." The alliance was housed in the historic Wetherill mansion, which

1404-632: Was described "an American Oberammergau ". Born on April 12, 1878, in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , as Christine Wetherill, she was a daughter of Samuel Price Wetherill (1846-1926) and Christine (Northrop) Wetherill (1852-1930). Her father was a descendant of Samuel Wetherill, who was a fellow member, with Betsy Ross , of the Free Quaker Meeting House . Christine Wetherill was married twice, first to John V. Rice, Jr., whom she divorced in 1902, and then to William Yorke Stevenson , son of Cornelius and Sara Yorke Stevenson , in 1908. During

1443-682: Was designed in 1906 by Frank Miles Day and constructed by Thomas M. Seeds Jr. The building was listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places on April 28, 1970, and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Rittenhouse National Register Historic District. The alliance hosted art exhibits, theater and music workshops, poetry readings, lectures, concerts and recitals. The Philadelphia Art Alliance officially merged and

1482-428: Was one of 75 pianists to audition in 1951; only three were accepted. A short while before her death, Simone was awarded an honorary diploma by Curtis. Gould Rehearsal Hall A 2,850-square-foot, acoustically designed rehearsal hall accommodates a full orchestra, with state-of-the-art video and audio capabilities. Field Concert Hall is a 240-seat auditorium with facilities for both video and audio recording. The venue

1521-454: Was succeeded by Randall Thompson , who became director in 1939 and held the post for two years. Thompson introduced mandatory weekly lectures providing an overview of music history. Violinist Efrem Zimbalist , who had become the head of the violin department in 1930 at Curtis, replaced Thompson as director in 1941. Under Zimbalist, the institute focused more on training soloists and cutting down on costs, which became especially necessary during

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