CONSTITUTION

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OFTHE 1

\ NATIONAL ACADEMY
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DESIGN,

(A.S
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Amended January 14tli, 1863.)

ACADEMY INSTITUTED JANUARY 19, 1826.

FlKST

Constitution Adopted December 16, 1826.

Chartebed April 5, 1828.

IVcvr-Yoi-k :
SACKETT & COBB, LAW, BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS,
46 Pine Street, cor. William.
1866.
T'4H
|\i X) h
CONSTITDTION

OF T H E

'>fATIONAL ACADEMY

O F

DESIGN,

(As Amended January 14th, 1863.)

ACADEMY INSTITUTED JANUAKY 19, 1826.
First Constitdtion Adopted December. 16, 1826.
Chaktekeu April 5, 1828.

JVov-TTorli :
SACKETT & COBB, LAW, BOOK; AND JOB PRINTERS,
46 Pine Street, cjr. William.
/ 1866.

¦OF THE
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN,
1864— '65.

COUNCIL.

DANIEL IiIMTrN"GTON; Theswj^t.
HENEY PETEES GEAY, Yice-Peesident.
T. ADl)ISON EICTIAEDS, Coe. Seceetaey.
J. B. STEAENS, Eec. Seceetaey.
THOMAS S. CUMMINGS, TREAsrljEE.
GEORGE A. BAKER. J. A. SUYDAM."
THOMAS HICKS. S. R. GIFFORD.
J. F. KENSETT, J. Q. A. WARD,

FELLOWSHIP FUND COMMITTEE.
HENRY PETERS GRAY, Chairman.' D. HUNTINGTON.
THOMAS HICKS, Secretary. JOHN F. KENSETT.
JAMES A. SUYDAM, Treasurer. GEORGE A. BAKER.
J. Q. A. WARD.

AOT OF INCOEPOEATION
V OF TIIE
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN,
PASSKD A-PRIL Hth, 1838.
(Cii.iRTER Renewed — in the same terms^1857.)
 *  <l.^l» 0 
The People of ihe Slate of New- York, represented in Senate
and Assembly, do enact as folloius :
§ 1. There shall be established and located in tlie City Location.
of New- York, a Society by the name of the " National yame.
Academy of Design."
§2. Samuel F. B. Morse, Henry Inman, Thomas S. who are tho
Body Corporate.
Cummings, John L. Morton, Asher B. Durand, Charles
Ingham, Frederick S. Agate, Thomas Cole, and such
"other . persons as now are, or hereafter shall become
members of said Society, .are hereby constituted a body
corporate, by the name aforesaid ; and shall continue to
be so incorporated, until the first day of January, in the
year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
8 3. The said Corporation shall have power of pre- Powers of said
o 1. ^ Corporation.
scribing rules and regulations for the admission of mem
bers, and for expelling thera for the non-observance of
its By-Laws.

objeot. g ^_ r£,j^g object of this Society is the cultivation and
extension of the arts of design, and its funds shall be
employed in promoting that object.
Privileges. § 5. This Corporation may purchase, hold, lease and
convey real and personal estate, for its use and benefit ;
but the annual income- of the same (exclusive of tho
statues, paintings, engravings, drawings, models and other
specimens of the Arts, and of the buildings that may be
used for the preservation or exhibition of the same) shall
not at any time exceed the sum of five thousand dollars.
re8t?rtiJns"'an''i § •^- "^^^^ Corporatioii shall possess the general powers,
liabilities. ^^^^ ^^ subject to the general restrictions and liabilities
prescribed in the third title of the eighteenth chapter of
the First Part of the Eevised Statutes ; and the Legisla
ture reserve to themselves the right to alter, modity or
repeal this act at any time. Law! nfJS'nK- Tork, Chap. 173, flfly-firsl Sessim.

CONSTITUTION

:NA TIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN

AS AlVrENIJEir) JANXJA.R.Y 14th. 1863.

AETICLE I.

The name of this Institution shall be the National Name and object
Academy of Design ; its object, tho cultivation and
extension of the Arts of Design ; and its funds shall- be
employed in promoting that object.
AETICLE II.
Sec.- 1. The members of tho Academy sliall be divided Members.
into three classes, viz. : Academicians, Associates and
Honorary Members.
Sec 2. Academicians shall be chosen from professional Academicians.
Artists only, residents of the City of New- York or its
vicinity. . In them shall be vested all the powers of the
Academy, to be delegated as hereinafter "mentioned.
Sec. 3. Associates shall be chosen from resident pro- Associates.
fessional Artists only.
Sec. 4. Honorary Members shall be chosen from pro- Honorary Mem
bers.
fessional Artists, Amateurs, and lovers of the Arts.
Sec. 5. Nominations for membership shall be made Nominations.
by registering the name of the candidate and the class of
membership for which he is proposed, in a book provided
for that purpose, in the Council Eoom of the Academy.
Said register shall be open for the reception of names until

Election of
Members.

Officers.

President.

Vice-President.

Treasurer.

the sixth day preceding the Annual Meeting, at which time
it shall be closed against any further admission of names.
The names of the candidates, so registered, shall be sub
mitted (provided they are eligible) by the presiding officer,
in the order, and for the class of membership only, for
which they are registered ; and no person shall be balloted
for whose narae has not been so registered. No name,
whieh has been once rejected, shall be called up for re
consideration or re-nomination, during the continuance
of said meeting, unless by a vote of two-thirds of the
members present ; in which ease, one re-consideration
may be had.
AETICLE III.
Sec. 1. The officers of the Academy shall be a Presi- -
dent, a Vice-President, a CoiTespohding Secretary and a
Eecording Secretary, a Treasurer and six Merabers of
Council ; the whole constituting the Board or Council,
to be elected from the body of Academicians.
Sec 2. The President shall preside at all meetings of
the Academy: he shall be, f 2; oj^cw. President ofthe
Council: he shall appoint all Committees not. exceeding
three merabers ; he shall call the Special Meetings of
the Academy, and shall exercise a general executive
superintendence over the affairs ofthe Institution.
Sec. 3. The Vice-President shall be vested with the
¦full powers and perform all the duties of the President,
in the absence of the President.
Sec. 4. The Secretaries shall be, ex o^cz'o. Secretaries
of the Council.
Sec. 5. The Treasurer shall render a faithful account
of the funds and other property of the Academy, to the

Council, or to any Academician, whenever called upon
for that purpose.
Sec, 6. The Council shall assemble statedly, on Mon- counou.
day evening of each week, for the transaction of business,
except during the interval of the vacation. They shall
have the entire control of the affairs of the Acaderay
during their term of office ; they may appoint sub-officers
for a period not exceeding said term, and enact By-Laws ns Powers am?
Duties.
for their own governraent not contrary to the Laws of
the Academy. They shall make a faithful report of the
state of the Academy at every Annual Meeting. The
record of their proceedings shall be entered on the gen
eral minutes of the Academy, and shall be open for the
inspection of the Academicians at all reasonable times.
They shall have power to supply all vacancies that may
occur in their own body.
Sec Y. There shall be a vacation of three months, vacation.
from the first Wednesday in July to the first Wednesday
in October, annually.
Sec 8. The Seal of the Academy shall be in the care scat.
of the Corresponding Secretary, and shall not be ap
pended to any document, without an order of the Council
or of the body of Academicians, and a record shall be
kept of its use.
Sec 9. The Academy shall grant Diplomas, or Cer- j^j^j^j^^^
tificates of Membership.
AETICLE IV.
Sec 1. The Academicians shall hold their Annual ^^^^^,,^1 j,^^^.
Meeting for the transaction of business on the second '"*'' .
Wednesday of May of every year, at such place, in the
City of New- York, as shall be agreed upon by -the Conn-

Election of Offl
cers and Mem
bers of Council.

Hanging Com
mittee.

cil, and publicly notified, at least two weeks JDrevious to
Maybe adjourn- 1^^ day of meeting; and the said meeting may, for the
purposes. transactiou of any other business, except that of election
of officers and members, adjourn the same from time to
time, as may be deemed expedient.
Sec. 2. On the day and at the place of the Annual
Meeting, the Academicians shall elect, by written bal
lots, a President, a Vice-President, two Secretaries, a
Treasurer, and six Members of Council. Those having
a majority of votes, for each office, shall be declared duly
elected. The newly elected officers shall enter upon
their duties on the first Monday in August of every year,
at noon, and shall continue one year. After the election
of the new Council, at the Annual Meeting, shall also be
elected two Associates, who shall, with the Council, con
stitute the Committee for arranging the next Annual
Exhibition.
MembeMhl"" "' ^^^^ ^- '^^^'^ election of Academicians and Associates
shall be from those only who are exhibitors at the Annual
Exhibition of the year of their proposal for raembership.
Election of Acad- Sec. 4. The clcction iuto the body of Academicians
emicians. shall be made only from the body of Associates and from
such professional Honorary Merabers as shall have come
to reside permanently in the City of New- York or its
vicinity. Such election shall be made only at the
Annual Meeting, and by ballot. Tho affirmative vote
of two-tliirds of those present shall elect the candidate.
Requirement of Spx. 5. Every Academician elect shall present to the
Academicians "^ ¦*-
elect. Academy a specimen of his Art, to be preserved in
the gallery of the Academy, and to be the property eff
the Institution. He shall in no case be perraitted to
take his seat as an Acaderaician, receive his Diploma,

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exercise any of the rights, or be recognized in any manner
as an Academician, until this requisition be complied with.
A failure to comply with this within one year shall raake
void the election of the candidate elect.
Sec 6. The election into the body of Associates shall Election of Asso
ciates.
¦be made only at the Annual Meeting, and by ballot.
The affiurmative vote of two-thirds of those present shall
elect the candidate.
Sec. T. Every Associate shall, during the first year Requirement of
Associates elect.
after his election, present to the Academy his own
portrait, in oil-colors, of the size of twenty-five by thirty
inches, to be the property of the Academy, and to be
preserved in the gallery of the Institution. A failure to
comply with this rule, within the time specified, shall
make void the election of the candidate elect.
Sec 8. The election of Honorary Merabers shall be Election of Hon-
•^ orary Members.
made only at the Annual Meeting, and by ballot. The
affirmative vote of two-thirds of those present shall elect
the candidate.
AETICLE V.
Schools for the instruction of Students shall be estab- The schools.
lished and continued, as the means and apartments of
the Academy permit. Any one may be perraitted to
draw or model in the Antique School of the Academy,
by presenting a specimen of his drawing or modeling to
the Council ; if this be approved, he shall be admitted
(after subscribing to the regulations of the Schools) a
Student ofthe Antique School, for the season.
AETICLE VI.
Sec 1. There shall be an Annual- Exhibition of the Annual Exhiw-
Works of Living Artists.

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When to open. gj-c. 2. Tho Annual Exhibition shall be opened to the
public on the first day of April, of every year, or as soon
thereafter as practicable.
Works ineligible. Sec 3. Woi'ks that havc been once publicly exhibited
by the Academy, can never be again exhibited at au
Annual Exhibition.
AETICLE VII.
Quorum. js^q^ ^ggg ^jjan oue-third of the whole number of Acade
micians shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the
Academy. Not less than a majority of the Council
shall constitute a quorum ; and in tlie absence of tlie
President and Vice-President, a Chairman 2'>^'0 ten}, may
be chosen.
AETICLE VIII.
Library Fund. rpj^Q OouncU shall set apart, annually, from the net
income of the Ajcademy, the sum of three hundred dollars,
to be expended by the Council in the purchase of Books,
Engravings and Costumes ; and the amount thus set apart
shall be a separate and distinct Fund, and called tho
" Library Fund ;" and it shall be the duty ofthe Treasurer,
at each Annual Meeting, hereafter, to submit a report,
setting forth the amount so expended, the articles pur
chased, and the prices paid for the same.
AETICLE IX.
Privileges of Sec. 1. The Academicians may give invitations to
.tcademiciaus. °
whom they please, to 'visit the Exhibitions and all the
Departments of the Institution; and the widows and
Privileges of the ^lii^reu of all deceased Academicians shall be entitled to
ceased Academi- all the privileges enjoycd by them, during the lifetime of
cians. said Academicians.
Sec 2. The Associates and Honorary Members may

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attend gratuitously the Exhibitions andthe Lectures, and ¦*'»°°'*'°» ""^
, ' Honorary Mem-
introduce their families to visit these departments. ^°"'
Sec 3. Students of the Academy may attend, free of students.
charge, the Exhibitions of the year of their studentship.
Sec. 4. Artist Exhibitors and their families raay attend Artist Exhibiters
the Exhibitions gratuitously.
Sec 5. The Antique School may be attended by all Antique school.
classes of members.
Sec. 6. The Life School may be attended by the Life school.
Academicians, Associates, and such others as the Council
may elect.
AETICLE X.
Sec 1. There shall be established a Special Fund, sep- Fellowship Fund.
arate from the ordinary Treasury of the Academy, and
called The Fellowship Fund, to be formed by the sub
scriptions of money, the proceeds of pictures or other-
Works of Art presented, and by grants of Fellowship ;
and this Fund shall be devote^ to perfecting the Build
ing, sustaining the Schools, and generally advancing the
interests of the Academy.
Sec 2. A subscriber of $100 to .the' Fellowship Fund Privileges of Life
Fellows.
shall be presented with a Diploma, constituting him a
Fellow of the National Academy of Design' for Life, and
entitling him to five season tickets to the Exhibition, an
nually, access to the Library and Eeading Eooms, and
invitations to all the Conversations held by the Academy ;
also, to nominate two Students, annually, who, on passing
the usual examination, shall be admitted to the Schools
of the Academy free of charge.
Sec 3, A subscriber of $500 to the said Fund shall Priviieges'of Fei-
lowa in Ferpe-
receive a Diploma entitling him to all the privileges of a*"'*^'
Life-Fellowship iii perpetuity, and be entitled to convey

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Fellowship Fund
Committee.

lavestment of
FandB and Re
served Fund.

Provision for
Alteration of
Gontftitutton.

Meeting for that
purpose— how
called.

his Fellowship to an heir or assignee ; and the holder of
the Diploraa shall enjoy the privileges of the original
subscriber. Sec. 4. The Fellowship Fund and its affairs shall be
controlled by a Standing Committee of seven Academi
cians, to be elected by ballot by the Council in the first
instance, imraediately after the passage of this Law, and
thereafter annually, at the flrst meeting of the Council
after the Suraraer vacation. They shall choose their own
officers, viz. : a Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary, and
make a full report of their finances and proceedings to
the Academy, at the Annual Meeting of the Body.
Sec 5. The funds of the Committee shall be deposited f
in one or more of the Trust Corapanies of the City of
N'ew- York, and one-half of the excess of $20,000 shall be
invested in Stocks of the State of New- York, or of the
United States, to be held as a Eeserved Fund, the interest
thereof to be applied to maintaining the Building, the
Schools, and general objects of the Academy.
AETICLE XI.
This Constitution shall not be altered or amended, but
at a special meeting called for that purpose, which meeting
shall not be warned, except on the requisition of six
Academicians ; and no alteration shall be made unless the
substance of the alteration be published and served upon
the Academicians at least two weeks previous to said
meeting.
AETICLE XII.
All other acts, rules, amendments, additions or altera
tions heretofore passed not in accordance with these laws,
shall be, and the same are hereby repealed.