The Art League

Founded in 1954, The Art League, Inc. a 501(c)(3) organization, is a multi-service organization for visual artists, as well as the founding organization of the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia. In Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, The Art League offers exhibit opportunities for artists through its gallery, fine art education through a school, and outreach programs to the local community. The Art League was selected for the 2010-11 Catalogue for Philanthropy as "one of the best small charities in the Washington, DC Region."

Six female art students and their teacher founded The Art League of Northern Virginia in 1954. The League's stated purpose was to foster art and arts appreciation, sponsor lectures, encourage study and hold exhibitions. In 1967, the organization was incorporated as a nonprofit, and in the years immediately following, the League removed rules limiting members to residents of Northern Virginia and shortened its name to The Art League, Inc. The League's mission states, "By nurturing the artist, we enrich the community. The Art League develops the artist through education, exhibition, and a stimulating, supportive environment while sharing the experience of the visual arts with the community."

The Art League played a critical role in the transformation of the City-owned, former U.S. Naval Torpedo Station into the Torpedo Factory Art Center. In 1974, Art League president and Virginia Delegate Marian Van Landingham proposed a project that would renovate the building into working studio spaces for artists. With the lease on its Cameron Street space expiring, The Art League was looking for a new location. After the renovation of the new art center, the League rented one-fifth of the space for its gallery and school.

Today, the gallery, offices, supply store, and some classrooms of The Art League are housed in the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

Continued growth led to the hiring of the first paid executive director, Cora Rupp, in 1981, along with other employees. In 2012, longtime executive director Linda Hafer retired, and Suzanne Bethel became the new executive director.

The Art League School offers classes and workshops for students of all skill levels and ages, in nearly all of the fine visual arts. Classes and workshops are offered year-round in drawing, watercolor, painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, fiber art, and clay animation, in addition to art travel workshops to domestic and international locations. Nearly 7,000 students enroll each year, filling over 10,000 seats in classes. All classes and workshops are taught by professional artist instructors, many from DC-area colleges and universities. Classes are noncredit and are open to all. After the school's founding in 1967, classes were credited with improving the quality of art in The Art League's Gallery, with Washingtonian Magazine writing, "the single most important thing The Art League has done to improve its image is to recruit a workshop faculty that includes some of the brightest luminaries on the art horizon."

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