Art Study Class Collection

In 1908, a group of eleven women formed the Art Study Class (A.S.C.) in Clarksville. The charter members included Clara Warneken (the first president), Maria Stacker Ellis, Florence Couts Askew, Laura Drane Barnes, Anne Fowler Berryman, Mary Clarke Elder, Benjamin Gill Fort, Mary Hunt Gholson, Roberta Luckett, Mamie Green Patch, and Edith Ely Pettus. The intent of the organization was educational rather than social. Members studied and presented art based around a yearly theme> The organization printed its first yearbook in 1909 through the financial support of Mrs. Matt Lyle, the first member invited to join the A.S.C. In 1923, the organization joined the local, state, and national chapters of the Federation of Women's Club.

The A.S.C lost membership and became inactive as a study group from 1942 to 1947. Four members paid membership dues and held at least one meeting per year to keep the organization in good standing. The A.S.C. resumed active study group meetings in 1948. In memory of Ann Boillin, the A.S.C. presented an art book to the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library in 1971. From that point forward, club members donated their study books to the library as a memorial for different people.

The Clarksville Federation of Women's Clubs met on the third Wednesday of each month in the Women's Club building at 1983 Madison Street. The April 2010 A.S.C. minutes note that the Clarksville Federation of Women's Clubs had recently dropped Federation from its name.