About SAGA

SAGA, the Society of American Graphic Artists is a not-for-profit national organization of fine art printmakers. SAGA has a rich history. Its origins stretch back to 1915 when a group of printmakers founded the Brooklyn Society of Etchers. The following year, their first exhibit was at the Brooklyn Museum. In 1952 (several names changes later) the Society adopted its present title to reflect the all-inclusive membership which practices a full range of hand-pulled printmaking processes.

Henri Matisse, Kathe Kollowitz, John Sloan, Edward Hopper, Pablo Picasso, Mary Cassatt, Joseph Pennell, John Marin, Childe Hassam and John Taylor Arms were early exhibitors of SAGA. Over the years the membership has included most of America's foremost printmakers. Membership in the Society enables artists to show their work in New York City through important exhibitions with substantial awards. Many purchase awards have been acquired by major museum collections in the United States.

SAGA has long reflected the growth and changes taking place in printmaking as well as transformations in the larger world of art. The high standards of SAGA are perpetuated in national exhibitions which continue to expose the public to the best of American printmaking.

Originally known as the Brooklyn Society of Etchers, the group was founded in 1915 to advance the cause of etching which, due to its autographic and spontaneous nature of drawing onto a grounded copper plate, was perceived as more closely reflecting the artist's creative impulses. This placed etching in contrast to other printmaking techniques at the time, which were more closely associated with commercial processes and less creative application.

Acknowledging the need to recognize the wealth of artists outside of Brooklyn and New York, the Society organized an international show with great success in 1922 and in 1931 changed their name to the Society of American Etchers resulting in the geographical expansion of their membership.

By the 1940's additional printmakeing techniques had gained respect and recognition as fine art. In the process of encompassing artists working in these various rechniques, in 1947, the group again changed its name to the Society of American Etchers, Gravers, Lithographers, and Woodcutters. Shortly afterwards in 1952 the simpler, geographically, and technically inclusive name, the Society of American Graphic Artists was finally adopted.

Article written by William Behnken, NA, first appeared in SAGAzine volume 1, No. 3, Fall 2004