National Civic Art Society

The National Civic Art Society is a nonprofit organization that advocates and promotes public art, architecture, and urbanism in the classical tradition and opposes the inclusion of modern and contemporary architectural styles. The Society has various regional chapters that host local events and outreach. The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C.[1][2][3][4][5] The Society has been active in discussions regarding memorials in Washington, D.C., and the rebuilding of the original Penn Station in New York City.[6][7][8][9] The Society led a six-year campaign against Frank Gehry's proposed design for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, which forced the architect to make changes to his original scheme.[10]

In 2020, the Society organized a survey of 2,000 American adults by The Harris Poll to determine people's preferred architecture for federal buildings and U.S. courthouses.[11] The survey showed participants pairs of side-by-side photographs of federal buildings similar in shape, size, and color, with one of the buildings being traditional, the other modern. As Bloomberg reported, "The responses did not vary by demographic group: When asked to choose from the two images, Americans of every age, sex, race and class category pulled the lever for traditional designs by a nearly three to one margin. Overall, classical won out over modern by 72% to 28%."[12]

The National Civic Art Society's president is Justin Shubow, a former chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. Under his leadership, the Society is reported to have played a key role in the passage of the Executive Order "Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture," which encouraged traditional and classical architecture for federal buildings.[13][14][15][16]

  1. ^ Capps, Kriston (October 14, 2020). "Classical or Modern Architecture? For Americans, It's No Contest". Bloomberg Citylab. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  2. ^ Rogers, Katie; Pogrebin, Robin (February 5, 2020). "Draft Executive Order Would Give Trump a New Target: Modern Design". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  3. ^ Kimmelman, Michael (February 7, 2020). "MAGA War on Architectural Diversity Weaponizes Greek Columns". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  4. ^ Gutschow, Kai (February 16, 2020). "Why so many architects are angered by "Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again"". Salon. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  5. ^ Blair, Elizabeth (February 13, 2020). "'Just Plain Ugly': Proposed Executive Order Takes Aim At Modern Architecture". National Public Radio. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  6. ^ Berger, Paul (November 23, 2017). "Campaigners Step Up Fight to Restore New York Penn Station". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  7. ^ "National World War I Memorial". National Civic Art Society. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  8. ^ "Rebuilding New York's Original Penn Station". National Civic Art Society. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  9. ^ "National Eisenhower Memorial". National Civic Art Society. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  10. ^ Blair, Elizabeth (February 13, 2020). "'Just Plain Ugly': Proposed Executive Order Takes Aim At Modern Architecture". National Public Radio. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "Americans' Preferred Architecture for Federal Buildings". National Civic Art Society.
  12. ^ Capps, Kriston (October 14, 2020). "Classical or Modern Architecture? For Americans, It's No Contest". Bloomberg Citylab. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  13. ^ Rogers, Katie; Pogrebin, Robin (February 5, 2020). "Draft Executive Order Would Give Trump a New Target: Modern Design". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  14. ^ "Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture". Federal Register. December 23, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  15. ^ "Trump signs executive order mandating classical architecture for D.C. federal buildings". The Architect’s Newspaper. December 21, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  16. ^ "Frank Gehry's Eisenhower Memorial Opens in Washington, D.C." www.architecturalrecord.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.