The mission of the Naples Art Association at The von Liebig Art Center is to promote and advance education, interest and participation in the contemporary visual arts.

Here is how we evolved from a small group of passionate artists to one of Collier County’s premier cultural attractions.

The Naples Art Association (NAA) was founded in 1954 as a not-for-profit visual arts organization by local artists Grace Lake, George Rogers and Elsie Upham. A Petition for Charter was filed on June 15, 1954 with thirty signatures.

In 1956, NAA members began to meet and exhibit work regularly as part of an outdoor painting group. Since art instruction was not available to Collier County public school students in 1957, NAA members volunteered their expertise until the public school's art program was established.

In 1971, the first annual Sponsors Show was organized to raise funds to provide art scholarships to Collier County high school students to further their art studies at the college level. NAA continues to support this scholarship exhibition program, now renamed the Jade N. Riedel Scholarship Competition, and awards six $1,000 scholarships annually to local students.

In 1979, the NAA began its first education program. Until June 1998, adult classes, lectures and workshops were held in the historic Naples Depot.

The NAA organized its first outdoor show in 1957, with 37 exhibiting members. This evolved into the present Art in the Park series. In 1980, NAA organized its first annual Spring Art Show in Cambier Park. This event became known as the Naples National Art Festival, a two-day fundraising event attracting high caliber exhibiting artists nationally and abroad. Proceeds benefit The von Liebig Art Center's programs. In 1968, the NAA began the search for a permanent location to build an art facility, which 24 years later was realized.

In 1992, the Naples City Council voted to enter into a lease agreement with the NAA, providing an 8,000-sq. ft. footprint of public park land in Cambier Park on which to build a community arts center. After a successful capital campaign, the $3.5 million was raised with major funding provided by the State of Florida and a lead private gift from Naples seasonal resident, Suzanne and the late William J. von Liebig, noted cultural and medical research philanthropists.

The von Liebig Art Center, designed by Naples architect Alfred French, was officially dedicated and opened to the public, debt-free, on November 22, 1998, with its founding executive director hired on October 1, 1998. The inaugural exhibition of fifty works from its newly formed permanent collection of post-war American Art, an initiative begun in 1995 and acquired through gifts, was exhibited. The two-story, 16,000-sq. ft. center features six studios, lobby gallery, a main exhibition gallery, four galleries-in-the-round, two collection storage vaults, library resource center, gift shop, administrative offices and a catering kitchen.

Changing exhibitions of contemporary American art, with a focus on Florida art, are offered, free and open to the public seven days a week throughout the year. The education program provides adults and youth with non-credit, enriching art courses, lectures, and workshops. The NAA membership has averaged 1,500 annually since the center opened. In 1999, the Board voted to seek museum accreditation from AAM, and in September of 2001, the AAM awarded an IMLS MAP grant for institutional planning toward this effort.

To sustain the organization's operations, an endowment fund was established in 1999. Today, the endowment is worth approximately $1,325,000. The NAA derives 4 percent of its annual income from interest generated by the fund. (To learn how you can contribute to the endowment, please call Executive Director Joel Kessler at 239-262-6517 x122.)

The von Liebig Art Guild was formed in 1999 to sustain the center through series of fundraising events and social events. This group became inactive in 2006.

Through its history, the Naples Art Association has contributed to the high quality of life in Naples. It remains a well-respected and vital cultural resource, widely recognized for bringing excellence in the visual arts to the Southwest Florida community.

Past Presidents of the Naples Art Association

Grace Lake 1954-1955
George Rogers 1955-1958
Elsie Upham 1956-1957
Helen Brand 1958-1959
Elsie Upham 1959-1961
George Rogers 1961-1963
Elsie Upham 1963-1964
Donald Nick 1964-1966
Marguerite Roberts 1966-1968
Shirley Gage 1968-1970
Peggy Richmond 1970-1972
Irma Heinicke 1972-1974
Marion Waterfall 1974-1975
Lucille Howe 1975-1980
Ruth Casey 1980-1982
Almeida Evans 1982-1986
Bob Niepold 1986-1988
Rachel Abercrombie 1988-1990
Audrey Rood 1990-1992
Bette Young 1992-1996
Elaine Vreenegoor 1996-2000
Jeannette Kessler 2000-2002
Delores Sorey 2002-2004
Pat Scoville 2004-2005
Fred Sonnenberg 2005-2007
Frank Nappo 2007-current