"Forest Trail Mule Deer," Robert Bateman, 24 x 36, oil on board.

The Salmagundi Club will host the fifth annual American Masters Gala on May 4th, featuring many of the nation’s finest artists – from Richard Schmid to Burton Silverman. Proceeds from the show and sale will benefit the Salmagundi Club, one of New York City’s most historic and valued art institutions since 1871.

The 2012 American Masters exhibition welcomes back many of last year’s artists and several new faces as well. The show and sale includes works from artists Christopher Blossom, Scott Christensen, Quang Ho , David A. Leffel, Walter Matia, Sherrie McGraw, Dean Mitchell, Dan Ostermiller, Tucker Smith, John Stobart, Curt Walters and others. Artists new to the show include Burton Silverman, Michael Lynch, Daniel Greene, and Kathy Anderson.

In conjunction with the exhibition in the Upper Gallery, Salmagundi will host companion exhibits throughout the building. The Lower Gallery of the Club will feature works of famous Salmagundi Illustrators such as N.C. Wyeth, Dean Cornwell, Charles Chapman and many others while the Library will showcase historic academic drawings from the collection of the Art Students League.

Of special note is the exhibition by our honored Master Artist Sherrie McGraw. Held in the beautiful Patrons’ Gallery, this is a rare opportunity to see a significant body of her remarkable work. Additionally, Ms. McGraw will be doing a public demonstration on the evening of May 2nd. Tickets are available exclusively through EventBrite.com and are $45 general admission.

“We are eager to present the American Masters show as it enters into its fifth year. This show has evolved to represent true masters of current representational American art, as it has attracted even more of the finest artists in the country” said Tim Newton, founder and curator of the event. “Almost never in the life of the Club have we seen four such extraordinary shows at the same time.”

"It's an honor and a challenge to exhibit my work in the American Masters Show at the Salmagundi Club” says noted painter Donald Demers. “The two principle reasons are first, the esteemed history of the club and what it has meant to representational American art, and second, the tremendous opportunity to align myself with some of the greatest painters and sculptors in the country. Opportunities to exhibit with great artists as a group are rare, particularly on the east coast.”

The exhibition will be on view from April 25th through May 10th. The American Masters Gala will be held Friday May 4th, 2012 from 5:30PM to 8:30PM. Attendees at the gala event will have first opportunity to purchase the artwork. Sales will be open to the public beginning Saturday, May 5th. All events will be at the Salmagundi Club, 47 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003. Tickets to the Friday night gala are $175 per person and $300 per couple. Net proceeds of the sale will go entirely to the benefit of the Salmagundi Club.

For 140 years, the Salmagundi Club has served as a center for fine artists from New York and around the country, providing exhibitions of paintings, sculpture and photography, conducting art classes and painting demonstrations year round. Through the years the Club has been a principal singular gathering place for great artists including Thomas Moran, Childe Hassam, William Merritt Chase, Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Charles Dana Gibson, Carl Rungius, Ogden Pleissner, Frank Tenney Johnson and many others. Honorary members have included such luminaries as Sir Winston Churchill, Buckminster Fuller, Paul Cadmus, Al Hirschfeld, and Thomas Hoving.