From the late 1870’s, Salmagundi’s Thumb-box show has paid homage to the diverse mediums, artistic styles, and brilliant talents of the Club’s artist members and is supported by generous patrons of the arts. The Thumb-box exhibition helps to foster the Club’s founding mission and charitable objectives: creating a community for artists, supporting the work of fellow artists, support emerging artists and presenting cultural and educational art events to the public.

This exciting exhibition will be held in, the beautiful Skylight Gallery of Salmagundi’s landmark Fifth Avenue clubhouse – the last surviving mansion of its kind in New York City – has been transformed into a vibrant showcase of juried fine art, to be available for purchase and enjoyed by the public, by collectors, and by the broader Salmagundi member & artist communities.

The name of the show stems from the old saying “Thumb-box paintings”, which are similar to what most galleries today call ‘small works,’ ‘cabinet works’ or ‘intimate works.’ The yearly Salmagundi exhibition received the official show name ‘thumb-box’ after the compact wooden paint box that was used to paint outdoor locations and then to carry the wet panels back to the studio. The  traditional rules are upheld in the show to this day and specify works of less than 20 x 16 inches in either direction.

Participants have included historical artists such as: Junius Allen, R.S. Bredin, John Fabian Carlson, Antonio Cirino, John Folinsbee, Antonio Martino, Hobart Nichols, Thomas Olenchak, John Pellew, Arthur Towell, John Gale Tyler, Walter Granville Smith, and John Scott Williams, to name only a few.