About Us

The National Society of Arts and Letters (NSAL) was founded in the summer of 1944 in Washington, DC by Mrs. Jesse W. Nicholson of Chevy Chase and Mrs. A. E. Nielsen of Chicago.  The Washington Chapter, originally named the Chevy Chase Chapter, was founded by Dorothy Nicholson Stabell in October of the same year.

NSAL is a non-profit, volunteer organization of men and women who are professionally engaged in the visual, literary and performing arts; who have training or competence in a brand of the creative arts; or who have demonstrated a commitment to assist young artists.  Through local chapters, NSAL has been supporting emerging talent for 62 years with competitive National Career Awards in art, dance, drama, literature, music, and musical theater.

In the Spring of 2006, the Washington Chapter also supported talented young American artists through scholarships at Duke Ellington School of the Arts, the Dance Institute of Washington, and the Suzanne Farrell Ballet Program at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 

In 2004, the Washington Chapter inaugurated the annual Award for Excellence in the Arts Program.  In 2011, this program recognized over 100 high school juniors from 34 different high schools in the Washington metropolitan area.

WASHINGTON CHAPTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2011-2012

New Chapter President Celia Josephs (left)

receives congratulations from outgoing Chapter President Carla Jones-Batka

——— Elected Officers ———

WASHINGTON CHAPTER PAST PRESIDENTS

Dorothy Nicholson Stabell 1944 - 1947 

Mrs. William W. Edwards* 1947-48

Edwina Morrow* 1948 - 1949

Eunice Hessick* 1949 - 1950

Mrs. James E. Douglass* 1950-51

Mrs. George B. Agnew, Jr. 1951-52

Mrs. Richard Hunt, Jr.* 1952-53

Mrs. Robert L. Walsh* 1953-55

Helen Gruver Kline*  1955 - 1957

Janet  Green*  1957 - 1958

Polly Logan* 1958 - 1960

Deena Clark*  1960 - 1962

Kathleen Bell* 1962 - 1963

Dorothy S. Hatch* 1963 - 1965

Mrs. Charles K. Holmes* 1965-67

Mrs. Donald B. Murphy* 1967-69

Mrs. Carl C. Mose*1969-70

June Rightor Saylor 1970 - 1972

Suzanne Mullett Smith* 1972 - 1973

Minerva Wilson Andrews 1973 - 1974

Dorothy Nicholson Stabell  1974 - 1976

Blanche H. Bedwell* 1976 - 1978

Mara Marshall* 1978 - 1980

Barbara (Bobbie) K Godridge 1980 - 1982

Mary Frances Pearson 1982 - 1984

Audrey King Peery* 1984 - 1986

Beth Osgood Chanock* 1986 - 1988

Gene Ferris Benedict 1988 - 1990

Beatrice (Bea) Dingwell Loos 1990 - 1992

Catriona Tudor Erler 1992 - 1994

Nancy Brockman 1994 - 1996

Catriona Tudor Erler 1996 - 1998

Stephanie Stoyanoff 1998 - 2000

Claire Lent 2000 - 2002

Lynn Hildebrand Hessick 2002 - 2004

Alicia Phillips Klaffky 2004 - 2006

Helen Lee Henderson 2006

Alicia Phillips Klaffky (Acting) 2006 - 2007

Janice Nevin 2007 - 2009

Carla Jones Batka 2009 - 2011

* Deceased

WASHINGTON CHAPTER

HIGHLIGHTS PAST WINNERS

The following series of posters were designed for display at our Second Annual Viennese Ball held at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC.  The posters highlight some of our winners from five of the six artistic disciplines supported by NSAL.  Shown respectively are Art, Dance, Drama, Literature, and Music.  Designed by member Katherine Kyle, the actual poster size is 24 by 36 inches.  

Please click on poster to enlarge.

WASHINGTON CHAPTER ADVISORS

Robert Aubry Davis

WETA, Radio Broadcaster and Television Performer

Denyce Graves

Mezzo-Soprano

Wilhelmina Cole Holladay

Founder and President, The National Museum of Women in the Arts

Ernest S. Johnston

President, Ernest S. Johnston Advertising Agency

Michael Kahn

Artistic Director, The Shakespeare Theatre

Edward Newman

Pianist and past NSAL Washington piano competition grant winner

Robert Pullen

Producer and Director, Special Programming, The Kennedy Center

Marianna Tcherkassky

Dancer

Frank Wright

Artist

WASHINGTON CHAPTER AWARD FUND

Stars

($50,000 and above)

The Mary Rich Peery Fife Memorial in Dance

The Eleanor Searle Whitney McCollum Vocal Award

The Mollie Davis Nicholson Career Award

Laureates

($30,000 - $49,999)

The Constance Caraway Erskine Memorial

The Marvin Breckenridge Patterson Legacy

The Frank and Hilda W. Reinhart Memorial

Conductors

($10,000 - $29,999)

The Byrde Leona Taggart Deike Memorial

The Charlotte Hamilton Ferris Memorial in Dance

The JoAnne D. Hanson Dance Legacy

The Mildred B. Frame Memorial Award

Helen Lee Henderson

The McNichols Family Foundation

The Bonita Crowe Wagner Music Legacy

Masters

($5,000 - $9,999)

The Helen Gruver Kline Legacy in Music

The Nancy Peery Marriott Foundation

The Katherine Nordell Lloyd Music Award

The Harriet L. Newbill Art Award

——————————————————————————————

 National Organization

The National Society of Arts and Letters is a not-for-profit organization of men and women who are engaged professionally in the arts, or who actively sponsor the work of young artists.  Founded in 1944, there are 22 chapters and over 1,450 members throughout the United States.  Membership is by invitation.

The purpose of NSAL is to encourage and financially assist talented young artists at the beginning of their careers.  In accord with these aims, annual competitions are held on the local and national levels in the categories of music, musical theater, literature, drama, dance and the visual arts, each on a rotating basis. Substantial monetary awards are offered to the primary winners.

To assist NSAL, distinguished members of a National Advisory Council give advice and support to its work.

Local competitions, professionally juried, are held at the chapter level where awards, grants, showcasing, and publicity are given to the winners.  Each chapter then sends its first prize winner to the NSAL National Career Awards Competition held each spring during the annual meeting.  The National Career Awards, consisting of monetary awards, are given to the winners of the National Competition to encourage and further their professional careers. The judges are selected from professional, nationally and internationally known artists in their respective fields.

The competitions provide opportunities for young talent to be heard and seen by these acclaimed judges, by professional critics, managers, producers, and teachers, as well as patrons of the arts and members of the media. The Society continues to assist and showcase past winners as well.  The organization encourages the highest artistic integrity while aiming to promote a greater public interest in the arts.

The website for the National Organization is:  www.arts-nsal.org

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION ADVISORY COUNCIL

PAST AND PRESENT

The Society is grateful to our Advisors for their support of our programs.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION HONORARY MEMBERS

Mrs. George W. Bush

Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton

Mrs. George H. Bush

Mrs. Ronald Reagan

Mrs. Jimmy Carter

Mrs. Gerald R. Ford

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION GOLD MEDAL OF MERIT

AWARD AND RECIPIENTS

The Gold Medal of Merit is the highest honor bestowed by The National Society of Arts and Letters.  It is awarded, after nomination and vote by the Board of Directors, to those individuals whose lifetime achievements in the arts embody the highest standards, and whose careers will stand as role models for young artists.

Gold Medal recipients further support the Society by attending special NSAL banquets held in their honor where area competition winners have the privilege of performing for them and receiving their encouragement and advice.

Art

Al Hirschfeld
Louise Nevelson

Dance

Agnes de Mille
George Balanchine
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Loti Falk Gaffney - 1990

Fernando Bujones - 2006

Ann Barzel - 2000

Daniel Lewis - 1995

Drama

Dame Judith Anderson

Jean Dalrymple
Jose Ferrer - 1989
Joseph Papp

Jim Nabors - 2005

John Lithgow - 2009

Literature

John Toland

Wendell Berry - 2003

Music

Kitty Carlisle Hart

Marilyn Horne
Mstislav Rostropovich - 1992
Andre Watts
Chancellor Herman Wells

Menahem Pressler (piano) - 2002

Roberta Peters (voice) - 2008

Musical Theater

Stephen Flaherty - 2004

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Please join the Washington Chapter of NSAL’s Facebook page by clicking on:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=174152951631&v=info

The National Web Site for NSAL can be found at: 

www.arts-nsal.org