History of the ADCMW

Founded in 1953 as the Washington Art Directors Club, the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington (ADCMW) is the oldest and largest graphic arts organization in the Washington area.

Graphic designers had been organizing events for the local art community prior to 1953; interest in recognition for graphic works can be traced at least as far back as 1917 when the late George Lohr, third president of the club, began organizing shows in the Washington area. Prior to the creation of the ADCMW, the short-lived Washington Society of Commercial Artists put together one or two shows in the 1930s. The Advertising Club also provided some support for shows by artists and art directors; the first was probably held in the old Raleigh Hotel in 1942.

After somewhat irregular exhibitions in the 1940s, the graphic design and advertising communities began holding shows on a yearly basis beginning in 1950. These shows were sponsored by the Ad Club until 1953, when they were co-organized with the newly-formed Washington Art Directors Club (now known as the ADCMW). The club took over sole sponsorship of the Annual Show in 1956. Though the club was not formed until 1953, Annual Shows are numbered beginning in 1950.

At the time the ADCMW was formed, many other cities were forming organizatons as well. The ADCMW and many other organizations were originally affiliated with the National Society of Art Directors, which held yearly conventions and elected national officers. The Society dissolved in 1967 and the National Society of Communicating Arts was formed in 1968 to replace it. The ADCMW and many of the other organizations elected not to join, and the NSCA was disbanded. The existence of the club was threatened in 1954 when Sen. Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee suspected the ADCMW, like other organizations and individuals with creative minds and occupations, of being a Communist front organization. Fortunately, the club managed to ride out the storm.

FullBleed, the club's magazine, was begun in 1955 with Dan Hasson as the first editor. The name came as a last-minute inspiration to Bill Guillet, who won the contest to name the new publication. His winning entry, written on a napkin moments before the deadline, earned him a lifetime subscription.

Education has been a primary concern of the ADCMW from its inception. To that end, the Brian Brown Scholarship Fund was instituted in 1958 in memory of Brian Brown, a charter member of the ADCMW. The scholarship provides tuition grants for talented art students in the area.