 According to Jean Womack, former CSP historian, Mel Strawn (1929–) and Will Petersen (1928–1994) placed an ad in a national art magazine announcing themselves as the Bay Printmakers Society hosting a national exhibition.Work was to be sent to the address cited even though a location for the actual show had not yet been established.As the work poured in, Paul Mills, then director of the Oakland Museum of Art, provided the venue, and remained a strong supporter during the next five national exhibitions.