 A group of friends, all of them involved in architecture, art, or civic affairs, discussed the possibility of a new kind of club that would embrace all the arts.The establishment of the Club came at a time when American artists were increasingly turning to their own nation rather than exclusively to Europe as a center of work and creativity.Significantly, the Club would offer full membership for women at the onset, reflecting their accomplishment in the arts.While the group was working out an organizational plan, Charles DeKay, the literary and art critic of the "New York Times" for 18 years, returned from a diplomatic post abroad.