NPAA History

1n 1974 when the NPAA was founded, there was a need for professional artists to band together to help each other promote the visual arts as well as to protect their artistic endeavors from being exploited by an uninformed public.

Most non-artists thought painting, drawing, and sculpting was "fun", "easy," and a "hobby." Therefore non profit organizations would call upon artists to donate works for auction to raise money for worthy causes and give nothing to the artist in return. Many times the work was sold for a small sum and often criticized.This was especially true in the case of abstract art.

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Where other professionals were asked for tax deductible monetary contributions, the artist was expected to give his work freely.

To initially create a uniform policy for art donations, three local artists and one art advocate (the Schabackers and Sundbergs) formed a basic organization that would represent local professional visual artists. The organization, named the Northwestern Pennsylvania Art Association (NPAA), then decided it would base its membership on the national organization "Artist Equity" which required its members to be accepted to at least three national exhibits. The first committee chosen to draft the bylaws included: Dan Burke, John Deckard, Tony Ko, Andrew Sanders, Betty Schabacker, Carl Sundberg, and John Vanco.

Now in its 50th year, the NPAA organizes several annual exhibits for its 130+ members’ participation, annually donates college scholarship monies to local graduating high-school seniors, and generally promotes the visual arts in the tri-county community.

NPAA Board

Greg Zbach

President

  • Artist Member
  • Photographer
  • Digital Art

Rich Holmgren

Treasurer

  • Artist Member
  • Nature Artist

Sarah Hlusko Everhart

Secretary

  • Friend of NPAA

Deb Berkebile

Director/Membership

  • Artist Member
  • Fiber Art

Marsha Cisek

Director/Exhibitions

  • Artist Member
  • Fiber Art
  • Mixed Media

Robert Martin

Director/Advisory

  • Artist Member
  • Painter Oil & Acrylic

James R. Steadman, Esq.

Advisory to the Board

Founders List

Dan Burke
John Silk Deckard
Tony Ko
Andrew Sanders
Betty Schabacker
Carl Sundberg
John Vanco

First Members List

Roy Ahlgren
Evelyn Askey
Nancy Bacon
Robert W. Banks
Betty Bartholme
Dan Burke
Kenneth C. Burkhart
James R. Chizmadia
Sr. Mary Angelica Cummings
Neil Daugherty
John Fosco
Edward Higgins
Mary Lou Higgins
​Vitus J. Kaiser
Henry Katzwinkle
Dan Kelleher
Steven Kemenyffy
Susan Kemenyffy
Peggy Krider
Robert A. Krider
Patrick Lally
Sarah M. Laudenslager
Fred Livingston
Ernest Mauthe
Clair McLain
James C. Myford
Howard Neibling
Anne M. Philbin
Joseph Plavcan
Tom Potocki
Mary J. Rosiak
Betty B. Schabacker
Robert B. Schabacker
Francis Schanz
Jean Stull
David Seitzinger
Carl Sundberg
Wilda Sundberg
John Vahanian
John Vanco
Lois Wiley