Between the 1930s and the early 1950s the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida developed into the largest art colony in the south. Through the efforts of a small group of dedicated professional and amateur resident artists, they founded the St. Augustine Arts Club in 1931.

This organization was renamed the Arts Club of St. Augustine in 1934, and St. Augustine Art Association in 1948, serving as the nucleus of the city's artistic activity. In an unusual alliance between culture and commerce, the Art Association was enthusiastically supported by St. Augustine's civic-minded businessmen and retail merchants, who recognized that it had the potential to contribute to the city's economic revival.