The Art Club of Philadelphia, often called the Philadelphia Art Club, was a club in Philadelphia, founded on February 7, 1887, to advance the arts. It took on the same spirit as the Century Club of New York City: a comfortable, even opulent, place for member artists and art amateurs to work, stay, and socialize. Its charter proclaimed: The Art Club was one of the country's leading venues for solo and group art shows. Each year, the club presented a gold medal to the artist of an outstanding work, an art award that was viewed as one of the nation's most prestigious.