The Albert M. Bender Grants-In-Aid were grants awarded to Bay Area residents who wanted to complete projects in art, literature, and photography. The yearly contest was administered by the San Francisco Art Association from 1942 to 1953. The trust was first formed in 1941 after Bender’s death and the first grants were awarded in 1942. Albert M. Bender (1866-1941) was born in Dublin, Ireland, but moved to the United States as a teenager. As an adult, he supported the arts in the San Francisco Bay Area through the patronage of Bay Area artists like Ansel Adams. He also helped support universities like Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and Mills College, as well as organizations like the San Francisco Public Library, the San Francisco Museum of Art (later the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art), and the California School of Fine Arts (later the San Francisco Art Institute).

The San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) is a private fine arts college which dates back to 1874 when the San Francisco Art Association, an organization founded in 1871 to promote and exhibit local artists, first began offering art classes to the public. The school was known as the California School of Design from 1874 through 1916, and the California School of Fine Arts from 1916 through 1961, when it became the San Francisco Art Institute.

7 boxes of paper documents

Much of the material in this collection is under copyright protection. Contact the San Francisco Art Institute Library for questions or requests regarding use of these materials.

The collection is open for research use.