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Originally founded as the Museum Patrons Association in 1925, the Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA) supported California artists and played an integral role in developing the Los Angeles art community.
The original intent of the Museum Patrons Association was to purchase works of art for the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art. In 1933, the organization separated from the museum and was renamed the Los Angeles Art Association with a primary goal to connect to the broader Los Angeles art community through exhibitions, limited sales, rentals, events, and education. In 1944, with Helen Wurdemann (1892-1988) as Executive Director, the LAAA began to focus more on contemporary local artists, providing a place for the Southern California "hard-edge" abstractionist movement to flourish. In 1951, California painter Lorser Feitelson curated an exhibition of Hans Burkhardt, the LAAA's first solo exhibition of a local artist. Throughout its existence and continuing today, the LAAA has served as a place for arts education, outreach, and community-from its representation of artists studying under the GI bill between 1953 and 1965, to its participation in Monday night art-walks after its move to "Gallery Row" in 1960.