Glasgow Art Club

Glasgow Art Club
Formation 1867
Type The Arts
Headquarters Glasgow, Scotland
Location
  • 185 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4HU
Coordinates 55°51′52″N 4°15′45″W / 55.8645°N 4.2626°W / 55.8645; -4.2626Coordinates: 55°51′52″N 4°15′45″W / 55.8645°N 4.2626°W / 55.8645; -4.2626
President
 Efric McNeil
Website www.glasgowartclub.co.uk

Glasgow Art Club is a club for practising and retired artists and lay members with an interest in the arts, that has become over the generations “a meeting place for artists, business leaders and academics.”[1]

History and premises

One of Glasgow's, and Scotland’s, most respected institutions[1][2] Glasgow Art Club was founded in 1867 by amateur artist William Dennistoun and friends. Following initial discussions at a tea room above a baker’s shop in Candleriggs, Glasgow, on the proposal to form a club, the first formal meetings of the club were held at the Waverley Temperance Hotel, on Buchanan Street, Glasgow, with Dennistoun elected the club’s first president.[3] Membership was to grow during the 1870s, with professional artists joining and exhibitions being held and in 1875 the club moved to another hotel called the Waverley, this time one on the city’s Sauchiehall Street. From there the club was to relocate to the Royal Hotel on the city’s George Square, renting rooms for six months at a time, where life and sketching classes were held.

Membership of the club began to be extended beyond painters (in 1881 the pioneering photographer James Craig Annan was admitted as a ‘’photographic artist’’[4] and in 1903 John M. Crawford (another former pupil of Hamilton Academy), Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, became the first architect to be elected President of Glasgow Art Club.)[5]

In 1878 the club moved to rented premises at 62 Bothwell Street[3] and the need to raise funds led to a change in the club’s constitution and the admission in 1886 of male lay members with an interest in the arts (admission of women not extended until 1982.[3][6] ) With membership burgeoning new premises were rented at 151 Bath Street, these formally opened on 12 November 1886[7] but soon afterwards two adjacent town houses on Bath Street were purchased, these converted by the architect John Keppie, a member of the club, creating also an exhibition gallery in what were the back gardens of the adjacent houses. It has recently been discovered that the young Charles Rennie Mackintosh was involved in the decorative details of the renovations and created a mural.[8] The club’s new premises were formally opened on 14 June 1893.[9][10] The club has recently embarked on a major programme of renovation of its historic category A Listed building on Bath Street, Glasgow.[2]

The club first admitted women as members in 1984, and elected its first female president, Efric McNeil, in 2015.[11]

Exhibitions and notable exhibitors

The club’s stature in Glasgow was confirmed when on the occasion of the official opening by the Prince of Wales of the Glasgow International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry in 1888, the Lord Provost of Glasgow presented the Prince and Princess of Wales with an album of paintings by members of the Glasgow Art Club.[12] In the succeeding years the club has played host to many events, including, on the evening of 28 October 1932 a dinner honouring Dr. Pittendrigh Macgillivray RSA, King’s Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland a member of the Club for some fifty years, and club member James B. Anderson ARSA.[13]

Initially the Club’s exhibitions were open only to members, in later years admission extended also to the general public. In 2008 Glasgow Art Club exhibited the jewelled panel The White Rose and The Red Rose by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, wife of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, before its sale for £1.7 million at Christie's on 30 April 2008.[14] Since 2010 the club has opened its exhibition spaces and collections to the public on a regular basis (i.e. not just when specific exhibitions are being held.)[1]

Many notable member artists have exhibited at the club’s exhibitions, including:

The club's Winter exhibition of 1909 included works by: Sir James Guthrie, E A Hornel, Muirhead Bone (Britain’s first official War Artist, knighted 1937[15]) Sir David Murray RA[16]

The club's Spring exhibition of 1923 included works by: E A Hornel, Sir David Murray RA, James Kay[17]

The club's Memorial Exhibition of 1935 included works by: E A Walton, Sir James Guthrie, W Y Macgregor, James Paterson, Maurice William Greiffenhagen, Leslie Hunter, Stuart Park, E A Hornel[18]

The club’s exhibition April 1939 included works by: Sir John Lavery (exhibiting his The Lake at Ranelagh,) and J W Ferguson, who submitted a portrait[19]

Notable members

Notable members have included/include:

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Herald Scotland article 29 December 2009 Retrieved 2011-08-17
  2. 1 2 The Herald Scotland article 5 March 2011 Bankers in the frame to help out historic art institution Retrieved 2011-08-17
  3. 1 2 3 Glasgow Herald article 6 June 1893 Glasgow Art Club Retrieved 2011-08-17
  4. ↑ Article Sunday Herald 5 March 2006 Retrieved 2011-08-17
  5. 1 2 University of Strathclyde – Who’s Who in Glasgow 1909 Retrieved 2011-08-17
  6. ↑ Glasgow Herald article 27 March 1982 Club opens its doors to women after 100 years Retrieved 2011-08-17
  7. ↑ Glasgow Herald article 13 November 1886 Glasgow Art Club Retrieved 2011-08-17
  8. ↑ The Herald, Glasgow, article 29 December 2009 Treasures of a city institution to be shared as art club opens its doors Retrieved 2011-08-17
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain & Ireland 1851-1951 Retrieved 2011-08-17
  10. ↑ Glasgow Art Club history Retrieved 2011-08-17
  11. ↑ Custom byline text:  Phil Miller. "First woman elected president of illustrious art club". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  12. ↑ The Sydney Mail article 21 July 1888 The Glasgow Exhibition Retrieved 2011-08-17
  13. ↑ Glasgow Herald article 29 October 1932 Glasgow Art Club Two Members Honoured Retrieved 2011-08-17
  14. ↑ The Herald article 1 May 2008 Retrieved 2011-08-17
  15. 1 2 First World War pictures, biography Sir Muirhead Bone Retrieved 2011-08-17
  16. ↑ Glasgow Herald article 4 December 1909 The Glasgow Art Club – Interesting Exhibition Retrieved 2011-08-17
  17. ↑ Glasgow Herald article 3 March 1923 Glasgow Art Club - a notable spring show Retrieved 2011-08-17
  18. ↑ Glasgow Herald article 9 April 1935 Glasgow Art Club – Memorial Exhibition Opened Retrieved 2011-08-17
  19. ↑ Glasgow Herald article 1 April 1939 Glasgow Art Club Annual Exhibition Retrieved 2011-08-17
  20. ↑ Glasgow Herald article 29 October 1932 Glasgow Art Club Two Members Honoured Retrieved 2011-09-04
  21. ↑ Article Sunday Herald 5 March 2006 Retrieved 0211-09-04
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Glasgow Herald article 4 January 1943 Glasgow Art Club Exhibition Retrieved 2011-08-17
  23. ↑ Evening Times 29 July 1971 Retrieved 2011-08-17
  24. 1 2 Glasgow Herald article 1 April 1939 Glasgow Art Club Annual Exhibition Retrieved 2011-09-04
  25. ↑ The Alexander Goudie Trust - Biographical Notes
  26. 1 2 3 4 Glasgow Herald article 9 April 1935 Glasgow Art Club – Memorial Exhibition Opened Retrieved 2011-09-04
  27. 1 2 Glasgow Herald article 4 December 1909 The Glasgow Art Club – Interesting Exhibition Retrieved 2011-09-04
  28. ↑ Glasgow Herald article 9 April 1935 ‘’Glasgow Art Club – Memorial Exhibition Opened’’ Retrieved 2011-09-04
  29. ↑ Glasgow Herald article 3 March 1923 Glasgow Art Club - a notable spring show Retrieved 2011-09-04
  30. ↑ Glasgow Arts Club Retrieved 2011-09-04
  31. ↑ On-line biography, John McGhie 1868 – 1952 Retrieved 2011-08-17
  32. ↑ On-line biography Retrieved 2011-08-17
  33. ↑ The Herald article 21 March 1929 New ARSAs Retrieved 2011-08-17

Additional sources

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