ART
SOCIETIES
together is apparent, for, by the establishment of societies, it becomes possible for the working members of these to hold exhibitions and thereby to obtain some compensation or reward for their labours. With the growth of artistic practice and public interest, however, art societies have been instituted where this primary object is either absent or is allied to others of more general scope. The furtherance of a cult and the specializing of work have also given rise to many new associations in Great Britain, besides the Royal Academy {q.v.). At the outset, therefore, it will be well to mention the leading art societies thus described. The (now Roy at) Society of Painters in Water Colours, founded in 1804, and the (now Royal) Society of British Artists (1823), are typical of those societies which exist merely for purposes of holding exhibitions and conferring diplomas of membership. The Artists' Society, formed in 1830, has for its object the providing of facilities to enable its members to perfect themselves in their art. To this end there is a good library of works on art, and abundant opportunities are afforded for general study from the life. In the furtherance of a cult the Japan Society, devoted to the encouragement of the study of the arts and industries of Japan, is a typical example ; and the Society of Mezzotint Engravers is representative of those bodies formed in the interests of particular groups of workers. One of the remarkable features in the history of art in Great Britain has been the rapid increase of the artistic rank and file. Taking the number of exhibitors at the principal London and provincial exhibitions, it is found that in the period 1885-1900 the ranks were doubled. At the end of the 19 th century it was estimated that there were quite 7000 practising artists. Coincident with this astonishing development there has been a corresponding addition of new art societies and the enlargement of older bodies. For instance, the membership of the Royal Society of British Artists advanced in the period mentioned from 80 to 150. Similar extensions can be noted in other societies, or in such a case as that of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, where the membership has remained fixed, it is to be noticed that more space is given to the works of outsiders. But the expansion of older exhibiting societies has not proved sufficient. Portrait painters, pastel lists, designers, miniaturists, and women artists have felt the necessity of forming separate coteries. Interesting though these movements from within may be, the growth of societies originating in the spirit of altruism associated with such names as Ruskin and Kyrle is equally instructive. Nearly all these are the products of the last quarter of the century and include the Sunday Society, which in 1896 secured the Sunday opening of the National Museums and Galleries in the Metropolis. The specializing of study and work has also given rise to much artistic endeavour. For a long time archaeology— British and Egyptian—claimed almost exclusive attention. Latterly the arts of India and Japan have engaged much notice, and societies have been organized to further their study. Finally, bands of workers in particular branches of art have felt the need of clubbing together in order to protect their special interests. A slight suspicion of tradeunionism is attached to some of these; but on the whole the establishment of such bodies as the Society of Illustrators, the Society of Designers, and the Society of Mezzotint Engravers has been with a view to advancing the public knowledge of the merits of these branches of artistic enterprise. Exhibiting Societies.—{a) Old Established.—These in London are : The Royal Academy, the Royal Water Colour Society, the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, the Sqciety of Oil Painters, and the Royal Society of British Artists. In the provinces, the Birmingham Royal
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Society of Artistsh&s been in existence seventy-four years, and has a life academy with professors attached, (b) Modern.— In this category are many which reflect the freshness and spirit of the enterprise shown during the last twentyfive years. Such a body as the New English Art Club, founded in 1885 as a protest against all other art societies, achieves its purpose by exhibition only. The Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, consisting ©f fellows and associates, not exceeding 150 in all, conserves the interests of a numerous body of workers, and, in addition to holding exhibitions, confers diplomas (R.E. and A.R.E.) on the exhibitors of meritorious etchings or engravings. The Society of Women Artists (formerly the Society of Lady Artists) is wholly devoted to the display of works by female artists, and in 1891 the Society of Portrait Painters was formed to carry out the object conveyed in its title. Two associations advance the art of the miniature painter, and the Pastel Society, formed in 1898, holds displays of members’ work at the Royal Institute Galleries. In Scotland there is the Royal Scottish Academy. The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Water Colours (Glasgow) grants the title R.S.W. to its members, and the Society of Scottish Artists (Edinburgh), founded in 1891, has a membership of nearly 500 young artists. Other exhibiting societies which call for mention are : The Yorkshire Union of Artists (Leeds), which consolidates many local societies; the Nottingham Society of Artists, which also encourages drawing from the living model; and similarly the Liver Sketching (Liverpool), founded nearly thirty years ago, which, in addition to holding an annual exhibition, devotes four nights a week to drawing from life. Societies of Instruction and Popular Encouragement.—It is under this head that the chief evidence of the modern art revival will be found. First it should be noted that there are very few societies designed for the artistic improvement of artists. The Artists' Society has already been mentioned • and the Art Workers' Guild, which meets at Clifford’s Inn Hall, provides meetings, from which the public is excluded, where profitable discussions take place on questions of craft and design. But, as a rule, the art society, of which only artists are members, is organized for exhibition purposes or for the protection of interests. With regard to those societies of popular and educational intention the old Society of Arts in the Adelphi, founded in 1754, enjoys a good record. Numerous lectures on art subjects have from time to time been given, and in 1887 a scheme was devised by which awards are made to student-workers in design. The Society for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts (Conduit Street) has also laboured during the last half-century to increase a technical knowledge, its members holding conversazioni at various picture galleries. The Artists' and Amateurs' Conversazione, instituted in 1831, which used to meet at the Piccadilly Galleries and is now defunct, carried out a similar plan. Two other societies, now obsolete, should be mentioned whose methods were directly educational. The Arundel Society, which for many years promoted the knowledge of art by copying and publishing important works of ancient masters, issued to its members on payment of annual subscriptions, was eventually wound up on the last day of 1897. The International Chalcographical Society, formed for the study of the early history of engraving— its committee consisting of Messrs Sidney Colvin, Georges Duplessis, F. Lippmann, and Baron Edmond de Rothschild —also did useful work. Another association of painters, sculptors, architects, and engravers, the Graphic Society, ceased on the 29th October 1890. This was one of the most interesting of societies, and its meetings, at which rare works of art were exhibited and discussed, were held in the Flaxman Gallery at University College. A very
