Glasgow Art Club
Encyclopedia
Glasgow Art Club is a club for practicing 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.”
, 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. 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’’ 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.)
In 1878 the club moved to rented premises at 62 Bothwell Street 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. ) With membership burgeoning new premises were rented at 151 Bath Street, these formally opened on 12 November 1886 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. The club’s new premises were formally opened on the 14 June 1893. The club has recently embarked on a major programme of renovation of its historic category A Listed building on Bath Street, Glasgow.
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. 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
.
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. 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.)
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) Sir David Murray RA
The club's Spring exhibition of 1923 included works by: E A Hornel
, Sir David Murray RA, James Kay
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
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
History and premises
One of Glasgow's, and Scotland’s, most respected institutions 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 CandleriggsCandleriggs
Candleriggs is a street in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is located in the Merchant City area of the city centre.Candleriggs is best known for it being the home of City Halls, a musical venue operated by Glasgow City Council. The old Candleriggs Fruit Market building at the corner of...
, 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
Buchanan Street
Buchanan Street is one of the main shopping thoroughfares in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. It forms the central stretch of Glasgow's famous shopping district with a generally more upmarket range of shops than the neighbouring streets: Argyle Street, and Sauchiehall Street.-History:...
, Glasgow, with Dennistoun elected the club’s first president. 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
Sauchiehall Street
Sauchiehall Street is one of the main shopping/business streets in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Along with Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, it forms the main shopping area of Glasgow, containing the majority of Glasgow's high street and chain stores.Although commonly associated with the...
. From there the club was to relocate to the Royal Hotel on the city’s George Square
George Square
George Square is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is named after King George III.-Historical development:George Square was laid out in 1781, part of the innovative Georgian central grid plan that initially spanned from Stockwell Street east to Buchanan Street—which...
, 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
James Craig Annan
James Craig Annan was a pioneering Scottish-born photographer and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society.The second son of photographer Thomas Annan, James Craig Annan was born at Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the 8 March 1864...
was admitted as a ‘’photographic artist’’ and in 1903 John M. Crawford (another former pupil of Hamilton Academy
Hamilton Academy
Hamilton Academy was a school situated in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.Described as "one of the finest schools in Scotland" in the Cambridge University Press County Biography of 1910, Hamilton Academy featured in the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association Magazine article series on...
), Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
, became the first architect to be elected President of Glasgow Art Club.)
In 1878 the club moved to rented premises at 62 Bothwell Street 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. ) With membership burgeoning new premises were rented at 151 Bath Street, these formally opened on 12 November 1886 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
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, watercolourist and artist. He was a designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and also the main representative of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom. He had a considerable influence on European design...
was involved in the decorative details of the renovations and created a mural. The club’s new premises were formally opened on the 14 June 1893. The club has recently embarked on a major programme of renovation of its historic category A Listed building on Bath Street, Glasgow.
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 IndustryInternational Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry
The International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry was the first of 4 international exhibitions held in Glasgow, Scotland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It took place at Kelvingrove Park between May and November 1888...
in 1888, the Lord Provost
Lord Provost
A Lord Provost is the figurative and ceremonial head of one of the principal cities of Scotland. Four cities, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, have the right to appoint a Lord Provost instead of a provost...
of Glasgow presented the Prince and Princess of Wales with an album of paintings by members of the Glasgow Art Club. 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
James Pittendrigh Macgillivray
Dr. James Pittendrigh MacGillivray was a prominent Scottish sculptor. He was born in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, the son of a sculptor, and studied under William Brodie and John Mossman...
RSA
Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...
, King’s Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland
Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland
The Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland is a member of the Royal household in Scotland. The first appointment was made by Queen Victoria around 1838, although it was not listed as a member of the Royal household until the 1870s. The office was made permanent in 1921.-Office holders:Holders of the...
a member of the Club for some fifty years, and club member James B. Anderson ARSA
Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...
.
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
Margaret MacDonald (artist)
Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh was a Scottish artist whose design work became one of the defining features of the "Glasgow Style" during the 1890s....
, wife of Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, watercolourist and artist. He was a designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and also the main representative of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom. He had a considerable influence on European design...
, before its sale for £1.7 million at Christie’s on 30 April 2008. 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.)
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
James Guthrie (artist)
Sir James Guthrie was a Scottish painter, best known in his own lifetime for his portraiture, although today more generally regarded as a painter of Scottish Realism.-Life and work:...
, E A Hornel
Edward Atkinson Hornel
Edward Atkinson Hornel was a Scottish painter of landscapes, flowers, and foliage, with children. He was a cousin of James Hornell....
, Muirhead Bone
Muirhead Bone
Sir Muirhead Bone was a Scottish etcher, drypoint and watercolour artist.The son of a printer, Bone was born in Glasgow and trained initially as an architect, later going on to study art at Glasgow School of Art. He began printmaking in 1898, and although his first known print was a lithograph, he...
(Britain’s first official War Artist, knighted 1937) Sir David Murray RA
The club's Spring exhibition of 1923 included works by: E A Hornel
Edward Atkinson Hornel
Edward Atkinson Hornel was a Scottish painter of landscapes, flowers, and foliage, with children. He was a cousin of James Hornell....
, Sir David Murray RA, James Kay
James Kay (artist)
James Kay was a Scottish artist notable for his paintings of the landscapes and shipping around the River Clyde. Born on the Isle of Arran, Kay spent much of his working life with a studio in Glasgow and living at Portincaple on Loch Long in Argyll and Bute...
The club's Memorial Exhibition of 1935 included works by: E A Walton
Edward Arthur Walton
Edward Arthur Walton was a Scottish painter of landscapes and portraits. Edward was one of twelve children of Jackson Walton, a Manchester commission agent and a competent painter and photographer...
, Sir James Guthrie
James Guthrie (artist)
Sir James Guthrie was a Scottish painter, best known in his own lifetime for his portraiture, although today more generally regarded as a painter of Scottish Realism.-Life and work:...
, W Y Macgregor
William York Macgregor
William York Macgregor was a Scottish landscape painter.Macgregor studied in Glasgow under Robert Greenlees and Docharty and at the Slade School under Alphonse Legros. He joined James Paterson in 1878 and they were co-founders of the Glasgow School...
, James Paterson
James Paterson (painter)
James Paterson , was a Scottish landscape painter who settled in Edinburgh and produced several accomplished portraits of some of his notable contemporaries...
, Maurice William Greiffenhagen, Leslie Hunter
Leslie Hunter
George Leslie Hunter , commonly just called Leslie Hunter, was a self-taught Scottish painter and one of the artists of the Scottish Colourists school of painting. He spent much of his early life in California, USA, but returned later to Scotland and traveled widely in Europe, especially in the...
, Stuart Park, E A Hornel
Edward Atkinson Hornel
Edward Atkinson Hornel was a Scottish painter of landscapes, flowers, and foliage, with children. He was a cousin of James Hornell....
The club’s exhibition April 1939 included works by: Sir John Lavery
John Lavery
Sir John Lavery was an Irish painter best known for his portraits.Belfast-born John Lavery attended the Haldane Academy, in Glasgow, in the 1870s and the Académie Julian in Paris in the early 1880s. He returned to Glasgow and was associated with the Glasgow School...
(exhibiting his The Lake at Ranelagh,) and J W Ferguson
John Duncan Fergusson
John Duncan Fergusson was a Scottish artist, regarded as one of the major artists of the Scottish Colourists school of painting.- Early life :...
, who submitted a portrait
Additional sources
- Glasgow Art Club 1867 -1967, the First Hundred Years Glasgow Art Club 1967
- The Year’s Art 1890: A Concise Epitome of all Matters Relating to the Arts of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture which have occurred during the year 1889, together with information respecting the events of the year 1890 page 158