ARTISTS ORGANISATIONS

The Chelsea Arts Club

Chelsea s artistic reputation dates from the late 19thC and early 20thC when the district contained the homes of painters such as James Whistler, George Washington Lambert, and Augustus John.

In 1891 a group of artists that included Whistler and Walter Sickert founded The Chelsea Arts Club. The organisation s original premises were on the Kings Road in the home of one of its members. In 1902 it acquired No. 143 Old Church Street.

Six years later the Club organised the first Chelsea Arts Ball. The annual event soon developed a bacchanalian reputation. It was usually staged in the Royal Albert Hall. In 1959 the Ball was held for the final time.

In the 1950s some artists still lived in Chelsea. However, concrete underpinning and other advances in building technology converted period property from being a liability into being an asset. Thereafter, only the successful or the fortunate could afford to live off the Kings Road.

Location: 143 Old Church Street, SW3 6EB (orange, red)

See Also: BOHEMIA; DISTRICT CHANGE

Website: https://chelseaartsclub.com

The New English Art Club

Painters such John Lavery, John Singer Sargent, and Philip Wilson Steer found that the Royal Academy had become limited in its outlook. Therefore, in 1886 they were founding members of the New English Art Club.

The Club's annual exhibition takes place at Mall Galleries.

Location: Mall Galleries, 17 Carlton House Terrace, SW1Y 5BD (purple, red)

Website: www.newenglishartclub.co.uk https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/about-us/new-english-art-club

The Royal Academy of Arts

The Royal Academy of Arts is a private, member-run body that was founded in 1768 for people working in the visual arts. The organisation's first president was the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds.¹ It started its institutional life in Pall Mall. From 1780 it resided in Somerset House, from 1838 it was located in a wing of the National Gallery, and since 1869 it has been in Burlington House.

The original townhouse was built on a palatial scale. In the late 19thC the building was enlarged by another floor being constructed on top of it and a number of galleries being erected upon the site's northern face.

Location: Burlington House, 50 Piccadilly, W1J 0BD (orange, brown)

6 Burlington Gardens, W1S 3ET (orange, purple)

Website: www.royalacademy.org.uk

¹. The layout of the four fountains in Burlington House's Annenberg Courtyard (2000) is supposed to be a representation of the disposition of the planets at the time of the birth of Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723).

A.R.A.s and R.A.s

Recruits to the Academy are chosen by means of elections in which the existing Academicians vote. New members first hold an Associateship; at any one time there are up 30 A.R.A.s. A.R.A.s can be elected as a full R.A., of which there is a ceiling of 40. Once an Academician reaches the age of seventy-five s/he becomes a Senior Academician.

The length of time that an artist has had A.R.A. status has a limited bearing on the speed with which s/he becomes an R.A., although, when the competition for the senior rank is less keen, there may be something of a sympathy vote. Once an artist has been elected s/he is required to donate a diploma work to the Academy's permanent collection.

In 1936 the artist Laura Knight became the first woman to be elected a full academician.

Website: www.royalacademy.org.uk/royalacademicians

The Royal College of Art Gang Revolution

By the second half the 20thC The Royal Academy had acquired a reputation amongst artists and architects for being hidebound and reactionary. During the early 1960s the organisation was subjected to a palace revolution by the Royal College of Art Gang . The band's members included Sir Hugh Casson, Roger de Grey, Frederick Gore, Colin Hayes, and Carel Weight. The group went on to become the new Royal Academy establishment. Under their influence, the institution was careful to draw in Britain's leading artists and architects as A.R.A.s and R.A.s. It is probable that painters such Peter Blake and David Hockney and architects such as Lord Foster and Sir James Stirling would not have been interested in becoming members of the Academy had it continued along the course that it had been set upon prior to the coup.

Summer Exhibition

The retailing tycoon Harry Selfridge displayed in his department store works of art that had been rejected for display in the R.A.'s Summer show.

The Royal Watercolour Society

The Royal Watercolour Society was founded in 1804.

In 1980 the Society's Bankside Gallery opened.

Location: Bankside Gallery, 48 Hopton Street, SE1 9JH (blue, red)

Website: www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk

David Backhouse 2024