DOI Heft:
No. 216 (February 1915)
DOI Artikel:Churcher, Walter: The London Sketch Club
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43457#0376
The London Sketch Club
“ THE CHALK PIT ”
BY WALTER CHURCH ER
contributed them. They were duly hung in a row on
a beam. One Sketch Clubber, who was a member
of both clubs, presided one evening at a supper
there, at which the late Sir L. Alma Tadema was
the guest of the evening. Towards the end of the
meal the room became insufferably hot, and the
host inquired if his distinguished guest had any
objection to the windows being opened. “Not at
all! ” retorted the R.A., glancing up at the latest
diploma gift. “ It is rather muggy up here ! ”
Late were the nights we sometimes had in the
past, and when the ten o’clock war order came
into force, my trepidation as chairman of one of
the Sketch Club’s suppers was great, for the order
had to be strictly carried out, and I foresaw diffi¬
culties. However, all
ended happily, for, as ten
o’clock struck, the bar
closed with a bang, and
three members in police
uniform emerged from the
cloak-room and either
overset or drank the con-
tents of every glass in the
room. Thus was the law
complied with, and my
fears dispelled. We may
often act like schoolboys,
but it is good to be able
to do so, and it is a union
of useful work and joyous
relaxation which enables
the London Sketch Club
to retain its large member-
ship in spite of drawbacks
and after discouragements.
Since the writer, two
years ago, concluded
nearly ten years of secre-
taryship, his duties have
been jointly undertaken by
Mr. Leonard Calvert and
Mr. Marston Edwards, a
happy combination in
which a thorough Bo-
hemian with a wide know-
ledge of art methods and
traditions harmoniously
co-operates with a clever
man of business ; and
with Mr. Harry Rountree
succeeding Mr. Joseph
Harker as President of the
year, the Club not only
continues to assist young artists to come into their
own but perpetuates a series of weekly gatherings
which serve to impart keen enjoyment to all who
attend them.
Mr. J. Lavery, A.R.A., has presented to the
Victoria and Albert Museum the portrait which he
painted last year of Auguste Rodin. He wishes
the gift to be regarded as a tribute to Rodin from
British Art. It is designed to reciprocate the
sentiments which inspired Rodin to make his
magnifieent give of sculpture to the museum, in
admiration of the heroism of French and British
soldiers now fighting side by side. The portrait
was reproduced in our June Number.
255
“ THE CHALK PIT ”
BY WALTER CHURCH ER
contributed them. They were duly hung in a row on
a beam. One Sketch Clubber, who was a member
of both clubs, presided one evening at a supper
there, at which the late Sir L. Alma Tadema was
the guest of the evening. Towards the end of the
meal the room became insufferably hot, and the
host inquired if his distinguished guest had any
objection to the windows being opened. “Not at
all! ” retorted the R.A., glancing up at the latest
diploma gift. “ It is rather muggy up here ! ”
Late were the nights we sometimes had in the
past, and when the ten o’clock war order came
into force, my trepidation as chairman of one of
the Sketch Club’s suppers was great, for the order
had to be strictly carried out, and I foresaw diffi¬
culties. However, all
ended happily, for, as ten
o’clock struck, the bar
closed with a bang, and
three members in police
uniform emerged from the
cloak-room and either
overset or drank the con-
tents of every glass in the
room. Thus was the law
complied with, and my
fears dispelled. We may
often act like schoolboys,
but it is good to be able
to do so, and it is a union
of useful work and joyous
relaxation which enables
the London Sketch Club
to retain its large member-
ship in spite of drawbacks
and after discouragements.
Since the writer, two
years ago, concluded
nearly ten years of secre-
taryship, his duties have
been jointly undertaken by
Mr. Leonard Calvert and
Mr. Marston Edwards, a
happy combination in
which a thorough Bo-
hemian with a wide know-
ledge of art methods and
traditions harmoniously
co-operates with a clever
man of business ; and
with Mr. Harry Rountree
succeeding Mr. Joseph
Harker as President of the
year, the Club not only
continues to assist young artists to come into their
own but perpetuates a series of weekly gatherings
which serve to impart keen enjoyment to all who
attend them.
Mr. J. Lavery, A.R.A., has presented to the
Victoria and Albert Museum the portrait which he
painted last year of Auguste Rodin. He wishes
the gift to be regarded as a tribute to Rodin from
British Art. It is designed to reciprocate the
sentiments which inspired Rodin to make his
magnifieent give of sculpture to the museum, in
admiration of the heroism of French and British
soldiers now fighting side by side. The portrait
was reproduced in our June Number.
255