DOI Artikel:
Holmes, Charles: The History of the Royal Society of Painters in Water-Colours
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.27085#0025
OF PAINTERS IN WATER-COLOURS
Stratford Coffee House in Oxford Street, and formally declared
themselves to be the Society of Painters in Water Colours.
At this meeting they settled the details of the constitution of the
Society, and passed rules to define the financial responsibilities and
privileges of the members. They also elected Gilpin as president,
Shelley as treasurer, and Hills as secretary, and appointed Pyne,
Nicholson, Pocock, and Wells, to serve on the committee. It was
decided that the president and the other office holders should be elected
annually, and that all the members in rotation should serve on the
committee, of which the secretary was to be an ex-officio member.
Immediately after this inaugural meeting the names of six more
artists were added to the roll, Joshua Cristall, William ITavell, James
Holworthy, John Glover, Stephen Francis Rigaud, and George
Barret the younger, so that when the first exhibition was held the
Society had a membership of sixteen.
The place chosen for this first exhibition was a large room at 20 Brook
Street, and the opening day was April 22, 1805. All the members
were represented ; John Varley by forty-two works, Pyne and
Shelley by twenty-eight each, Glover and Hills by twenty-three
each, Wells by twenty-one, Gilpin by twenty, Pocock by seventeen,
Nicholson by fourteen, Cornelius Varley and Havell by twelve
each, Barret by eleven, Cristall by eight, Rigaud by six, and Nattes
and Holworthy by five each, so that the collection was as varied and
comprehensive as it was artistically important. The success of its
appeal to the public was instantaneous ; during the seven weeks
that the show remained open nearly twelve thousand people paid
for admission, and a considerable proportion of the two hundred and
seventy-five drawings found purchasers. The result was that when
the accounts came to be made up at the close of the exhibition the
Society found itself in an excellent position. The receipts exceeded
£577, and there remained, after all expenses had been paid, a surplus
of more than £270, which was divided between the members,
according to the rule laid down, in shares proportioned to the
declared values of their contributions to the gallery.
Naturally such a satisfactory starting of the career of the Society
was most encouraging to the group of artists whose efforts had
brought the Association into existence. On the strength of it they
decided at their annual meeting, on November 30, 1805, to extend
their boundaries and to increase the scope of their operations. A
new class of contributors, called “Fellow Exhibitors,” was created,
who were to be sixteen in number, and from whom members were
to be chosen in the future. It was also agreed that the number of
h xiii
Stratford Coffee House in Oxford Street, and formally declared
themselves to be the Society of Painters in Water Colours.
At this meeting they settled the details of the constitution of the
Society, and passed rules to define the financial responsibilities and
privileges of the members. They also elected Gilpin as president,
Shelley as treasurer, and Hills as secretary, and appointed Pyne,
Nicholson, Pocock, and Wells, to serve on the committee. It was
decided that the president and the other office holders should be elected
annually, and that all the members in rotation should serve on the
committee, of which the secretary was to be an ex-officio member.
Immediately after this inaugural meeting the names of six more
artists were added to the roll, Joshua Cristall, William ITavell, James
Holworthy, John Glover, Stephen Francis Rigaud, and George
Barret the younger, so that when the first exhibition was held the
Society had a membership of sixteen.
The place chosen for this first exhibition was a large room at 20 Brook
Street, and the opening day was April 22, 1805. All the members
were represented ; John Varley by forty-two works, Pyne and
Shelley by twenty-eight each, Glover and Hills by twenty-three
each, Wells by twenty-one, Gilpin by twenty, Pocock by seventeen,
Nicholson by fourteen, Cornelius Varley and Havell by twelve
each, Barret by eleven, Cristall by eight, Rigaud by six, and Nattes
and Holworthy by five each, so that the collection was as varied and
comprehensive as it was artistically important. The success of its
appeal to the public was instantaneous ; during the seven weeks
that the show remained open nearly twelve thousand people paid
for admission, and a considerable proportion of the two hundred and
seventy-five drawings found purchasers. The result was that when
the accounts came to be made up at the close of the exhibition the
Society found itself in an excellent position. The receipts exceeded
£577, and there remained, after all expenses had been paid, a surplus
of more than £270, which was divided between the members,
according to the rule laid down, in shares proportioned to the
declared values of their contributions to the gallery.
Naturally such a satisfactory starting of the career of the Society
was most encouraging to the group of artists whose efforts had
brought the Association into existence. On the strength of it they
decided at their annual meeting, on November 30, 1805, to extend
their boundaries and to increase the scope of their operations. A
new class of contributors, called “Fellow Exhibitors,” was created,
who were to be sixteen in number, and from whom members were
to be chosen in the future. It was also agreed that the number of
h xiii