Group associated with the New English Art Club by Sir William Orpen cropped

The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the

Mall Galleries Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India * ...

in London, exhibiting works by both members and artists from Britain and abroad whose work has been selected from an annual open submission.

History

Young English artists returning from studying art in Paris mounted the first exhibition of the New English Art Club in April 1886. Among them were William Laidlay,

Thomas Cooper Gotch Thomas Cooper Gotch or T. C. Gotch (1854–1931) was an English painter and book illustrator loosely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement; he was the brother of John Alfred Gotch, the architect. Gotch studied art in London and Antwer ...

Frank Bramley Frank Bramley RA (6 May 1857 – 9 August 1915) was an English post-impressionist genre painter of the Newlyn School. Personal life Bramley was born in Sibsey, near Boston, in Lincolnshire to Charles Bramley from Fiskerton also in Lincoln ...

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

, Philip Wilson Steer,

George Clausen Sir George Clausen (18 April 1852 – 22 November 1944) was a British artist working in oil and watercolour, etching, mezzotint, dry point and occasionally lithographs. He was knighted in 1927. Biography George Clausen was born at 8 Willia ...

and

Stanhope Forbes Stanhope Alexander Forbes (18 November 1857 – 2 March 1947) was a British artist and a founding member of the influential Newlyn school of painters. He was often called 'the father of the Newlyn School'.G. P. Jacomb-Hood. An early name suggested for the group was the 'Society of Anglo-French Painters', which gives some indication of their origins. As a note in the catalogue to their first exhibition explained, 'This Club consists of 50 Members, who are more or less united in their art sympathies. They have associated themselves together with the view of holding an Annual Exhibition, hoping that a collective display of their works, which has hitherto been impossible, will prove not only of interest to the public, but will better explain the aim and method of their art.'Kenneth McConkey, ''The New English: A History of the New English Art Club'' (Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2006), pp. 29-30 The Society held regular Spring and Autumn exhibitions, a number of which were held at the

Egyptian Hall The Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, was an exhibition hall built in the ancient Egyptian style in 1812, to the designs of Peter Frederick Robinson. The Hall was a considerable success, with exhibitions of artwork and of Napoleonic era re ...

in Piccadilly, London, until its demolition in 1905. The

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...

style was well represented at the NEAC, in comparison to the old-school academic art shown at the Royal Academy. For a time, the NEAC was seen as a stepping-stone to Royal Academy membership. Today the NEAC continues in a realistic, figurative style, while the Royal Academy has embraced abstract and conceptual art. Current NEAC members include Peter Brown, Frederick Cuming, Anthony Green,

Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in '' 1776'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The Wh ...

, Charles Williams,

Richard Bawden Richard Bawden (born 1936) is an English painter, printmaker and designer with a graphic, linear quality. His work includes book illustration, murals, etched glass church windows and doors, posters, mosaic and furniture. His work is in the collec ...

and Martin Yeoman. Historic NEAC members and exhibitors include: Thomas Kennington (founder member and first secretary), Prof Fred Brown (founder member),

(foundation member),

Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...

, William Orpen, Augustus John,

Gwen John Gwendolen Mary John (22 June 1876 – 18 September 1939) was a Welsh artist who worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely related tones. Although s ...

, Ambrose McEvoy, Philip Wilson Steer,

Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a caricaturist. He became an influential art teacher. He was one of the first British art ...

James Whitelaw Hamilton James Whitelaw Hamilton (1860–1932) RSA, RSW was a Scottish artist, member of the Glasgow School (the ''Glasgow Boys''), of the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) and of the New English Art Club. Career Hamilton was born in Glasgow, where he studie ...

Alfred William Rich Alfred William Rich (4 March 1856 – 7 September 1921) was an English artist, teacher and author. Life and work Rich was born between Scaynes Hill and Lindfield in Sussex. His study of art began at the age of eight, as a self-taught stud ...

James Dickson Innes James Dickson Innes (27 February 1887 – 22 August 1914) was a British painter, mainly of mountain landscapes but occasionally of figure subjects. He worked in both oils and watercolours. Style Of his style, art historian David Fraser Jenkins ...

, Margaret Preston,

Charles Wellington Furse Charles Wellington Furse (13 January 1868 – 16 October 1904) was an English painter. He was born at Staines, the son of Jane Diana (Monsell) and the Rev. C. W. Furse, archdeacon of Westminster, and rector of St John's, Smith Square and de ...

Katie Edith Gliddon Katie Edith Gliddon (6 May 1883 – 1 September 1967) was a British watercolour artist and militant suffragette. She was a member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) for whom she campaigned for which she was imprisoned in Hollow ...

, Ethel Walker,

Fairlie Harmar Fairlie Harmar, Viscountess Harberton (1876–1945) was an English painter. She was born in Weymouth, Dorset, and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art.Jon Whiteley, Colin Harrison, Catherine Whistler, Colin Harrison, Catherine Casley (Edito ...

William Rothenstein Sir William Rothenstein (29 January 1872 – 14 February 1945) was an English painter, printmaker, draughtsman, lecturer, and writer on art. Emerging during the early 1890s, Rothenstein continued to make art right up until his death. Though he c ...

Lindsay Bernard Hall Lindsay Bernard Hall (28 December 1859 – 14 February 1935) was an English-born Australian artist, teacher and art gallery director. Early life and career Hall was born at Garston, Liverpool, England, the son of a broker of the same famil ...

, Mary Sargant Florence, Henry Strachey,

Clare Atwood Clare "Tony" Atwood (11 May 1866 – 2 August 1962) was a British painter of portraits, still life, landscapes, interiors and decorative flower subjects. Atwood lived in a ménage à trois with the dramatist Christabel Marshall and the actress, ...

, Evelyn Dunbar,

Eve Garnett Eve Garnett (9 January 1900 – 5 April 1991) was an English writer and illustrator. She is best known for '' The Family from One End Street'', a 1937 children's novel that features a large, small-town, working-class family. Early life Garnet ...

, Frank McEwen,

James Jebusa Shannon Sir James Jebusa Shannon (3 February 1862 – 6 March 1923) was an Anglo-American artist. Life Shannon was born in Auburn, New York, and at the age of eight was taken by his parents to Canada. When he was sixteen, he went to England, where he ...

, Cecil Mary Leslie, Mary Elizabeth Atkins,

William Brown Macdougall William Brown Macdougall (16 December 1868 – 20 April 1936) was a Scottish artist, wood engraver, etcher and book illustrator. Biography Macdougall was born in Glasgow on 16 December 1868. He was married to Margaret Armour, the translator, ...

, Neville Bulwer-Lytton, 3rd Earl of Lytton, Muirhead Bone, Robert Polhill Bevan,

Dugald Sutherland MacColl Dugald Sutherland MacColl (10 March 1859 – 21 December 1948) was a Scottish watercolour painter, art critic, lecturer and writer. He was keeper of the Tate Gallery for five years. Life MacColl was born in Glasgow and educated at the Univ ...

, Neville Lewis,

Charles Holmes Sir Charles John Holmes, KCVO (11 November 1868, Preston, Lancashire – 7 December 1936, Kensington, London) was a British painter, art historian and museum director. His writing on art combined theory with practice, and he was an expert on ...

, Carron O Lodge, Geoffrey Tibble, Alexander Mann,

Hercules Brabazon Brabazon Hercules Brabazon Brabazon (born Hercules Brabazon Sharpe; 27 November 1821 – 14 May 1906) was an English people, English artist, accomplished in J. M. W. Turner, Turner-manner watercolours. Life and work Brabazon was the younger son ...

Thomas Esmond Lowinsky Thomas Esmond Lowinsky (2 March 1892 – 24 April 1947) was an English painter of Hungarian and South African descent. Born in India on 2 March 1892, the son of Thomas Herman Lowinsky of Tittenhurst, Sunninghill, BerkshireThomas Lowinsky, ...

, Frank Hughes,

Albert Julius Olsson Albert Julius Olsson (1 February 1864 – 7 September 1942) was a British maritime artist and keen yachtsman. Olsson cruised with his yacht most summers, and The Studio commented: 'He knows the way from the Scillies to the Isle of Wight ...

, Helen Margaret Spanton,Suffolk Painters
Suffolk Painters
accessdate: March 9, 2016

Margaret Green Margaret Green (7 March 1925 – 4 December 2003) was a British figurative painter. Biography Green was born in West Hartlepool; her father worked at a steel plant, and was also a member of the local art club. From 1944 she studied at West Hart ...

and Leslie Donovan Gibson. The NEAC is one of the member societies of the

Federation of British Artists The Federation of British Artists (FBA) consists of nine art societies, and is based at Mall Galleries in London where the societies' Annual Exhibitions are held. The societies represent living artists working in the United Kingdom who create co ...

. A history of the Society from its foundation to the year 2000 was written by the art historian Kenneth McConkey and published in 2006.

Honorary life members

* William Bowyer * Michael Brockway *

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasma ...

* Fred Dubery *

Bernard Dunstan Bernard Dunstan (19 January 1920 – 20 August 2017) was a British artist, teacher, and author, best known for his studies of figures in interiors and landscapes. At the time of his death, he was the longest serving Royal Academician. Life an ...

* Charlotte Halliday * Margaret Thomas

References

External links

NEAC official website
{{Authority control English artist groups and collectives 19th-century art groups English art

History

Honorary life members

See also

References

External links