The Leeds Art Fund (LAF), formerly the Leeds Art Collections Fund (LACF) is one of Britain's oldest supporting art gallery "friends" organisations. It was founded in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

on 11 November 1912 by

Frank Rutter Francis Vane Phipson Rutter (17 February 1876 – 18 April 1937)"Rutter, Frank V. P.", ''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007. Retrieved froukwhoswho8 August 2008. was a British art art critic, c ...

, who was the newly appointed curator of

Leeds Art Gallery Leeds Art Gallery in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a gallery, part of the Leeds Museums & Galleries group, whose collection of 20th-century British Art was designated by the British government in 1997 as a collection "of national importance ...

(then Leeds City Art Gallery) at the time, with the support of the Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, Michael Sadler. The LACF was established to encourage the visual arts in Leeds and, most importantly, to provide a source of funding that was independent of the municipality for the purchase of contemporary and historic works of art and design for the people of Leeds. Other founding members and sponsors included Sydney Kitson (1871–1937), a well-known local architect and collector, and Frank Harris Fulford, director of the family firm C. E. Fulford Limited, which manufactured Bile Beans. Today, most of the LAF's work is channelled through the Leeds City Art Galleries. Through subscriptions and fund-raising events the LAF has helped to enrich the visual life of Leeds by making purchases of art works for display in Leeds at the

Leeds City Art Gallery Leeds Art Gallery in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a gallery, part of the Leeds Museums & Galleries group, whose collection of 20th-century British Art was designated by the British government in 1997 as a collection "of national importance ...

Temple Newsam Temple Newsam (historically Temple Newsham), is a Tudor- Jacobean house in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown. The house is a Grade I listed building, one of nine Leeds Museums and Galleries sites and ...

House and

Lotherton Hall Lotherton Hall is a English country house, country house near Aberford in West Yorkshire, England. It is a short distance from the A1(M) motorway, equidistant from London and Edinburgh. It is one of nine sites in the Leeds Museums & Galleries ...

. The LAF has, since its inception, purchased art works, often buying art works outright as part of the LAF collection, but also by supporting the purchase of art works through a contribution to the full purchase price. The LACF has also been the recipient of many generous bequests and donations of art works over the years. The art works belonging to the LAF are too numerous to mention in full, but include works by Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Walter Sickert, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Patrick Heron, Alexander Calder, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Stanley Spencer, Terry Frost and Thomas Hearne. The LAF has also contributed towards the acquisition of many artworks on display in Leeds Museums and Galleries, including by such well-known names as

Thomas Chippendale Thomas Chippendale (June 1718 – 1779) was an English woodworker in London, designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs in a trade catalogue titled ''The Gen ...

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

John Sell Cotman John Sell Cotman (16 May 1782 – 24 July 1842) was an English Marine art, marine and Landscape painting, landscape painter, Etching, etcher, illustrator, and a leading member of the Norwich School of painters. Born in Norwich, the son of a si ...

John Atkinson Grimshaw John Atkinson Grimshaw (6 September 1836 – 13 October 1893) was an English Victorian-era artist best known for his nocturnal scenes of urban landscapes.Alexander Robertson, ''Atkinson Grimshaw'', London, Phaidon Press, 1996 H. J. Dyos and ...

Stass Paraskos Stass Paraskos (; 17 March 1933 – 4 March 2014) was a British-Cypriot painter, sculptor, and writer. Born and raised in Cyprus, he spent much of his life working and teaching in England, where he famously became embroiled in a 1966 obscenity ...

Paula Rego Dame Maria Paula Figueiroa Rego (: 26 January 1935 – 8 June 2022) was a Portuguese visual artist, widely considered the pre-eminent woman artist of the late 20th and early 21st century, known particularly for her paintings and prints based o ...

Bridget Riley Bridget Louise Riley (born 24 April 1931) is an English painter known for her op art paintings. She lives and works in London, Cornwall and the Vaucluse in France. Early life and education Riley was born on 24 April 1931 in West Norwood, No ...

, Grayson Perry and

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

. The LAF has also supported various educational and publishing activities associated with the visual arts in Leeds, and continues to do so, not only at the Leeds City Art Galleries, but other visual art centres in Leeds, including the

Art Gallery and East Street Arts (Vitrine project). The LAF is an independent registered charity (Registered Charity Number 529300), but it maintains close links with

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the ...

, and with other organisations with an interest in the artistic life of Leeds, including the

, East Street Arts, the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society and local businesses.

Office holders

Since its foundation the Fund has had an almost unbroken series of certain Office Holders.

Patroness

* The Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood: 1949–1960

President

* Edward Wood, later 1st Earl of Halifax: 1912–1959 * The Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood: 1960–1965 *

Charles Wood, 2nd Earl of Halifax Charles Ingram Courtenay Wood, 2nd Earl of Halifax, (3 October 1912 – 19 March 1980), styled Hon. Charles Wood from 1925 until 1944 and Lord Irwin from 1944 until 1959, was a British peer, Conservative politician, Lord Lieutenant of Humbersi ...

: 1965–1980 *

Miles Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk Major General Miles Francis Stapleton Fitzalan-Howard, 17th Duke of Norfolk (21 July 1915 – 24 June 2002), known between 1971 and 1972 as the Lord Beaumont and until 1975 as the Lord Beaumont and Howard of Glossop, was a British Army general ...

: 1980–1986 * Lord Martin Fitzalan-Howard: 1986–1996 *

Peter Wood, 3rd Earl of Halifax Charles Edward Peter Neil Wood, 3rd Earl of Halifax, (born 14 March 1944), is a British Peerages in the United Kingdom, peer and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. Background Lord Halifax is the third child and only son of Charl ...

: 1996–present

Hon. Secretary

: 1912–1917 * Solomon Kaines-Smith: 1924–1927 * Frank Lambert: 1927–1931 * John Rothenstien: 1932–1934 * Philip Hendy: 1934–1945 * Ernest Musgrave: 1946–1957 * Robert Rowe: 1958–1983 * Christopher Gilbert: 1984–1994 * Evelyn Silber: 1995–2001 * Nick Winterbotham: 2001–2004 * John Roles: 2004–

Hon. Treasurer

* A.J. Sanders: 1912–1922 * H.M. Hepworth: 1922–1942 * E.M. Arnold: 1944–1954 * Martin Arnold: 1955–1992 * J.S. Fox: 1992–1997 * Liam O'Connor: 1997–2000 * James Beer: 2000–2001 * Carole Fletcher: 2001–2010 * Tony Mills: 2010–2015 * Anne Braithwaite: 2015–

Chair

* Michael Sadler: 1912–1924 * James Baillie: 1924–unknown (died 1940) * - * George Black: 1969–1986 * Tony Brown: 1986–1997 * J.S. Fox: 1997–2003 * Benedict Read: 2003–2012 * James Lomax: 2012–2015 * Mark Westgarth: 2015–

References

Citations

External links

*
Leeds Art Collections Fund
information on Leeds Art Gallery site *{{EW charity, 529300, Leeds Art Collections Fund Arts in Leeds Charities based in West Yorkshire Organisations based in Leeds