The Artists' Benevolent Fund was instituted in 1810Sampson Low the younger. "Artists' Benevolent Fund" in ''The Charities of London in 1852-3''.

Sampson Low Sampson Low (18 November 1797 – 16 April 1886) was a bookseller and publisher in London in the 19th century. Early years Born in London in 1797, he was the son of Sampson Low, printer and publisher, of Berwick Street, Soho. He served a short ...

and Son. London. 1854
Page 101
and incorporated by

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

on 2 August 1827. It has also been referred to as the Artists' Fund and the Artists' Joint Stock Fund.Robert William Buss. The Almanac of the Fine Arts for the Year 1850
Page 127
As of 1851, it was one of two charitable funds established for purposes relative to those who had been unfortunate in the practice of the

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

s, the other being the

Artists' General Benevolent Institution The Artists' General Benevolent Institution is a British charity assisting professional artists in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who are in financial difficulty due to illness, old age or accident. It was founded in 1814 by members of the Ro ...

. As of 1852, it consisted of two separate and distinct branches: the Artists' Annuity Fund, and the Artists' Benevolent Fund. The first was supported by the contributions of its members, for their own relief in sickness or

superannuation A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

. All artists of merit in painting, sculpture, architecture, and engraving, were eligible to become members, the annual payments to which were regulated by the age of the member, increasing a small sum every year. The amount of funded property was £14,900, exclusively the property of the members themselves. The second was supported by the patrons of the Fine Arts, for the relief of the widows and orphans of the members of the Annuity Fund. And the whole was under the direction of the president, and ten subscribers to the Benevolent Fund, annually elected by the subscribers, and five members of the Annuity Fund, annually elected by its members. Every artist proposed as a member of the Annuity Fund, had to be balloted for, and approved by the committee of the Benevolent Fund, in order to entitle his widow and children to its benefits. The benefits of this fund were extended to about 40 widows and 22 orphans, the former receiving £18, and the latter £5 annually. The income for this purpose was about £1,200 per annum, derived half from dividends, and the other half from present voluntary contributions.

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Coll ...

was honorary secretary of the Artists' Benevolent Fund from 6 December 1810 to 4 May 1813.John Pye. Patronage of British Art, An Historical Sketch. Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. Paternoster Row, London. 1845
Page 325

References

*"The Artists' Benevolent Fund" in ''The Metropolitan Charities''. Sampson Low. London. 1844
Page 75
*John Pye. Patronage of British Art, An Historical Sketch. Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. Paternoster Row, London. 1845
Page 323
et seq.
"The Artists' Benevolent Fund"
The Spectator. 18 May 1850. Page 15.

External links

*{{Official, http://www.artistsbenevolentfund.org.uk/
The Society for the Management and Distribution of the Artists' Fund - Benevolent Fund
Open Charities. Charities based in Hertfordshire 1810 establishments in the United Kingdom