The Derby Sketching Club is a members' club now meeting in Mickleover,

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was founded in 1887, and still meets today, providing members with a creative environment and the opportunity to meet up with like-minded local people, sharing their interest in painting and drawing. Early members included F. Booty,

Alfred John Keene Alfred John Keene (1864–1930) was a British watercolour artist working in Derby. Biography Keene was the fourth son of photographer Richard Keene who published the ''Derby Telegraph'' and brother of watercolourist William Caxton Keene a ...

, William Swindell, George Thompson, Charles Terry and Frank Timms

History

In 1887, a group of young men held a meeting at the County Hotel in Derby and founded the Derby Sketching Club with the aim of providing a place where they and others could work and share their interest in painting and sketching, a place to share their art. The first exhibition of their work was held in January 1889, at the Athenaeum Rooms. In 1922, the Derby Ladies Art Group was formed and it was only in 1951, for the Festival of Britain, that the two groups first held a joint Exhibition. They finally merged in 1966. The art collector

Alfred E. Goodey Alfred Edward Goodey (1878–1945) was a collector of paintings, prints and photographs, especially those connected with the English Midlands town of Derby. Biography Alfred Goodey's parents were William Henry Goodey and Rhoda and he was born ...

. amassed the work of Derby Sketching Club members, and in the 1940s presented it to

Derby Museum and Art Gallery Derby Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Derby, England. It was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The collect ...

Current activities

The club activities are mainly based on regular life drawing, portrait painting and still life sessions. The club also has guest lecturers and demonstrations. There are weekly sketching opportunities at Derby Museum and Art Gallery and Derby Museum of Making. Outings are arranged in the summer months including outdoor sketching at various Derbyshire locations and trips to art exhibitions all over the UK. The club has an annual exhibition at Markeaton Park Craft Village with a Trophy prize awarded. Members use the club website to showcase their work., accessed July 2011

Other notable members

Ernest Townsend Ernest Townsend (1 January 1880 – 22 January 1944) was a British portraitist from Derby. Townsend studied at Derby College of Art, Heatherleys in Chelsea and the Royal Academy. Among his works were a 1915 portrait of the Right Hon. Winst ...

, R. W. Bardill,

Harold Gresley Harold Gresley (1892–1967) was a British artist, following his father and grandfather. He was a painter of landscapes and portraits in watercolour and oil.Sketch Genius Review
{{Derby Museum Clubs and societies in Derbyshire English artist groups and collectives Organisations based in Derby Arts organizations established in 1887