The Fine Art Trade Guild is an organisation representing 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 ...

and framing industry. Based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

operates primarily in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, also in a smaller capacity in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

History

The first fine art trade association or guild was the ''Printsellers' Association'', founded in 1847. The Fine Art Trade Guild was founded in 1910 and represents members as well as assuming the purpose of its predecessor in trying to "preserve the integrity of the limited edition print". More recently ''Colin Ruffell'' was the first artist to be elected as Master of the Guild in 2008, serving in this role for two years. The Guild celebrated its Centenary in 2010.

Role

The Guild sets

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

s and

guidelines A guideline is a statement by which to determine a course of action. A guideline aims to streamline particular processes according to a set routine or sound practice. Guidelines may be issued by and used by any organization (governmental or pri ...

for

prints In molecular biology, the PRINTS database is a collection of so-called "fingerprints": it provides both a detailed annotation resource for protein families, and a diagnostic tool for newly determined sequences. A fingerprint is a group of conserve ...

and picture framing. The Guild also acts as a

regulatory body A regulatory agency (regulatory body, regulator) or independent agency (independent regulatory agency) is a government authority that is responsible for exercising autonomous dominion over some area of human activity in a licensing and regulatin ...

and has established

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

and operative standards for its members, as well as providing information for customers who buy art or framing services.

Membership

The Guild's membership comprises mainly galleries and framers, but it also represents artists.

Notable members

In 2014

Jorge Aguilar-Agon Jorge Aguilar-Agon was a contemporary romantic impressionist painter. He was born in Barcelona in 1936 and worked from studios in France, Spain and England. Biography Jorge Aguilar-Agon was born in Barcelona in 1936, at the start of the Spani ...

was awarded the

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

and given an honorary membership of the Fine Art Trade Guild in recognition of his long service to the Guild and his lifelong career as a professional artist.

References

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External links