The Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA) is an association of artists in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, England, that promotes contemporary

marine art Marine art or maritime art is a form of figurative art (that is, painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture) that portrays or draws its main inspiration from the sea. Maritime painting is a genre that depicts ships and the sea—a genre parti ...

. This includes painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture."The Royal Society of Marine Artists"
, The Federation of British Artists. Retrieved 17 February 2007.

History

The Royal Society of Marine Artists was founded in 1939. This came about after some initial exhibitions on the subject, staged "largely due to the anomaly that Great Britain, whose history is so bound up with the sea, did not have a society dedicated to painting the sea and its occasions." One of these early exhibitions, ''Sea Power'', gained the patronage of King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

and was opened by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

. Subsequently, in 1938, Admiral of the Fleet, the Earl of Cork and Orrey suggested the formation of a formal society, which came into being with the title "The Society of Marine Artists". No activity took place immediately because of the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and it was not until 1946 that the Society's inaugural exhibition was mounted in the

Guildhall Art Gallery The Guildhall Art Gallery houses the art collection of the City of London, England. The museum is located in the Moorgate area of the City of London. It is a stone building in a semi-Gothic style intended to be sympathetic to the historic Guil ...

at the invitation of the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

. This became the venue for the Society's annual exhibitions. In 1966, Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

granted assent for the title of "The Royal Society of Marine Artists". The location for the annual exhibitions was changed to the Mall Galleries in 1981, when building works prevented use of the Guildhall. The Society maintains links with other relevant organisations, including the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unite ...

, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and with publishers and the shipping industry."The Royal Society of Marine Artists"

, UK. Retrieved 17 February 2007. In 1996, Blandford published a 176-page book ''A Celebration of Marine Art : Fifty Years of the Royal Society of Marines Artists''."A Celebration of Marine Art : Fifty Years of the Royal Society of Marines Artists"
Amazon.com. Retrieved 17 February 2007. In 2004, the Society exhibited work at the National Maritime Museum. Norman Wilkinson (1878–1971) was a member, as was

Harry Heine Harry Heine R.S.M.A. (July 24, 1928 – September 25, 2004) was an artist who specialized in maritime scenes. Life and work Heine was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He lived in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada until his death in 2004. His ...

(1928–2004) the first

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

to be elected.

Leslie Arthur Wilcox Leslie Arthur Wilcox, RI, RSMA (13 March 1904 – 11 January 1982) was an English artist known mainly for his marine works in oils. He was also a watercolourist, illustrator, poster artist, marine model-maker and author. He was for some ye ...

(1904-1982) was Honorary Secretary from 1960-1974. The society is a registered charity. It is also one of the nine member societies that form 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 ...

, which is based in and administers the Mall Galleries, next to

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

. Approximately 50 full members are entitled to use the letters R.S.M.A. after their name.

Officers

*Elizabeth Smith, PRSMA (President) *Geoff Hunt, VPRSMA (Vice President) *Margaret Heath RSMA (Hon. Secretary) *Bruce Mulcahy RSMA (Hon. Treasurer)

References

External links

RSMA website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Society of Marine Artists 1939 establishments in the United Kingdom Arts organizations established in 1939 Marine art institutions British artist groups and collectives Organisations based in London with royal patronage British contemporary art

History

Officers

See also

References

External links