The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers was a union of professional artists that existed from 1898 to 1925, "To promote the study, practice, and knowledge of sculpture, painting, etching, lithographing, engraving, and kindred arts in England or elsewhere...". It came to be known simply as The International. Philip Athill (January 1985)
The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers
''The Burlington Magazine'' 127(982): 21-29+33. The society organised exhibitions, some for members only and some open to others, and social events such as musical evenings and soirées. The exhibitions were held in a number of London venues, and in other cities around England, including

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Its founder and first president was

James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

. On his death, the presidency was taken up by

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 uniqu ...

, with

John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was a Northern Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, baptised at St Patrick's Church, Belfast a ...

as vice-president. The society contributed £500 towards the cost of Whistler's memorial.

Formation

The society was initially incorporated as The Exhibition of International Art Ltd., but soon changed its name to the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers. The prospectus issued by the new society read in part:Quoted in ''The Morning Post'', 9 February 1898; cited by: Philip Athill (January 1985)
The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers
''The Burlington Magazine'' 127(982): 21-29+33.

Members

Honorary and associate members included: *

Paul Wayland Bartlett Paul Wayland Bartlett (January 24, 1865 – September 20, 1925) was an American sculptor working in the Beaux-Arts tradition of heroic realism. Life Bartlett was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Truman Howe Bartlett, an art critic a ...

Alexander Kellock Brown Alexander Kellock Brown (11 February 1849 – 9 May 1922) was a Scottish painter of landscapes and brother of the sculptor William Kellock Brown. He painted in oils and water-colors and exhibited frequently at the Royal Scottish Academy exhibits ...

* Ernest A. Cole *

John Paul Cooper John Paul Cooper (3 October 1869 – 3 May 1933) was a British architect and a leading craftsman in the Arts and Crafts Movement, specialising in metalwork and jewellery. He is particularly noted for the use of materials such as shagreen and os ...

* Nelson Dawson *

Alfred Drury Edward Alfred Briscoe Drury (11 November 1856 – 24 December 1944) was a British architectural sculptor and artist active in the New Sculpture movement. During a long career Drury created a great number of decorative figures such as busts and ...

* John Henry Monsell Furse *

Alfred Gilbert Sir Alfred Gilbert (12 August 18544 November 1934) was an English sculptor. He was born in London and studied sculpture under Joseph Boehm, Matthew Noble, Édouard Lantéri and Pierre-Jules Cavelier. His first work of importance was ''The Kis ...

Charles Holroyd Sir Charles Holroyd (9 April 1861 – 17 November 1917) was an English artist and curator. He was Keeper of the Tate from 1897 to 1906, and Director of the National Gallery from 1906 to 1916. Biography Early years Charles Holroyd was born ...

Thomas Stirling Lee Thomas Stirling Lee (London, 16 March 1857 – 29 June 1916, London) was an English sculptor, specialising in reliefs and portrait heads. Early life Lee was born in Lambeth, London on 16 March 1857, the son of John Swanwick Lee, a surveyor. ...

* David McGill *

Gari Melchers Julius Garibaldi Melchers (August 11, 1860 – November 30, 1932) was an American artist. He was one of the leading American proponents of Naturalism (art), naturalism. He won a 1932 Gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Bio ...

Constantin Meunier Constantin Meunier (12 April 1831 – 4 April 1905) was a Belgian painter and sculptor. He made an important contribution to the development of modern art by elevating the image of the industrial worker, docker and miner to an icon of mode ...

Ernst Oppler Ernst Oppler (19 September 1867 1 March 1929) was a German Impressionist painter and etcher born in Hanover. Early life Ernst Oppler was the son of Edwin Oppler (1831-1880), a prominent German-Jewish architect. Ernst Oppler's brothers were ...

* Glyn Warren Philpot *

Alfred William Rich Alfred William Rich (4 March 1856 – 7 September 1921) was an English artist, teacher and author. Life and work Rich was born between Scaynes Hill and Lindfield in Sussex. His study of art began at the age of eight, as a self-taught stude ...

* Charles de Sousy Ricketts *

William Rothenstein Sir William Rothenstein (29 January 1872 – 14 February 1945) was an English painter, printmaker, draughtsman, lecturer, and writer on art. Emerging during the early 1890s, Rothenstein continued to make art right up until his death. Though he c ...

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he trave ...

Georg Sauter Georg Sauter (20 April 1866 – 20 December 1937) was a German-English painter, lithographer and draftsman. Life In 1880 Georg Sauter began training as a house painter and then worked in Munich with a painter master. Later he took drawing less ...

Kathleen Scott Edith Agnes Kathleen Young, Baroness Kennet, FRBS (née Bruce; formerly Scott; 27 March 1878 – 25 July 1947) was a British sculptor. Trained in London and Paris, Scott was a prolific sculptor, notably of portrait heads and busts and als ...

* Charles Shannon *

Franz Stuck Franz von Stuck (February 23, 1863 – August 30, 1928), born Franz Stuck, was a German painter, sculptor, printmaker, and architect. Stuck was best known for his paintings of ancient mythology, receiving substantial critical acclaim with '' The ...

James Havard Thomas James Havard Thomas (22 December 1854 – 6 June 1921) was a Bristol-born sculptor active in London and Capri. He became the first Chair of Sculpture at the Slade School of Art in London. He was known for his painstakingly precise sculptures resu ...

John Tweed John Tweed (21 January 1869 – 12 November 1933) was a Scottish sculptor. Early life John Tweed was born at 16 Great Portland Street, Glasgow and studied at the Glasgow School of Art. He then trained with Hamo Thornycroft in London, and atten ...

* Reginald Fairfax Wells * Harry (Henry) Wilson During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the membership of German and Austrian artists was suspended.

Exhibitions

Exhibitions organised by the society included: * 1898: Exhibition of International Art of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers; Prince's Skating Rink, Knightsbridge, London, May–July * 1899: Second Exhibition of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers; Prince's Skating Rink, Knightsbridge, London, May–July * 1900: No exhibition, on account of the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900 * 1901: Third Exhibition of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers; Galleries of the Royal Institute, 191 Piccadilly, London, October–December * 1904: Fourth Exhibition; New Gallery, Regent Street, London, January–March * 1905: Fifth Exhibition; New Gallery, Regent Street, London, January–February * 1906: International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers Exhibition;

Nottingham Castle Museum Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortress and ...

* 1906: Sixth Exhibition; New Gallery, Regent Street, London, January–February * 1907: Seventh Exhibition; New Gallery, Regent Street, London, January–March * 1908: Eighth Exhibition; New Gallery, Regent Street, London, January–February * 1908: Exhibition of Fair Women; International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London * 1909: Ninth Exhibition; New Gallery, Regent Street, London, January–February * 1909: Exhibition of Fair Women; International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers; New Gallery, Regent Street, London * 1910: Tenth Annual Exhibition; Grafton Gallery, London, April–May * 1910: Exhibition of Fair Women; International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers; Grafton Gallery, London, May–June * 1911: Eleventh Annual Exhibition; Grafton Gallery, London, April–May * 1911: "A Century of Art, 1810-1910"; Grafton Gallery, June–July * 1912: Twelfth Annual Exhibition; Grafton Gallery, London, April–May * 1912: "Contemporary British landscape"; Thirteenth London Exhibition;

Grosvenor Gallery The Grosvenor Gallery was an art gallery in London founded in 1877 by Sir Coutts Lindsay and his wife Blanche. Its first directors were J. Comyns Carr and Charles Hallé. The gallery proved crucial to the Aesthetic Movement because it provided ...

* 1912: "Exhibition of Fair Children"; Grafton Gallery, London, June–July * 1913: The Spring Exhibition; Fourteenth London Exhibition; Grosvenor Gallery, April–May * 1913: The Autumn Exhibition; Fifteenth London Exhibition; Grosvenor Gallery, October–November * 1914: The Spring Exhibition; Sixteenth London Exhibition; Grosvenor Gallery, April–May * 1914: The Autumn Exhibition; Seventeenth London Exhibition; Grosvenor Gallery, October–November * 1915: The Spring Exhibition; Eighteenth London Exhibition; Grosvenor Gallery, May–June * 1915: The Autumn Exhibition; Nineteenth London Exhibition; Grosvenor Gallery, October–November * 1916: The Spring Exhibition; Twentieth London Exhibition; Grosvenor Gallery, May–July * 1916: The Autumn Exhibition; Twenty-first London Exhibition; Grosvenor Gallery, October–November * 1917: Twenty-second Exhibition; Grafton Gallery, June * 1918: The Summer Exhibition; Twenty-third London Exhibition; Grosvenor Gallery, May * 1918: The Autumn Exhibition; Twenty-fourth London Exhibition; Grosvenor Gallery, October–November * 1919: The Spring Exhibition; Twenty-fifth London Exhibition; Grosvenor Gallery, May–July * 1919: The Autumn Exhibition; Twenty-sixth London Exhibition; Grosvenor Gallery, October * 1921: The Annual Exhibition; Twenty-seventh London Exhibition; Grafton Gallery, April–May * 1922: The Annual Exhibition; Twenty-eighth London Exhibition; Grafton Gallery, April–May * 1925: The Annual Exhibition; Twenty-ninth London Exhibition;

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

References

{{Authority control Art societies 1898 establishments in England 1925 disestablishments in England Arts organizations established in 1898