Group associated with the New English Art Club by Sir William Orpen cropped

The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1885 as an alternative venue to the

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 purp ...

. It continues to hold an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries in London, exhibiting works by both members and artists from Britain and abroad whose work has been selected from an annual open submission.

History

Young English artists returning from studying art in Paris mounted the first exhibition of the New English Art Club in April 1886. Among them were William Laidlay, Thomas Cooper Gotch, Frank Bramley,

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and mor ...

Philip Wilson Steer Philip Wilson Steer (28 December 1860 – 18 March 1942) was a British painter of landscapes, seascapes plus portraits and figure studies. He was also an influential art teacher. His sea and landscape paintings made him a leading figure in ...

, George Clausen and Stanhope Forbes. Another founding member was G. P. Jacomb-Hood. An early name suggested for the group was the 'Society of Anglo-French Painters', which gives some indication of their origins. As a note in the catalogue to their first exhibition explained, 'This Club consists of 50 Members, who are more or less united in their art sympathies. They have associated themselves together with the view of holding an Annual Exhibition, hoping that a collective display of their works, which has hitherto been impossible, will prove not only of interest to the public, but will better explain the aim and method of their art.'Kenneth McConkey, ''The New English: A History of the New English Art Club'' (Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2006), pp. 29-30 The Society held regular Spring and Autumn exhibitions, a number of which were held at the

Egyptian Hall The Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London, was an exhibition hall built in the ancient Egyptian style in 1812, to the designs of Peter Frederick Robinson. The Hall was a considerable success, with exhibitions of artwork and of Napoleonic era re ...

in Piccadilly, London, until its demolition in 1905. The

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...

style was well represented at the NEAC, in comparison to the old-school academic art shown at the Royal Academy. For a time, the NEAC was seen as a stepping-stone to Royal Academy membership. Today the NEAC continues in a realistic, figurative style, while the Royal Academy has embraced abstract and conceptual art. Current NEAC members include Peter Brown, Frederick Cuming, Anthony Green,

Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in '' 1776'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The Wh ...

, Charles Williams, Richard Bawden and Martin Yeoman. Historic NEAC members and exhibitors include: Thomas Kennington (founder member and first secretary), Prof Fred Brown (founder member), Frank Bramley (foundation member),

Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on ...

William Orpen Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, (27 November 1878 – 29 September 1931) was an Irish artist who worked mainly in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do in ...

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...

Gwen John Gwendolen Mary John (22 June 1876 – 18 September 1939) was a Welsh artist who worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely related tones. Although s ...

, Ambrose McEvoy,

Henry Tonks Henry Tonks, FRCS (9 April 1862 – 8 January 1937) was a British surgeon and later draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a caricaturist. He became an influential art teacher. He was one of the first British art ...

, James Whitelaw Hamilton, Alfred William Rich, James Dickson Innes,

Margaret Preston Margaret Rose Preston (29 April 1875 – 28 May 1963) was an Australian painter and printmaker who is regarded as one of Australia's leading modernists of the early 20th century. In her quest to foster an Australian "national art", she was als ...

, Charles Wellington Furse, Katie Edith Gliddon,

Ethel Walker Dame Ethel Walker (9 June 1861 – 2 March 1951) was a Scottish painter of portraits, flower-pieces, sea-pieces and decorative compositions. From 1936, Walker was a member of The London Group. Her work displays the influence of Impressionism, P ...

, Fairlie Harmar,

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 ...

, Lindsay Bernard Hall, Thomas Cooper Gotch,

Mary Sargant Florence Emma Mary Sargant Florence (21 July 1857 – 14 December 1954) was a British painter of figure subjects, mural decorations in fresco and occasional landscapes in watercolour and pastel. Biography Emma Mary Sargant was born in London. Her fat ...

, Henry Strachey, Clare Atwood, Evelyn Dunbar, Eve Garnett, Frank McEwen,

James Jebusa Shannon Sir James Jebusa Shannon (3 February 1862 – 6 March 1923) was an Anglo-American artist. Life Shannon was born in Auburn, New York, and at the age of eight was taken by his parents to Canada. When he was sixteen, he went to England, where he ...

, Cecil Mary Leslie, Mary Elizabeth Atkins, William Brown Macdougall,

Neville Bulwer-Lytton, 3rd Earl of Lytton Neville Stephen Bulwer-Lytton, 3rd Earl of Lytton, OBE (6 February 1879 – 9 February 1951) was a British military officer, Olympian and artist. Early life Neville Lytton was born in British India on 6 February 1879 while his parents ...

, Muirhead Bone, Robert Polhill Bevan,

Dugald Sutherland MacColl Dugald Sutherland MacColl (10 March 1859 – 21 December 1948) was a Scottish watercolour painter, art critic, lecturer and writer. He was keeper of the Tate Gallery for five years. Life MacColl was born in Glasgow and educated at the Uni ...

Neville Lewis Alfred Neville Lewis (1895–1972) was a South African artist. He was born in Cape Town, Cape Colony, and educated there and, later, at the Slade School of Art in London. His father was the Reverend A. J. S. Lewis, who was Mayor of Cape To ...

, Charles Holmes, Carron O Lodge, Geoffrey Tibble, Alexander Mann, Hercules Brabazon Brabazon, Thomas Esmond Lowinsky, Frank Hughes, Albert Julius Olsson, Helen Margaret Spanton,Suffolk Painters
Suffolk Painters
accessdate: March 9, 2016 Margaret Green and Leslie Donovan Gibson. The NEAC is one of the member societies of the Federation of British Artists. A history of the Society from its foundation to the year 2000 was written by the art historian Kenneth McConkey and published in 2006.

Honorary life members

* William Bowyer * Michael Brockway *

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasm ...

* Fred Dubery * Bernard Dunstan * Charlotte Halliday * Margaret Thomas

References

External links

NEAC official website
{{Authority control English artist groups and collectives 19th-century art groups English art

History

Honorary life members

See also

References

External links