Grafton Galleries

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Grafton Galleries
Eugene Grasset, poster for Grafton Galleries, 1893.jpg
Eugène Samuel Grasset (25 May 1845 – 23 October 1917), poster for an exhibition of French decorative art at the Grafton Galleries, 1893
Formation1893 or earlier
Dissolvedc. 1930
Type Art gallery
Location
  • 8 Grafton Street, London
    Bond Street, London
Coordinates 51°30′36″N0°08′37″W / 51.51°N 0.1437°W / 51.51; -0.1437 Coordinates: 51°30′36″N0°08′37″W / 51.51°N 0.1437°W / 51.51; -0.1437
Manager
Francis Gerard Prange
Secretary
Henry Bishop
Parent organization
Grafton Galleries Co Ltd

The Grafton Galleries, often referred to as the Grafton Gallery, was an art gallery in Mayfair, London. The French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel showed the first major exhibition in Britain of Impressionist paintings there in 1905. [1] Roger Fry's two famous exhibitions of Post-Impressionist works in 1910 and 1912 were both held at the gallery. [2]

Contents

History

The entrance to the Grafton Galleries, Illustrated London News, 25 February 1893 Entrance to the New Grafton Galleries, Illustrated London News, 25 February 1893, p. 248.jpg
The entrance to the Grafton Galleries, Illustrated London News , 25 February 1893
The Octagon Gallery at the Grafton Galleries, The Graphic, 25 February 1893 The Octagon Gallery - The Opening of the New Grafton Galleries, Graphic, 25 February 1893, 47- 184.jpg
The Octagon Gallery at the Grafton Galleries, The Graphic , 25 February 1893
The Long Gallery at the Grafton Galleries, The Graphic, 25 February 1893 The Long Gallery - The Opening of the New Grafton Galleries, Graphic, 25 February 1893, 47- 184.jpg
The Long Gallery at the Grafton Galleries, The Graphic, 25 February 1893

The date of foundation of the Grafton Galleries is not certain; some sources give 1873, when it had an address in Liverpool. [3] The gallery was incorporated in London on 16 June 1891, and opened in February 1893, [4] [5] first at 8 Grafton Street, and later, from 1896, in Bond Street. The manager was Francis Gerard Prange. [3] From 1905 or earlier, Roger Fry was an advisor to the gallery; he asked William Rothenstein to advise him on exhibition content. [4]

Exhibitions

The first London exhibition of the Grafton Galleries opened on 18 February 1893; the last was probably in 1930. [3] The most celebrated exhibitions held there were Paul Durand-Ruel's Impressionist show of 1905, and the two Post-Impressionist exhibitions put on by Roger Fry: Manet and the Post-Impressionists in 1910–11, and the Second Post-Impressionist Exhibition of 1912.

Exhibitions held at the gallery include: [3] [6] [7]

Other artists who exhibited at the gallery include Frank Brangwyn, John Lavery, William Orpen, Christopher Nevinson, Ben Nicholson, Glyn Philpot, William Bruce Ellis Ranken, Frank Salisbury, John Singer Sargent, James Jebusa Shannon and George Fiddes Watt. [1]

The Ridley Art Club held its annual exhibition at the gallery from 1897 to 1919; the Society of Miniaturists held its annual exhibition there from 1905 until 1926; [3] and the Allied Artists' Association held its annual show in the Grafton Galleries from 1916 to 1920. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 Grafton Galleries. Artist Biographies: British and Irish Artists of the 20th Century. Accessed September 2013.
  2. Benedict Nicolson (January 1951). Post-Impressionism and Roger Fry. The Burlington Magazine93 (574): 10-15. (subscription required)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 [s.n.] (2006). Grafton Galleries Co Ltd University of Glasgow: Exhibition Culture in London 1878-1908. Accessed September 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Anne Helmreich (2012). The Socio-Geography of Art Dealers and Commercial Galleries in Early Twentieth-Century London, in: Helena Bonett, Ysanne Holt, Jennifer Mundy (eds.), The Camden Town Group in Context. Accessed September 2013.
  5. Gerry Beegan (2007). The Studio: Photomechanical Reproduction and the Changing Status of Design. Design Issues. The MIT Press. 23 (4): 46-61. (subscription required)
  6. Philip Athill (January 1985). The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers. The Burlington Magazine127(982): 21-29+33. (subscription required)
  7. The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers: Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951. University of Glasgow. Accessed September 2013.

Further reading