Chapter XXIII: Act 1861: s. 31, any person may arrest any one whom he shall find (10)

ART SOCIETIES. In banding themselves into societies and associations artists have always been especially remarkable. The fundamental motive of such leaguing together is apparent, for, by the establishment of societies, it becomes possible for the working members of these to hold exhibitions and thereby to obtain some compensation or reward for their labours. With the growth of artistic practice and public interest, however, art societies have been instituted where this primary object is either absent or is allied to others of more general scope. The furtherance of a cult and the specializing of work have also given rise to many new associations in Great Britain, besides the Royal Academy (see ACADEMY, ROYAL). At the outset, therefore, it will be well to mention the leading art societies thus described. The (now Royal) Society of Painters in Water Colours, founded in 1804, and the (now Royal) Society of British Artists (1823), are typical of those societies which exist merely for purposes of holding exhibitions and conferring diplomas of membership. The British Institution (for the encouragement of British artists) was started in 1806 on a plan formed by Sir Thomas Bernard; and in the gallery, erected by Alderman Boydell to exhibit the paintings executed for his edition of Shakespeare, were from time to time exhibited pictures by the old masters, deceased British artists and others, till 1867, when the lease of the premises expired. A fund of L16,200, then in the hands of trustees, had accumulated to L24,610 in 1884. The Artists' Society, formed in 1830, has for its object the providing of facilities to enable its members to perfect themselves in their art. To this end there is a good library of works on art, and abundant opportunities are afforded for general study from the life. In the furtherance of a cult the Japan Society, devoted to the encouragement of the study of the arts and industries of Japan, is a typical example; and the Society of Mezzotint Engravers is representative of those bodies formed in the interests of particular groups of workers. One of the remarkable features in the history of art in Great Britain has been the rapid increase of the artistic rank and file. Taking the number of exhibitors at the principal London and provincial exhibitions, it is found that in the period 1885-1900 the ranks were doubled. At the end of the 19th century it was estimated that there were quite 7000 practising artists. Coincident with this astonishing development there has been a corresponding addition of new art societies and the enlargement of older bodies. For instance, the membership of the Royal Society of British Artists advanced in the period mentioned from 80 to 150. Similar extensions can be noted in other societies, or in such a case as that of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, where the membership is limited to 100, it is to be noticed that more space is given to the works of outsiders. But the expansion of older exhibiting societies has not proved sufficient. Portrait painters, pastellists, designers, miniaturists and women artists have felt the necessity of forming separate coteries. Interesting though these movements from within may be, the growth of societies originating in the spirit of altruism associated with such names as Ruskin and Kyrle is equally instructive. Nearly all these are the products of the last quarter of the 19th century, and include the Sunday Society, which in 1896 secured the Sunday opening of the national museums and galleries in the metropolis.

The specializing of study and work has also given rise to much artistic endeavour. For a long time archaeology--British and Egyptian--claimed almost exclusive attention. Latterly the arts of India and Japan have engaged much notice, and societies have been organized to further their study. Finally, bands of workers in particular branches of art have felt the need of clubbing together in order to protect their special interests. A slight suspicion of trade-unionism is attached to some of these; but on the whole the establishment of such bodies as the Society of Illustrators, the Society of Designers, and the Society of Mezzotint Engravers has been with a view to advancing the public knowledge of the merits of these branches of artistic enterprise.

EXHIBITING SOCIETIES.--(a) Old Established. These in London are: The Royal Academy, the Royal Water Colour Society, the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, the Society of Oil Painters, and the Royal Society of British Artists. In the provinces, the Birmingham Royal Society of Artists has been in existence since 1825, and has a life academy with professors attached. (b) Modern.--In this category are many which reflect the new spirit which came into artistic life in the last quarter of the 19th century. The New English Art Club, founded in 1885 as a protest against academic art, achieves its purpose by exhibition only. The International Society of Painters and Engravers, again, represents the wider ideas of the 20th century. The Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, consisting of fellows and associates, not exceeding 150 in all, conserves the interests of a numerous body of workers, and, in addition to holding exhibitions, confers diplomas (R.E. and A.R.E.) on the exhibitors of meritorious etchings or engravings. The Society of Women Artists (formerly the Society of Lady Artists) is wholly devoted to the display of works by female artists, and in 1891 the Society of Portrait Painters was formed to carry out the object conveyed in its title. Two associations advance the art of the miniature-painter, and the Pastel Society, formed in 1898, holds displays of members' work at the Royal Institute Galleries. In Scotland there is the Royal Scottish Academy. The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Water Colours (Glasgow) grants the title R.S.W. to its members, and the Society of Scottish Artists (Edinburgh), founded in 1891, has a membership of nearly 500 young artists. Other exhibiting societies which call for mention are: The Yorkshire Union of Artists (Leeds), which consolidates many local societies; the Nottingham Society of Artists, which also encourages drawing from the living model; and the Liverpool Sketching Club, founded in 1870, which holds an annual exhibition.

SOCIETIES OF INSTRUCTION AND POPULAR ENCOURAGEMENT.--It is under this head that the chief evidence of the modern art revival will be found. First it should be noted that there are very few societies designed for the artistic improvement of artists. The Artists' Society has already been mentioned; and the Art Workers' Guild, which meets at Clifford's Inn Hall, provides meetings, from which the public is excluded, where profitable discussions take place on questions of craft and design. But, as a rule, the art society, of which only artists are members, is organized for exhibition purposes or for the protection of interests. With regard to those societies of popular and educational intention the old Society of Arts in the Adelphi, founded in 1754, enjoys a good record. Numerous lectures on art subjects have from time to time been given, and in 1887 a scheme was devised by which awards are made to student-workers in design. The Society for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts (Conduit Street) has also laboured since its foundation in 1858 to increase a technical knowledge, its members holding conversazioni at various picture galleries. The Artists' and Amateurs' Conversazione, instituted in 1831, which used to meet at the Piccadilly Galleries and is now defunct, carried out a similar plan. Two other societies, now obsolete, should be mentioned whose method were directly educational. The Arundel Society, which for many years promoted the knowledge of art by copying and publishing important works of ancient masters, issued to its members on payment of annual subscriptions, was eventually wound up on the last day of 1897. The Arundel Club, founded in 1904, continues the aim, but with a wider scope, reproducing works of art rendered somewhat inaccessible by being in private collections. The International Chalcographical Society, formed for the study of the early history of engraving, also did useful work. Another association of painters, sculptors, architects and engravers, the Graphic Society, ceased on the 29th of October 1890. This was one of the most interesting of societies, rare works of art being exhibited and discussed at its meetings. A very active educational body, originated in 1888, namely the Royal Drawing Society, has for its definite object the teaching of drawing as a means of education. The methods of instruction are based on the facts that very young children try to draw before they can write, and that they have very keen perception and retentive memory. The society aims, therefore, at using drawing as a means of developing these innate characteristics of the young, and already nearly 300 important schools follow out its system. Lord Leighton, Sir John Millais, and Sir Edward Burne-Jones took an active part in the society's labours. The Art for Schools Association, founded in 1883, has also done steady work in endeavouring to provide schools with works of art. These are chiefly reproductions of standard works of art or of historical and natural subjects. The wave of enthusiasm aroused by Mr Ruskin's teachings caused Societies of the Rose to be founded in London, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Aberdeen and Glasgow; but some of these eventually ceased active work, to be revived again, however, by the Ruskin Union, formed in the year of the great writer's death (1900). Most of these societies were formed in 1879; but it should not be forgotten that two years earlier the Kyrle Society was started with the object of bringing the refining and cheering influences of natural and artistic beauty to the homes of the people. Under the presidency of Earl Brownlow, the Home Arts and Industries Association continues a work which was started in 1884, and anticipated much of the present system of technical education. Voluntary teachers organize classes for working people, at which a practical knowledge of art handiwork is taught. Training classes for voluntary teachers are held at the studios at the Albert Hall, as well as an annual exhibition. An interesting type of society has been established in Bolton, Lancashire. Under the title of an Arts Guild the members, numbering over 200, devote themselves to the advancement of taste in municipal improvements.

SOCIETIES OF SPECIAL STUDY, PRACTICE AND PROTECTION.--Under this head should be placed those associations which affect a cult, or are composed of particular workers, or which protect public or private interests. Perhaps the chief of the first kind is the Japan Society, which, since its inception in 1892, has been joined by over 1350 members interested in matters relating to Japanese art and industries. The Durer Society, formed in 1897, has for its main object the reproduction of works by Albrecht Durer, and his German and Italian contemporaries. The Vasari Society, founded in 1905, works in harmony with the Arundel Club and the Durer Society, reproducing drawings by the Old Masters. In this category of special study may also be placed the Society for the Encouragement and Preservation of Indian Art, the Egypt Exploration Fund, and the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. Of the societies of special practice it has already been noticed that some are purely exhibiting associations, such as the Portrait Painters, the Pastel Society, and the two miniature bodies. The formation of the Society of Mezzotint Engravers in 1898 is an example of the leaguing together of particular workers to call attention to their interests. Original and translator engravers, together with collectors and connoisseurs, comprise the membership. The decaying art of wood engraving is also fostered by the International Society of Wood Engravers, and the Society of Designers, founded in 1896, safeguards the interests of professional designers for applied art, without holding exhibitions. Special practice and protection are also considered by the Society of Illustrators, composed of artists who work in black and white for the illustrated press. This society was inaugurated in 1894, and fifteen of the members of the committee must be active workers in illustration. As an instance of the tendency of art workers to combine, the Society of Art Masters is a good illustration. This is an association of teachers of art schools, controlled by the art branch of the Board of Education, and has a membership of over 300. Good work of another kind occupies the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty. The council of the Trust includes representatives of such bodies as the National Gallery, the Royal Academy, the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours, the Society of Antiquaries, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Universities, Kyrle Society, Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and the Selborne Society.

FOREIGN ART SOCIETIES.--The following are brief particulars of the chief art societies elsewhere than in Great Britain:--

AUSTRIA.--Vienna, _Vereinigung bildender Kunstler Osterreichs_
(Society of Austrian Painters) and the _Wiener Kunstlergenossenschaft_
(Association of Viennese Artists).

BELGIUM.--Brussels, _Societe des beaux-arts_, the _Libre Esthetique_,
_Societe des aquarellistes et pastellistes_, _Societe royale beige des
aquarellistes_, and numerous private societies (_cercles_) in
Brussels, Antwerp, Liege, Ghent and other cities.

FRANCE.--Paris, the _Societe des artistes francais_ (The Salon),
_Societe nationale des beaux-arts_ (The New Salon), _Societe des
aquarellistes_. Exhibiting societies are the _Societe des artistes
independants_, _Societe des orientalistes_, and _Salon des
pastellistes_.

GERMANY.--The small local societies are affiliated to one large parent
body, the _Deutsche Kunstlergenossenschaft_, in Berlin under the
presidency of Anton von Werner. The _Deutsche Illustratoren-verband_
watches over the interests of illustrators and designers. In Munich
there are two bodies--the _Kunstlergenossenschaft_ (old society of
artists), holding its exhibitions in the Glaspalast, and the _Verein
bildender Kunstler_, the Secessionists.

ITALY.--Four exhibiting societies: Rome, _Societa in Arte Libertas_,
_Scuola degli Aquarellisti_; Milan, _Famiglia Artistica_, _Societa
degli Artiste_; Florence, _Circolo Artistico_; Naples, _Instituti di
Belli Arti._

PORTUGAL.--_Sociedade promotora das Bellas-Artes_ and _Gremio
Artistico_.

RUSSIA.--There is no exclusively art society of importance, but there
is at St Petersburg the _Societe litteraire et artistique_.

SPAIN.--Madrid, _L'Association des artistes espagnols_.

SWEDEN.--Stockholm, _Svenska Konstuareruas Forening_.

SWITZERLAND.--Berne, _La Societe des peintres et sculpteurs suisses_.

UNITED STATES.--New York, National Academy of Design, American Water
Color Society, and National Sculpture Society. (A. C. R. C.)

ART TEACHING. It is the tendency of all departments of the human mind to outgrow their original limits. Traditions of teaching are long-lived, especially in art, and new ideas only slowly displace the old, so that art teaching as a whole is seldom abreast of the ideas and practice of the more advanced artists. The old academic system adapted to the methods and aims in art in the 18th century, which has been carried on in the principal art schools of Great Britain with but slight changes of method, consisted chiefly of a course of drawing from casts of antique statues in outline, and in light and shade without backgrounds, of anatomical drawings, perspective, and drawing and painting from the living model. Such a training seems to be more or less a response to Lessing's definition of painting as "the imitation of solid bodies upon a plane surface." It seems to have been influenced more by the sculptor's art than any other. Indeed, the academic teaching from the time of the Italian Renaissance was no doubt principally derived from the study of antique sculpture; the proportions of the figure, the style, pose, and sentiment being all taken from Graeco-Roman and Roman sculptures, discovered so abundantly in Italy from the 16th century onwards. As British ideas of art were principally derived from Italy, British academics endeavoured to follow the methods of teaching in vogue there in later times, and so the art student in Great Britain has had his intention and efforts directed almost exclusively to the representations of the abstract human form in abstract relief. Traditions in art, however, may sometimes prove helpful and beneficial, and preservative of beauty and character, as in the case of certain decorative and constructive arts and handicrafts in common use, such as those of the rural waggon-maker and wheelwright, and horse-harness maker.

Some schools of painting, sculpture and architecture have preserved fine and noble traditions which yet allowed for individuality. Such traditions may be said to have been characteristic of the art of the middle ages. It often happens, too, when many streams of artistic influence meet, there may be a certain domination or ascendancy of the traditions of one art over the others, which is injurious in its effects on those arts and diverts them from their true path. The domination of individualistic painting and sculpture over the arts of design during the last century or two is a case in point.

With the awakening of interest in industrial art--sharply separated by pedantic classification from fine art--which began in England about the middle of the 19th century, schools of design were established which included more varied studies. Even as early as 1836 a government grant was made towards the opening of public galleries and the establishment of a normal school of design with a museum and lectures, and in 1837 the first school of design was opened at Somerset House. In 1840 grants were made to establish schools of the same kind in provincial towns, such as Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds and Paisley. The names of G. Wallis in 1847, and Ambrose Poynter in 1850, are associated with schemes of art instruction adopted in the government art schools, and the year 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, was also marked by the first public exhibition of students' works, and the first institution of prizes and scholarships. In 1852 "the Department of Practical Art" was constituted, and a museum of objects collected at Marlborough House which afterwards formed the nucleus of the future museum at South Kensington. In 1853 "the Department of Science and Art" was established, and in 1857, under the auspices of Henry Cole, the offices of the department and the National Art Training School were removed from Marlborough House to South Kensington. Classes for instruction in various crafts had been carried on both at Somerset House and Marlborough House, and the whole object of the government schools of design was to give an artistic training to the designer and craftsman, so that he could carry back to his trade or craft improved taste and skill. The schools, however, became largely filled by students of another type--leisured amateurs who sought to acquire some artistic accomplishment, and even in the case of genuine designers and craftsmen who developed pictorial skill in their studies, the attraction and superior social distinction and possibility of superior commercial value accruing to the career of a painter of easel pictures diverted the schools from their original purpose.

For some time after the removal to South Kensington, during the progress of the new buildings, and under the direction of Godfrey Sykes and F.W. Moody, practical decorative work both in modelling and painting was carried out in the National Art Training School; but on the completion of these works, the school relapsed into a more or less academic school on the ordinary lines, and was regarded chiefly as a school for the training of art teachers and masters who were required to pass through certain stereotyped courses and execute a certain series of drawings in order to obtain their certificates. Thus model-drawing, freehand outline, plant-drawing in outline, outline from the cast, light and shade from the cast, drawing of the antique figure, still life, anatomical drawings, drawing and painting from the life, ornamental design, historic studies of ornament, perspective and geometry, were all taken up in a cut-and-dried way, as isolated studies, and with a view solely to obtaining the certificate or passing an examination. This theoretic kind of training, though still in force, and though it enabled the department to turn out certificated teachers for the schools of the country of a certain standard, and to give to students a general theoretic idea of art, has been found wanting, since, in practice, when the student in design leaves his school and desires to take up practical work as a designer or craftsman, he requires _special_ knowledge, and specialized skill in design for his work to be of use; and though he may be able to impart to others what he himself has laboriously acquired, the theoretic and general character of his training proves of little or no use, face to face with the ever shifting and changing demands of the modern manufacturer and the modern market.

A growing conviction of the inadequacy of the schools of the Science and Art Department (now the Board of Education), considered as training grounds for practical designers and craftsmen, led to the establishment of new technical schools in the principal towns of Great Britain. The circumstance of certain large sums, diverted from their original purpose of compensation to brewers, being available for educational purposes and at the disposal of the county councils and municipal bodies, provided the means for the building and equipment of these new technical schools, which in many cases are under the same roof as the art school in the provincial towns, and, since the Education Act of 1902, are generally rate-supported. The art schools formerly managed by private committees and supported by private donors, assisted by the government grants, are now, in the principal industrial towns of Great Britain, taken over by the municipality. Birmingham is singularly well organized in this respect, and its art school has long held a leading position. The school is well housed in a new building with class-rooms with every appliance, not only for the drawing, designing and modelling side, but also for the practice of artistic handicrafts such as metal repousse, enamelling, wood-carving, embroidery, &c. The municipality have also established a jewelry school, so as to associate the practical study of art with local industry. Manchester and other cities are also equipped with well-organized art schools.

The important change involved in the incorporation of the Science and Art Department with the Board of Education also led to a reorganization of the Royal College of Art. A special council of advice on art matters was appointed, consisting of representatives of painting, sculpture, architecture and design, who deal with the Royal College of Art, and appoint the professors who control the teaching in the classes for architecture, design and handicraft, decorative painting and sculpture, modelling and carving. The council decide upon the curriculum, and examine and criticize the work of the college from time to time. They also advise the board in regard to the syllabus issued to the art schools of the country, and act as referees in regard to purchases for the museum.

Of other institutions for the teaching of art, the following may be named: The Royal Drawing Society of Great Britain and Ireland, which was formed principally to promote the teaching of drawing in schools as a means of education. The system therein adopted differs from the ordinary drawing courses, and favours the use of the brush. Brushwork has generally been adopted for elementary work, too, by London County Council teachers, drawing being now a compulsory subject. Remarkable results have been obtained by the Alma Road Council schools in the teaching of boys from eight to twelve by giving them spaces to fill with given forms--leaf shapes--from which patterns are constructed to fill the spaces, brush and water-colour being the means employed. At the Royal Female School of Art in Queen Square, London, classes in drawing and painting from life are held, and decorative design is also studied. There are also the Royal School of Art Needlework and the School of Art Wood-carving, all aided by the London County Council. The City and Guilds of London Institute has two departments for what is termed "applied" art, one at the South London School of Technical Art, and the other at the Art Department in the Technical College, Finsbury. The Slade School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, University College, Gower Street, confines itself to drawing and painting from the antique and life, and exercise in pictorial composition. There are also lectures on anatomy and perspective. The Slade professorships at Oxford and Cambridge universities are concerned with the teaching and literature of art, but they do not concern themselves with the practice. There are also, in addition to the schools of art named and those in connexion with the Board of Education and the London County Council in the various districts of London, many and various private clubs and schools, such as the Langham and "Heatherley's," chiefly concerned in encouraging drawing and painting from the life, and for the study of art from the pictorial point of view, or for the preparation of candidates for the Royal Academy or other schools. The polytechnics and technical institutes also provide instruction in a great variety of artistic crafts.

A general survey, therefore, of the various institutions which are established for the teaching of art in Great Britain gives the impression that the study of art is not neglected, although, perhaps, further inquiry might show that, compared with the great educational establishments, the proportion is not excessive. Now that the Education