North British Academy of Arts

Coordinates: 54°58′44″N 1°36′47″W / 54.979°N 1.613°W

The North British Academy of Arts (1908 - 1924) was an art institution of Newcastle upon Tyne in northern England.

Overview

The Academy, later known as the North British Academy of Arts, Science, Literature, and Music, was located in the Claremount Buildings on the western side of Barras Bridge on the corner with Eldon Place in Newcastle upon Tyne, which is now opposite the County Council Offices.^[1] Its objectives were initially "for the advancement of art, the encouragement and advantages of its associates and members, and for the creation of local art patriotism and enthusiasm amongst cultured and influential classes of North Britain."^[2] They soon evolved to encompass "the betterment of humanity by the advancement of art, literature, science, music, education, law, medicine, manufactures, commerce, agriculture, industries, and, engineering, to the end that the sum of human knowledge may be increased",^[3][4] with the Society organized into ten sections, each presided over by a distinguished specialist.^[4] It was founded in 1908, incorporated in 1913, and dissolved in 1924. William James Morgan (1850-1923) was the secretary throughout the life of the Academy. At various times, Henry John Brinsley Manners (1852-1925), the 8th Duke of Rutland, was its president.^[1][5][6] Early on the membership secretary was Frederick Huntley (1887-1960), and curator was William J. Macgarree. ^[7]

The "Entrance Fee" was two guineas, the "Annual Subscription", one guinea, and "Life Composition", twelve guineas. Annual Meetings were held in September, and exhibitions of members' works normally held twice a year. Members were described as fellows of the Academy, and entitled to append F.N.B.A. after their names.^[1]

Exhibitions

Eight exhibitions were held by the Academy before the Great War.^[8]

Exhibition	Location	Town	Dates
1	Academy of Arts Gallery[9]	Newcastle upon Tyne	3-24 Feb 1909
2	Corporation Art Gallery[10]	City of York	24 Jan-19 Feb 1910
3	Royal Society of British Artists[11]	London	29 Aug-19 Sep 1910
4	Corporation Art Gallery[10]	City of York	3 Jul-12 Aug 1911
5	Towneley Hall Art Gallery & Museums	Burnley	5 Mar-27 Apr 1912
6	Crystal Palace	London	1 Nov-31 Dec 1912
8	Crystal Palace	London	6 Apr-8 Aug 1914

Works known to have been displayed at these exhibitions include:

• Sounding a Rally - A portrait study of Miss Stanley "Bimbie" Edwards, the first English girl scout, by Philip Homan Miller, which was exhibited in the London exhibition of 1910.^[12]
• A Garden in Sark - A watercolour painting by Frances Anne Hopkins, which was exhibited in the York exhibition of 1910.^[13]

Members

Notable men and women were invited to become members, including:

• Robert Lorimer (b. 1864 d. 1929) - Scottish architect.^[14]
• James William Lowber (b. 1847 d. 1930) - Anthropologist of Austin Texas, also elected a fellow and councilor in 1910.^[15]
• Georgina Bainsmith (b. 1858 d. 1937) - Cornish sculptor, also elected a fellow and councilor.^[16]
• Nestor Cambier (b. 1879 d. 1957) - Belgium painter and draftsman, from 1923.^[17]
• Henry Robinson Hall (b. 1859 d. 1927) - Lancastrian, Yorkshire and Northumbrian painter, from 1910.^[18]
• Lillian Heatley (b. 1880 d. 1942) - Wife of painter Harold Swanwick^[7]
• Charles Francis Brush (b. 1849 d. 1929) - American pioneer in the commercial development of electricity.^[19]
• Frances Anne Hopkins (b. 1838 d. 1919) - Canadian and British painter who exhibited at the York Exhibition of 1910.^[13]
• Ernest Christie (b. 1863 d. 1937) - Surrey painter.^[20]
• Ralph Adams Cram (b. 1863 d. 1942) - American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings.^[21]
• Thomas Phillips Honey (b. 1878) - Financier, banker and company director.^[22]
• Chow Cheong Ling (b. 1861 d. 1959) - Chinese: 周长龄; pinyin: Zhou Chang Ling; also Chow Shouson - Chinese diplomat, district customs officer, company & charity director, merchant & Member of the Legislative Council (Hong Kong).^[23][24]
• Francis Henry Lenygon (b. 1877 d. 1943) - Decorator and furnisher in London and New York NY.^[25]
• Edward Enoch Anderson (b. 1878 d. 1961) - Yorkshire artist of the Staithes group elected to honorary membership in 1909 and later became vice-president.^[26]
• William James Morgan (b. 1849 d. 1923) - Secretary throughout the life of the Society.^[1]
• Philip Homan Miller (b. 1845 d. 1928) - Irish artist who exhibited in the 1910 exhibition.^[12]
• Frederick Barnett Kilmer (b. 1851 d. 1934) - Pharmacist, author, public health activist and director of Scientific Laboratories for Johnson & Johnson 1889-1934.^[27]
• Jeme Tien Yow (b. 1861 d. 1919) - Chinese: 詹天佑; pinyin: Zhan Tain You; also Jeme Tien Yau - Chinese naval officer, railway engineer & mandarin elected member in 1909.^[28]
• Jehangir Hormusji Kothari (b. 1857 d. 1934) - Urdu: جهانگیر هورموسجی کوٹهاری - Entitled Indian of Karachi, honorary special magistrate, civil government, philanthropist, holder of the Gold Kaisar-i-Hind Medal (first class) & world traveller.^[29]
• Maisie Strobel (l. 1924) - Succeeded as secretary after the death of William James Morgan, and oversaw the winding up of the Society.^[5][30]
• Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner (b.1854 d.1925) - British statesman, colonial administrator and High Commissioner in South Africa.^[4]
• Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts (b. 1832 d. 1914) - British soldier and field marshal.^[4]
• Arthur Balfour (b. 1848 d. 1930) - British Conservative Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary.^[4]
• Joseph Baynes (b. 1842 d. 1925) - Pioneer of the dairy industry and MLC of Natal, South Africa.^[4]
• William Joseph Napier (b.1857 d.1925) - Liberal Party Member of Parliament for Auckland, New Zealand (1899–1902) and elected a fellow of the Society in 1910.^[3][4]
• A. Bailey (l. 1910) - Australian MLA.^[4][31]
• Frederick Huntley (b. 1887 d. 1960) - Membership secretary for the society. ^[7]
• William J. Macgarree (l. 1909) - Curator for the society. ^[7]

A list of members can be found in the first Exhibition Catalog.^[8]

Publications

Publications^[1] by the academy included:

• Inaugural Address by Sir William Blake Richmond.
• Journal and Transactions of the N.B.A (1909-1913).
• Annual Report (1918, 1921, 1922, 1923).
• Catalogue of the Pictures Exhibited by Members at the Different Exhibitions Held During the Year (1918, 1921, 1922, 1923).

And also

• Jeffrey Marden, Surgeon - A Novel by E.N. Blamey (1913).^[32]
• Exhibition Catalogues (1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1914).^[8]

Awards

A gold medal and honorary fellowship was offered in 1909 to the first British aviator who flew a British-made machine between Newcastle and London to encourage the fledgling British aviation industry.^[33]

A gardening competition was established in 1910 to foster a love of nature and beauty amongst school children, so that the homes of the poor might be beautified and the young provided with an innocent and interesting hobby. Initially there were 2,761 child gardeners at work in the slums of Newcastle upon Tyne, competing for prizes to a total of 50 guineas with the Academy providing the seeds. Their window boxes and flower pots were to be exhibited and judged in one of the school halls of the city in September of the following year. It was intended to extend the competition to London and other cities and towns of the United Kingdom, with school principals in North Britain being asked to encourage their charges to enter the competition.^[34]

Scholarships were provided for talented poor students in the arts, music, painting, literature, etc.^[4]

References

1. The Official Year-Book of the Scientific and Learned Societies of Great Britain and Ireland, Charles Griffin & Co. Ltd., London 1910-1924.
   Note: The entry for 1924 includes the annotation "[No Return.]", and there is no entry for 1925.
2. Dominion, 9 January 1909, page 11e.
3. Pars about People in New Zealand Observer and Free Lance, 8 October 1910, page 4a.
4. Local and General News in New Zealand Herald, 29 September 1910, page 4h.
5. The London Gazette of 4 March 1924 [p1973a] advised that the North British Academy of Arts was voluntarily "wound up" on 5 February 1924 at an Extraordinary General Meeting of its shareholders held at 28 Bedford Row, London. Arthur Willey, accountant, of 50 North Parade, Whitley in Northamptonshire was appointed liquidator. A subsequent Extraordinary General Meeting of its shareholders confirmed these resolutions on 22 February 1924. Maisie Strobel was annotated as secretary of the Society.
6. The London Gazette of 29 April 1927 [p2826a] advised the registration (Reg. No. 5683 R. N'bld.) of the North British Academy of Arts had been cancelled by the Registrar of Friendly Societies as it had ceased to exist.
7. Lillian Heatley - Membership Certificate dated 29 December 1909
8. Catalogue of the National Art Library
9. Evidently the Academy had its own gallery in the Claremount Buildings.
10. The Corporation Art Gallery is known as the Laing Art Gallery.
11. The Royal Society of British Artists appears not to have been the preferred location for this exhibition, as the Academy had applied for, and been refused, permission to hold a second exhibition of works in 1910 at the Laing Art Gallery. (Laing Art Gallery, Committee Minute Book, Volume Two, 29 April 1910 cited on page 182 of Class, Nation and Localism in the Northumberland Art World, 1820-1939 by Rachel Mumba, PhD Thesis, Durham University 2008.
12. The Outlook, 26 November 1910, Page 721.
13. "A Garden in Sark" by Frances Anne Hopkins. There is a North British Academy York Exhibition 1910 label on the reverse side of this watercolor painting.
14. Sir Robert Lorimer Papers, Gen. 1963/1-68 MSS 2482-2494, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh.
15. Anthropologic Miscellanea, American Anthropologist, 12(1): 118-140.
16. Memoir and Letters of Francis W. Newman
17. Nestor Cambier
18. Paintings authenticated by HR Hall, BDB17/SP3/61, Cumbria County Record Office, Barrow-in-Furness, 1910.
19. A Concise Genealogy of Isaac Elbert Brush & Delia Williams Phillips, His Wife, and of Their Descendants, privately published, Cleveland (OH) 1932.
20. Exploring Surreys Past - Ernest Christie
21. New Architect of St. John's Cathedral in Oswego Daily Times, 22 September 1911, Page 7d.
22. Men of 1914: An Accurate Biographical Record of Prominent Men in All Walks of Life Who Have Achieved Success in Their Chosen Vocations in the Various Civil, Industrial, and Commercial Lines of Activity, American Publishers' Association, Chicago 1915.
23. Document III.1: Mr. Chou Show Son in A Documentary History of Hong Kong Society, ed David Faure, Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong 1997, pages 118-9.
24. Chinese Educational Mission Connections 1872-1881 - Chow Chang Ling
25. Francis Henry Lenygon 1877-1943: From Lincoln to Long Island - A Transatlantic Story of a Lincoln Choirister
26. Edward Enoch Anderson RBA 1878-1961
27. Frederick Barnett Kilmer in History of Middlesex County, New Jersey 1664-1920, Volume 2, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York and Chicago 1921, pages 96-7.
28. Chinese Educational Mission Connections 1872-1881 - Jeme Tien Yau.
29. Kothari, Jehangir Hormusji in Supplement to Who's Who in India - Containing Lives and Photographs of the Recipients of Honours on 12th December 1911, Together with an Illustrated Account of the Visit of Their Imperial Majesties the King-Emperor and Queen-Empress to India and the Coronation Durbar by Prag Narain Bhargava, Newul Kishore Press, Lucknow 1912, page 176.
30. No other evidence of a "Maisie Strobel" could be found.
31. No "A. Bailey" was an Australian MLA in 1910. However an Abe Bailey was elected to the first Parliament of the Transvaal Province in 1908 to represent the district of Krugersdorp.
32. British Library Catalogue Call Number NN.1315
33. More Encouragement for British Flyers in Flight - Official Organ of the Aero Club of the United Kingdom, 11 September 1909, page 560.
34. Children and Flower Culture in The Limerick Chronicle, 16 June 1910, page 2e.