The New Society of Artists was formed in London in 1921. Its primary aim was to give a chance for artists whose work had not been accepted by the Royal Academy (RA) to exhibit their work in London and, later, in the provinces. In 1932 it became the United Society of Artists. The last known exhibition was in Margate in June 2017.
The formation of the New Society of Artists (NSA) was announced in 1921. It was initially intended for artists whose works were âÂÂcrowded outâ from hanging by the RA, and to give artists in the provinces a chance to exhibit in London. The Provisional Council consisted of The Hon. John Collier, Mr Alex Maclean, Mr C R Chisman, Mr Henry S Kortright, Mr Percy Edsall and Mr Stafford Leake.
The inaugural exhibition was to have been at the Guildhall Art Gallery on 8 June, but instead it opened at the Royal Society of British Artists in Suffolk Street, not far from the RA, on 3 July. The location had been hired for five weeks each summer thanks to the efforts of Charles Robert Chisman and Percy Edsall, âÂÂboth secretaries of well-known art societiesâÂÂ.
A Yorkshire newspaper reported that the exhibition opened with nearly 400 paintings and drawings, âÂÂand a very ordinary lot they are, showing in several instances marked imitative tendenciesâÂÂ. One of the most prominent exhibitors was the Welsh artist Miss Margaret Lindsay Williams, with two works: âÂÂLorenzo Babiniâ and âÂÂThe Imprisoned SoulâÂÂ. Charles de Lacy reported that there had been a rush for membership of the new society.
The following year, the first provincial exhibition of works by NSA members was opened by the Mayor on 10 February at the Museum and Art Gallery, Burton on Trent. In April, a second such exhibition was opened in Worthing; it was greeted with lukewarm praise in the local press. In June 1922, the second annual exhibition opened. It was âÂÂan improvement on the first, and less like a collection of Academy crowded-outs. Women provide much of the qualityâ¦âÂÂ
In 1923, the Westminster Gazette commented: Others took a more parochial view. The Hampstead News, for example, said that "There is much in it to interest residents in Hampstead and St John's Wood, as so many well-known artists from these parts have sent exhibits. The Hanging Committee ... have done their work well".
The regional exhibition in February 1924 was held in Northampton. From there it moved to Cheltenham in March. At the 1924 annual exhibition in London, excellent portraits by W Howard Robinson, Frank E Beresford, A Jonniaux and E Newling were highlighted among the 400 exhibits.
The fifth annual show opened as usual at Suffolk Street in June 1925. One reviewer commented: A significant change came in 1926, when the annual London show opened in January instead of the summer.
In June 1932 the annual exhibition opened in London, but this time under the name of the United Society of Artists; members were entitled to use the post-nominal UA. The main reasons for the name change were The Society's 65th Annual Exhibition was held in London from 30 January to 10 February 1985, with an entrance fee of ã1. The last known exhibition was in Margate in June 2017. A large number of the Society's annual exhibition catalogues is held at the National Art Library in London.
Compiled from exhibitors mentioned in reviews of NSA exhibitions.
Source:
Entries without references are derived from the 1932 catalogue.