CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY

1910 - ?

The Contemporary Art Society was formed in 1910 to encourage the development of contemporary art in Britain, and its exhibition within the museums and galleries of the country. They wished to match what was being done by the National Art-Collections Fund for the art of earlier periods, by enabling the national and municipal galleries to add contemporary works to their collections. Over 10,500 works of fine art and craft have been donated to public collections since their foundation and had also laid the basis of the Tate's modern collection. The Contemporary Art Society currently (2022) has a membership of 78 museums across the UK: from Plymouth in the South to Orkney in the north, from Swansea in the West to Norfolk Contemporary Art Society in Norwich in the East. These museums welcome more than twenty-one million visitors a year collectively. Based in London, they raise income through an international network of patrons and private collectors. Typically, just over 88% of their annual investment in art purchase is focussed outside of London, ensuring that funding for art is distributed for the benefit of the whole nation, whether that is in major metropolitan centres or small, rural, or post-industrial towns.
Website: https://contemporaryartsociety.org