NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PAINTERS SCULPTORS ENGRAVERS AND POTTERS
The National Society of Painters, Sculptors, Engravers and Potters was formed by Ernest Marsh (1863-1945) and Charles Robert Chisman (1877-1955) in 1930 to meet a growing desire among artists for an annual exhibition in London, which would embrace all aspects of art under one roof, without prejudice or favour to anyone and this legacy has continued as a guide and inspiration to creative artists, with only a short break between 1940-1945. The freedom to experiment and explore new media or techniques has created a society that is very professional while allowing the individual artists to realise their full potential. It was established at the studio of George Harcourt R.A. (1868-1947) with their first show held at the Grafton Galleries in 1930. Bernard Howell Leach (1887-1979), William Staite Murray (1881-1962), Charles Vyse (1882-1971) and Gwendoline Muriel Parnell (1878-1957), represented the potters but in 1947, the pottery group was abandoned owing to the loss of their exhibiting galleries. The Society is a registered charity and its annual exhibitions, which were open to non-members, were held in February at the Mall Galleries. One of its founder members and later Chairman included Alfred Paul Dalou Drury (1903-1987), the etcher. Other members included David Garshen Bomberg (1890-1957), William Russell Flint (1880-1969), Mark Gertler (1891-1939), Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887-1976), Frank Owen Dobson (1886-1963), Henry Spencer Moore (1898-1986), Bernard Meninsky (1891-1950), Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson (1889-1946), William Newzam Prior Nicholson (1872-1949), Graham Vivian Sutherland (1903-1980) and Jack Butler Yeats (1871-1957). Suffolk artists who exhibit with the National Society of Painters, Sculptors, Engravers and Potters include Geoffrey Philip Richardson, Joan Ward and William Thomas Wood. The Society was still functioning in 2024 with bi-annual 1889-1946 exhibitions now held at The Gallery, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London and at the Menier Gallery, Southbank, London.
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