YORKSHIRE UNION OF ARTISTS

1888 - 1922

The Yorkshire Union of Artists was formed by Ernest Higgins Rigg (1868-1947) and Rowland Henry Hill (1873–1952) after an artist's conference in Bradford in 1887. From 1888 to 1922 the Yorkshire Union of Artists (YUA) held annual exhibitions attracting nationally known artists from Yorkshire. Most of the biggest names in Yorkshire art between 1888 and 1922 were associated with the YUA, and there were indeed some six hundred artists of most persuasions recorded as having shown at their exhibitions. Amongst the most well-known exhibitors were John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836–1893), Lord Frederic Leighton (1830–1896) and Jacob Kramer (1892–1962), and up until 1901 members of the nearby Staithes Group also exhibited there. In 2001 Cartwright Hall in Bradford held an exhibition 'Yorkshire’s Finest – a Celebration of the Yorkshire Union of Artists 1888-1922'. Developed in association with Grant Waters, Art Detective Group Leader: South East England, East England and the Midlands. Suffolk artists who exhibited with the Yorkshire Union of Artists include Samuel Charlesworth.