The Liver Sketching Club

The Liver Sketching Club is a Liverpool, England artists' club, established in 1872.

History

The club was formed as the Liverpool Amateur Sketching Club in May 1872.

To put that into context, that was 50 years before the Lady Lever Art Gallery in nearby Port Sunlight opened, 56 years before the Williamson in Birkenhead and more than 60 years before the Atkinson in Southport. The club had been in existence for 5 years when our major local gallery, The Walker, opened its doors for the first time and when the Artists' Club began in Liverpool.

In the wider art world, the club was formed in the year in which Mondrian was born. Matisse was 3 years old at the time, Lautrec was 8 and [Sickert was 12. It would be another 9 years before Picasso was born and 12 years before the birth of Modigliani.

It was the year in which Monet painted "Impressions, Sunrise" - the painting which gave a name to the first of the modern movements in art.

There were ten founding members who met in the Church of St Augustine in the Liverpool suburb of Everton once each month [nowadays, the club meets around 35 times each month] . The annual subscription was half a crown [12.5p] . One of the founder members was the Irish born watercolourist, David Woodlock (1842-1929)who became President in 1879.

In the third year, the name was changed to The Liver Sketching Club.

In 1880, the club moved to the city centre - where it has remained ever since -and took premises in Cuthbert's Buildings, Clayton Square. In 1890, the club moved again, this time to premises which it would occupy for most of its life -11 Dale Street, Liverpool. The club prospered and by the turn of the century, the membership exceeded 100. The premises were extended and the walls boarded and covered with canvas allowing the space to be used as both a studio and an exhibition area.

The style of life in those days seems to have been a little different from today. There are comments in archive documents about members staying at the studio all day, having lunch there and mention of a lady serving afternoon tea.

These days, membership of the club is open. Up to the early 1960s, anyone who was interested in becoming a member would first have to apply to be an Associate, and such applications would have to be supported by two sponsors. Only full Members could become officers of the club and vote. To reach such a status required the submission of an application with three paintings for consideration by the Committee.

After the First World war - and perhaps because of it - the club experienced difficult times. Membership fell and studio space was reduced. In March 1936, there was a fire at the studio which destroyed many paintings and drawings - and also most of the club's archive material and books. The documents which survive still smell of smoke to this day.

There is little doubt that club members at the time were good artists, but they appear to have lacked some mathematical skills as the 100th Annual Exhibition was held in 1964 - the club's 92nd year.

The club remained in Dale Street for about 80 years - despite Hitler's best efforts. The studio windows were blown out several times and there were problems with the blackout in the city centre. During these years, the club held its exhibitions at the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight.

In the 1970s, the club had to leave Dale Street due, according to archive material "to the actions of a now defunct building society". The move was to Studio 55 at Bluecoat Chambers, School Lane. In the early 1990s, we moved to 36 Seel Street, Liverpool, but a planned re-development of the building persuaded us to find another studio. The latest chapter in the story is the move to our current studio space on 7th floor of Gostins Building, Hanover Street, Liverpool in March 2004.

Current activities

The club is extremely active with around 70 members - most of whom attend one or more of the eight weekly classes and, in accordance with the club's original aim, work as much as possible from live models.

Sources

* [http://www.liversketchingclub.co.uk/history.html History page from club website] (used with permission)

External links

* [http://www.liversketchingclub.co.uk/index.html Club home page]
* [http://www.geocities.com/liversketchingclub Geocities web page]