The Scottish Modern Arts Association
Foundation date: 1907
Dissolution date: 1964
Active: 1907 - 1964
Function: Art society
Policy: 'To ensure the preservation of representative examples of contemporary Scottish art, more particularly by acquiring works of contemporary Scottish artists, and also to assist in the enriching of Scottish public art collections.'
Rules: 'These objects shall be attained by:-
1) The acquisition of works of Art by Scottish Painters, Sculptors, Gravers or other Craftsmen.
2) The acuisition of works of Art by artists other than Scottish.
3) The Exhibition of works so acquired
4) The endeavor to secure adequate representatiojn of Scottish Art in British National Collections.
5) The furtherance of any scheme which shall have for its object the promotion of Modern Scottish Art.'
Meeting schedule: quarterly
History or description: 'In 1932 the chairman Arthur Kay pressed for a 'modern place of art in Edinburgh - a Tate Gallery' a concept that manifested 28 years later in the form of The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (SNGMA). In 1964 the majority of works owned by the SMAA were donated to the City of Edinburgh.'
Activities: meetings
Publications: annual reports
Funding types: annual subscription, lifetime membership
Works
Dates are usually the year a work was exhibited so may differ from date of production.
New entries have been made each time a work was exhibited due to a lack of evidence about the state, medium or edition shown.
Purchased Sir George Reid
1908
Purchased Silence
1908
presented by A. Stodart Walker
Purchased Echo
1914
Purchased The Iris
1917
presented by Sir Hugh Reid, Baronet
Purchased Youth
1919
Purchased Sleep
1920
'Purchased by the Association with the assistance of generous gifts from Members and others.'
Purchased Jock
1920
'Purchased with the assistance of a gift from a Member'
Purchased Fiona
1921
Purchased The Cloud
1924
'Presented by Miss Georgina Cowan, with certain reservations'
Purchased Portrait of an Artist
1927
presented by Leonard Gow
Purchased Captive
1927
Purchased Petrus Paulus - the Belgian painter
1928
Purchased Portrait Bust of Mrs Traquair
1928
Purchased A Kid of the Goats
1929
Purchased Lily
1930
Purchased Lily of the Valley
1930
presented by Reginald Collie
Purchased Ehrna
1931
Purchased Neil Munro, Esq.
1931
Purchased Lady Margaret Sackville
1934
'Presented by a Commitee of her friends to be held by the Association during her lifetime and thereafter to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.'
Purchased Sir D. Y. Cameron, RA, RSA, LLD
1939
Purchased Circe
1939
bequeathed by the artist
Purchased The Egyptian princess
1945
presented by the artist
Purchased La Reveuse
1945
Purchased Portrait Bust of Mrs Traquair
1946 (Circa)
presented by Miss Macgillivray
Purchased Prayer to Aphrodite
1947 (Circa)
presented by the Excecutors of E. L Banner
Purchased Thalia
1954
presented by J. Kent Richardson, RSW
Purchased Study of Figures
1954
presented by J. Kent Richardson, RSW
Institutional and Business Connections
Members included Society of Scottish Artists
1936 (Circa)
Members included The Scottish Arts Club
1936 (Circa)
Shared premises with The Royal Scottish Academy
1958 (Circa)
Held Annual meetings in The Royal Scottish Academy Library
Associated People
Members included Archibald C. Dawson
1936 (Circa)
Members included Percival (Percy) Herbert Portsmouth
1936 (Circa)
p. 22
Members of committee included Robert Burns
21 May 1906
Present for the first meeting for the formation of the SMAA.
Vice-presidents included William Oliphant Hutchison
1952 (Circa) - 1957 (Circa)
Sources
Constitution of The Scottish Modern Arts Association
Citing this record
'The Scottish Modern Arts Association', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/organization.php?id=msib6_1211971758, accessed 01 Oct 2023]
