The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts

Other names: RGI, The Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (pre-1896)
Foundation date: 29 May 1861

Active: 1861 -

Function: Art society

Policy: The aims of the Institute were:
1) To diffuse among the classes a taste for art generally, and more especially for contemporary Art, to further the diffusion of Artistic and Aesthetic knowledge, and to aid the study, advancement, of art in its applications.
2) To purchase and hold heritable property for the Institute and to sell the same.
3) To construct, alter and maintain any buildings for the purposes of the Institute.
4) To invest the moneys of the Institute.
5) To borrow money, if and when needed determined by the Council.
(Abridged from the 1879 Memorandum of Association)

Rules: 1) The number of Ordinary and Extraordinary Members not to exceed 1500. An Ordinary Membership costs £10, and Extraordinary Membership costs £25 (c.1914). All Members elected by the council at the Annual Meeting.
2) Exhibitions of all Works of Art to be established and encouraged.
3) Works of Art may be purchased by the Association.
4)Provision of an Art library.
5) Lectures on Art and Conversazzioni provided.
6) Grants of money made available to deserving artists and their families in times of need.
7) Exhibitions of Art Manufacturers and of Decorative Art.
8) Admission charges for Exhibitions, Lectures and Conversazzioni.

Meeting schedule: biennial

History or description: Formed in response to the lack of an annual exhibiting society in the West of Scotland. Of the establishing committee, roughly half were artists (including Glasgow sculptor John Mossman), the other half local businessmen. The first annual exhibitions were hugely successful, especially due to it's inclusive policy on reduced entry prices for the working classes.
In 1896, in recognition of the Institute's achievements, Queen Victoria granted it a Royal Charter.
Much of the the Institute's profits went into the building of new premises, which housed not only the annual exhibitions but smaller curated exhibitions throughout the year. Due to the running costs of this, the Institute decided to sell its own premises and revert to its original hire of the McLellan Galleries, which was now more available due to the opening of the then new Corporation Art Gallery at the Kelvingrove. The division of laymen and artists in the council, the effects of the war and the establishment of smaller progressive artists groups and clubs and aesthetic censorship cemented the Institute's growing reputation in the early 20th century as a complacent and conservative enclave dominated by academic painters. Since the 1950's, the council has actively encouraged the practice of inviting artists from outside the west of Scotland and the encouragement of young contemporary artists as it did in the first fifty years of its successful existence.

Activities: art union, conversazione, exhibitions (members only), lectures, lectures on art, musical entertainments, musical evenings

Publications: annual reports, exhibition catalogues, illustrated exhibition catalogues, illustrated guide, illustrated souvenirs, reports

Benefits: advice from fellow members, criticism of work by fellow members, eligible for awards, eligible for exhibition, entry in member's directory, free entry to exhibitions, grants and prizes, guaranteed inclusion in exhibitions, participation in all events, prizes, use of library, use of society's premises, hardship fund

Composition: architects, corresponding members, men and women members, professional artists, professional painters, professional portrait painters, professional sculptors, lay members, working artists

Funding types: annual subscription, annual subscription professional artists, annual subscription corresponding members, art union, bequests, catalogue sales, donations, exhibition entry fees, investments, joining fee, sales commission

Citing this record

'The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts', 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_1220372775, accessed 21 Sep 2023]

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