Grafton Galleries Explained

Grafton Galleries
Formation:1893 or earlier
Dissolved:1930s
Type:Art gallery
Location:8 Grafton Street, London
Bond Street, London
Coords:51.51°N -0.1437°W
Leader Title:Manager
Leader Name:Francis Gerard Prange
Leader Title2:Secretary
Leader Name2:Henry Bishop
Parent Organization:Grafton Galleries Co Ltd

The Grafton Galleries, often referred to as the Grafton Gallery, was an art gallery in Mayfair, London. The French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel showed the first major exhibition in Britain of Impressionist paintings there in 1905. Roger Fry's two famous exhibitions of Post-Impressionist works in 1910 and 1912 were both held at the gallery.

History

The date of foundation of the Grafton Galleries is not certain; some sources give 1873, when it had an address in Liverpool. The gallery was incorporated in London on 16 June 1891, and opened in February 1893 at 8 Grafton Street, with an extensive suite of rooms extending to Bruton Street. (The address was usually given as Grafton Street-Bond Street). The building was designed by John Thomas Wimperis (1829-1904) and William Henry Arber (1849-1904). The first manager was Francis Gerard Prange.

By the early 1900s Venant Benoist, a French-born caterer working in Piccadilly, was the manager, and the buildings were let out for receptions, dinners, concerts and dances. The downstairs banqueting hall, hung with the famous groups of the Dilettante Society painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, was described by The Times as "one of the most beautiful dining rooms in London".

From 1905 or earlier, Roger Fry was an advisor to the gallery; he asked William Rothenstein to advise him on exhibition content.

In 1930 a Mr Hurcomb of Piccadilly bought the lease and converted the premises into an auction house,[1] but it was still occasionally used for exhibitions until around 1936. The building was damaged in the Second World War and not restored.[2]

Exhibitions

The first London exhibition of the Grafton Galleries opened on 18 February 1893. Despite many ups and downs, the Galleries were still in use in 1936.[3]

In 1894 Fair Women - which according to Meaghan Clarke was the Victorian equivalent of a contemporary blockbuster exhibition - featured historical and contemporary portraits of 'fair' women. Takings over the run of the show reached £8,000.[4]

The most celebrated exhibitions held there were Paul Durand-Ruel's Impressionist show of 1905, and the two Post-Impressionist exhibitions put on by Roger Fry: Manet and the Post-Impressionists in 1910–11, and the Second Post-Impressionist Exhibition of 1912.

Exhibitions held at the gallery include:

Other artists who exhibited at the gallery include Frank Brangwyn, Alfred Egerton Cooper,[5] John Lavery, William Orpen, Christopher Nevinson, Ben Nicholson, Glyn Philpot, William Bruce Ellis Ranken, Frank Salisbury, John Singer Sargent, James Jebusa Shannon and George Fiddes Watt.

The Ridley Art Club held its annual exhibition at the gallery from 1897 to 1919; the Society of Miniaturists held its annual exhibition there from 1905 until 1926; and the Allied Artists' Association held its annual show in the Grafton Galleries from 1916 to 1920.

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. 'The Grafton Galleries: A Closed Chapter', in The Times, 5 December 1930, p. 17
  2. 'Art Gallery for Central London', in The Times, 16 July 1955, p. 7
  3. 'Wedgewood 1936 Exhibition', classified advertisement in The Times, 8 May 1936, p. 14
  4. Meaghan Clarke. Fashionability, Exhibition Culture and Gender Politics: Fair Women (2021)
  5. News: Sporting canvas . 25 June 2022 . Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News . British Newspaper Archive . subscription . 22 June 1945 . 26.

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