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Grafton Galleries

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.[1] Roger Fry's two famous exhibitions of Post-Impressionist works in 1910 and 1912 were both held at the gallery.[2]

Grafton Galleries
Formation1893 or earlier
Dissolved1930s
TypeArt gallery
Location
  • 8 Grafton Street, London
    Bond Street, London
Coordinates51°30′36″N 0°08′37″W / 51.51°N 0.1437°W / 51.51; -0.1437
Manager
Francis Gerard Prange
Secretary
Henry Bishop
Parent organization
Grafton Galleries Co Ltd

History

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Location of Grafton Galleries, 1894
 
The Grafton Street entrance to the Grafton Galleries, Illustrated London News, 25 February 1893
 
The Octagon Gallery at the Grafton Galleries, The Graphic, 25 February 1893
 
The Long Gallery at the Grafton Galleries, The Graphic, 25 February 1893

The date of foundation of the Grafton Galleries is not certain; some sources give 1873, when it had an address in Liverpool.[3] 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.[4][5] (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.[3]

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".[6]

From 1905 or earlier, Roger Fry was an advisor to the gallery; he asked William Rothenstein to advise him on exhibition content.[7]

In 1930 a Mr Hurcomb of Piccadilly bought the lease and converted the premises into an auction house,[6] but it was still occasionally used for exhibitions until around 1936. The building was damaged in the Second World War and not restored.[8]

Exhibitions

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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.[9]

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.[5]

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:[3][10][11]

Other artists who exhibited at the gallery include Frank Brangwyn,[1] Alfred Egerton Cooper,[12] 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.[1]

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;[3] and the Allied Artists' Association held its annual show in the Grafton Galleries from 1916 to 1920.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Grafton Galleries. Artist Biographies: British and Irish Artists of the 20th Century. Accessed September 2013.
  2. ^ Benedict Nicolson (January 1951). Post-Impressionism and Roger Fry. The Burlington Magazine 93 (574): 10-15. (subscription required)
  3. ^ a b c d [s.n.] (2006). Grafton Galleries Co Ltd University of Glasgow: Exhibition Culture in London 1878-1908. Accessed September 2013.
  4. ^ Gerry Beegan (2007). The Studio: Photomechanical Reproduction and the Changing Status of Design. Design Issues. The MIT Press. 23 (4): 46-61. (subscription required)
  5. ^ a b Meaghan Clarke. Fashionability, Exhibition Culture and Gender Politics: Fair Women (2021)
  6. ^ a b 'The Grafton Galleries: A Closed Chapter', in The Times, 5 December 1930, p. 17
  7. ^ a b Anne Helmreich (2012). The Socio-Geography of Art Dealers and Commercial Galleries in Early Twentieth-Century London, in: Helena Bonett, Ysanne Holt, Jennifer Mundy (eds.), The Camden Town Group in Context. Accessed September 2013.
  8. ^ 'Art Gallery for Central London', in The Times, 16 July 1955, p. 7
  9. ^ 'Wedgewood 1936 Exhibition', classified advertisement in The Times, 8 May 1936, p. 14
  10. ^ Philip Athill (January 1985). The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers. The Burlington Magazine 127(982): 21-29+33. (subscription required)
  11. ^ The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers: Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951. University of Glasgow. Accessed September 2013.
  12. ^ "Sporting canvas". Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News. British Newspaper Archive. 22 June 1945. p. 26. Retrieved 25 June 2022.

Further reading

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  • Pamela Fletcher and Anne Helmreich (eds.) (2012). The Rise of the Modern Art Market in London, 1850–1939. Manchester: Manchester University Press
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