Burlington Fine Arts Club
Encyclopedia
The Burlington Fine Arts Club was a London
gentlemen's club
, now dissolved, which was established in 1866 and was disbanded in 1952. It was based at 17 Savile Row
.
The club had its roots in the informal Fine Arts Club, a gathering of amateur art enthusiasts originally based in Marlborough House
in 1856, which moved to South Kensington
from 1857. In 1866 they formalised the new club, although informal meetings under the Fine Arts Club banner continued to be held separately until 1874, using the Burlington as its base.
The original Burlington clubhouse was on the upper three floors of 177 Piccadilly
, between 1866 and 1869, when the club then moved to its Savile Row premises which it retained for the rest of its existence. The club aimed to combine the atmosphere of a typical gentlemen's club for those interested in art, with providing a showcase for amateur artists. Part of the clubhouse doubled up as a regular exhibition venue, the location having been selected for its proximity to Mayfair
art dealers.
Notable members included James McNeill Whistler
, John Ruskin
, Dante Gabriel Rossetti
, William Michael Rossetti
, and Edwin Lutyens
.
The Second World War proved a terrible strain on the Burlington, its last exhibition having been held just prior to the outbreak of war in 1939. With dwindling membership numbers, the club's committee realised that it could no longer afford the lease on its clubhouse after the war. An attempt was made to raise the funds to move to 34 Great Cumberland Place, but this could not be done, and in late 1951, the club's committee voted for the club to go into liquidation, with this happening the following year.
The club's assets were valued at some £14,500, and with most of the members waiving their rights to shares in the club, £13,070, 12s, 5d went into a National Art-Collections Fund in commemoration of the Burlington Fine Arts Club.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
gentlemen's club
Gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...
, now dissolved, which was established in 1866 and was disbanded in 1952. It was based at 17 Savile Row
Savile Row
Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers...
.
The club had its roots in the informal Fine Arts Club, a gathering of amateur art enthusiasts originally based in Marlborough House
Marlborough House
Marlborough House is a mansion in Westminster, London, in Pall Mall just east of St James's Palace. It was built for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the favourite and confidante of Queen Anne. The Duchess wanted her new house to be "strong, plain and convenient and good"...
in 1856, which moved to South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
from 1857. In 1866 they formalised the new club, although informal meetings under the Fine Arts Club banner continued to be held separately until 1874, using the Burlington as its base.
The original Burlington clubhouse was on the upper three floors of 177 Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
, between 1866 and 1869, when the club then moved to its Savile Row premises which it retained for the rest of its existence. The club aimed to combine the atmosphere of a typical gentlemen's club for those interested in art, with providing a showcase for amateur artists. Part of the clubhouse doubled up as a regular exhibition venue, the location having been selected for its proximity to Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
art dealers.
Notable members included James McNeill Whistler
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
, John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
, Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
, William Michael Rossetti
William Michael Rossetti
William Michael Rossetti was an English writer and critic.-Biography:Born in London, he was a son of immigrant Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and the brother of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Christina Georgina Rossetti.He was one of the seven founder members of the...
, and Edwin Lutyens
Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...
.
The Second World War proved a terrible strain on the Burlington, its last exhibition having been held just prior to the outbreak of war in 1939. With dwindling membership numbers, the club's committee realised that it could no longer afford the lease on its clubhouse after the war. An attempt was made to raise the funds to move to 34 Great Cumberland Place, but this could not be done, and in late 1951, the club's committee voted for the club to go into liquidation, with this happening the following year.
The club's assets were valued at some £14,500, and with most of the members waiving their rights to shares in the club, £13,070, 12s, 5d went into a National Art-Collections Fund in commemoration of the Burlington Fine Arts Club.