South Australian Society of Arts

The South Australian Society of Arts was a society for artists in South Australia, later the The Royal South Australian Society of Arts.

The Society was formed as a result of a meeting called for 10 December 1856 at Charles Hill's School of Arts (which was also his home) in Pulteney Street, Adelaide. Owing to inclement weather, only five people turned up to that meeting: Hill, James Macgeorge, W. W. R. Whitridge, David Culley (a gilder and framer) and one Blenkinsop.

From the outset, the board of the Society consisted of a President, who was always the Governor of the day, several Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and a committee of twelve. From 1883 both the Society of Arts and the Philosophical Society were affiliated by Act of Parliament to the Public Library, Museum, and Art Gallery of South Australia and had the right to nominate one member each to be Gazetted to the Libraries Board.

Membership of the Society consisted mainly of dilettante art enthusiasts keen to promote South Australian art rather than working artists, and its activities centred on the running of art unions and exhibitions, and foundation of South Australia's School of Arts and the South Australian Art Gallery. Attendance at meetings, though initially strong, became spasmodic and the work of the Society largely devolved onto Abraham Abrahams (ca.1812 – 3 April 1892), the Society's Secretary from 1866 to 1885.

In April 1887 the South Australian Society of Artists, largely associated with the old South Australian School of Design (the school underwent a bewildering succession of names and functions over the next hundred years), was formed with the express purpose of securing an exhibition space for local artists in the Jubilee Exhibition, held later that year. A. Abrahams, James Ashton, J. W. Billiatt, A. S. Broad, H. Clayton, J. L. Davidson, F. W. Davis, S. V. Fizey, Leonard D. Garlick, H. D. Gell, W. K. Gold, E. Govett, George Greer, J. Hammer, G. C. Hawker, C. Hill, P. Hoare, John Hood, W. R. Hunt, James Irving, A. L. Jessop, W. J. Kennedy, T. H. Lyons, A. MacCormac, M. H. Madge, A. Marval, A. Molten, D. Murray, Poole, R. Rees, Reid, G. A. Reynolds, H. Scott, J. Shakespeare, S. J. Skipper, S. Solomon, W. J. Sowden, L. Tannert, W. Wadham, Samuel Way, W. A. E. West-Erskine, J. White and W. Wivell were among its members, and quickly merged with the Society of Arts, having accomplished its ends.

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