The Club was founded in 1874 as a sketching club, with the objective of meeting one evening a week to sketch by gaslight. There were just twelve founding members, comprising professional and amateur artists.
By 1875/76 this number had grown significantly with many prominent artists joining the Club. These included Sir Thomas Jones PRHA, Catterson Smith RHA, Augustus Burke RHA and Colles Watkins RHA. The Club held an exhibition of the completed evening sketches, in the Club rooms, for members and friends only, in 1875. In 1876, however, there was a change in direction for the Club, when the first Public Exhibition was held. This consisted not only of sketches from the evening sessions but also finished paintings.
There were 160 sketches from the evening sessions and 205 finished paintings, in the Exhibition, the latter, notably in the majority, were mainly landscape and seascape. The Exhibition was positively reviewed, with the Evening Irish Times commenting that the Club has every reason to be gratified with the result of the Exhibition which affords unquestionable evidence of high artistic talent.
Sunset by Alexander Williams
Image courtesy of Whyte’s
Murlough Bay and Fair Head by Colles Watkins RHA
Image courtesy of National Gallery of Ireland