10 March 2023
The Scottish Arts Club is a members’ club, open to anyone with an interest in the Arts.
The membership comprises those professionally involved in the Arts- including musicians, writers, artists, architects and poets- and lay members from all walks of life who share a love of the Arts.
They hold regular exhibitions, talks, art classes and lunches and even have a quiet garden to relax and recharge.
The Scottish Artists’ Club, as the Club was originally named, was founded in 1873 by a group of artists and sculptors, including Sir John Steell, Sculptor to Queen Victoria, and Sir George Harvey, President of the Royal Scottish Academy.
For twenty years they met in a series of premises around the West End of Edinburgh until in 1894, the building at 24 Rutland Square was purchased. To reflect the widening of membership, the Club was renamed the Scottish Arts Club.
The price of the property was £2100 and members took out a loan of £1600 which was eventually repaid from the proceeds of sales of their works.
The club is proud host to several awards such as the Scottish Portrait Awards and the Scottish Theatre Awards and have a full calendar of events throughout the year. They also host a Drama group and a Writers’ group.
In the Studio, there are weekly sessions with an Oil Painters’ Class, Tuesday Art Class and Friday Life Drawing Group. They are always looking for people to get involved with their classes and are open to suggestions for more groups to get together to share their talents and ideas.
When Edinburgh’s Westender visited the club on your behalf, tables were being set up for lunch. It felt cosy and welcoming and, had I not had a prior engagement, I would have loved to stay for coffee and a slice of millionaire’s shortbread. Next time.
To find out more, visit the website https://www.scottishartsclub.com/
Or contact administrator@scottishartsclub.com
