The Illustrated Catalogues of the Halifax Art Society

In 1875 the Rembrandt Club was formed in Halifax as a way of bringing artists together to celebrate their own works and appreciate fine art as a collective. It wasn't the first society of its kind though; this blog post will look at its origins and its legacy as viewable through our pamphlet box collection and what else we've been able to find in the Local Studies resources.

The Halifax Art Union, as it started out, is seen mentioned in Halifax newspapers as early as 1844. Its meetings were held at the Mechanics Institute and artists would sell their work at annual exhibitions, both to each other and to the public. However it didn't seem to prosper - within a few years the Union had to make an appeal to members to make up an accounts shortfall of 19s. from room hire and exhibition costs - and after 1846 it disappeared from public record.

Whatever informal art group remained after this was so underground as to escape all mention anywhere, but around 1875, a few local artists began to coalesce again and think of forming an actual group again along the lines of the Union. In 1875 the Rembrandt Club began operation. Malcolm Bull's "Calderdale Companion" describes the Club as having formed when founders Richard Edwin Nicholson and Henry Raphael Oddy (brothers in law) left the Halifax Art Union, so perhaps it had continued quietly in the meantime as a loosely organised group of friends.

Regardless of what happened in the 30 year gap in newspaper coverage, Nicholson and Oddy set up the new Club, and other artists flocked to it. Exhibitions were held at the Mechanics Institute as before but also the Freemason Hall and other locations as desired.

The Society's aims, as printed at the back of the 1884 illustrated catalogue

By 1884 the Club had decided to rebrand as the Halifax Art Society, and that's where our 707 pamphlet box comes into play. It not only includes catalogues of their yearly exhibitions, but illustrated catalogues; so while the works on canvas and metal haven't been preserved fully, their sketches on paper have.

In 1896 the Society was amalgamated into the Yorkshire Union of Artists and ceased to be an organisation of its own which held funds and whatnot; as before, the group fluctuated between highly organised and loosely grouped. Oddy died in 1907 after suffering on and off for years from an unknown health condition that caused occasional paralysis (a horrifying thought for an artist, we're sure). Nicholson continued on, having in the meantime become a member of the Halifax Arts and Crafts Society.

Henry Raphael Oddy, from our Local Studies Portrait Collection (date unknown)

This Society was formed in 1904, with Nicholson saying later in life that he and some of the other old guard were approached about forming this group but had told the younger artists they would have to do it themselves, with support of course, as it needed the new blood and enthusiasm to get it off the ground. Sadly the Arts and Crafts Society did not flourish to the same degree as the original Art Society with WW1 effectively putting an end to it. But their catalogues live on and give us an idea of what sort of items local artists were contributing; and, more importantly maybe, their names and often addresses. Have an artist in the family tree? Maybe they're represented here. One more way our themed pamphlet boxes can open an otherwise closed door into family history research...

Nicholson died in 1941 and his son donated his works to Bankfield Museum, indirectly in a way, as Nicholson's last years were spent trying to obtain a permanent premises for the Society and its paintings and was ultimately unsuccessful (with Bankfield being ruled out initially as a repository due to its distance from the town centre making it unsuitable). The old way of trying to book rooms for meetings and exhibitions wasn't working and Nicholson felt that having a place of the Society's own would help keep it going for future generations. Sadly he was unsuccessful.

Good news though - in 1925 the Art Society reformed and it continues to this day. Nicholson's dream of new generations continuing the torch was realised.

Remember, if there's a subject you're interested in or you're chasing up an ancestor in a specific role or with a specific interest, our pamphlet boxes could contain a host of detail that you wouldn't otherwise stumble across. Not everything is digitised in this world and there's still a place for taking time to access physical collections and browse through them. We never know what we're going to find when we take one of these boxes down...and neither do you unless you do it. Ask at the desk if you ever want to know more.