Ulster Arts Club

The Club was founded at the end of 1902 and was originally called the Ulidian Artists' Club but within a matter of weeks was changed to the The Ulster Arts Club. Early members included largely unknown Irish artists and men associated with the arts in general. The names of John Vinycomb, Francis Edward Ward. William Robert Gordon, William Joseph Douglas and R.J.Woods are all mentioned in the Club's early minutes. By profession, they included lithographers, designers, stained glass designers, embroidery designers, architects, photographers, a modeller and decorative plasterer, a scenic artist and a modelling master. Although based in Belfast there is no evidence that at any time in its history, any one group, faction or party tried to dominate the Club or to deny membership to anyone on grounds which would have been unacceptable to the founders. Exhibitions were organised by committees and the first of note was an 'Exhibition of Modern Art' held at the Municipal Gallery, located in the Central Library Building in April 1906. It comprised 150 paintings, of which 45 were on loan from the Hugh Lane Collection and was arguably the greatest exhibition of modern paintings ever seen in Ireland. As well as works of Constable, John Lavery, Augustus John, William Orpen, J. B. Yeats and Whistler, there were paintings by most of the leaders of French Impressionism. Certain controversy and notoriety was achieved when in 1929, Wilson Steer was invited to exhibit at the newly opened Ulster Museum and Art Gallery. A nude painting by Steer was removed following much protestation. The minute books for 1937 show that there were nine sub-committees. Areas such as Exhibition, Drama and Literature, Games, Golf Circle, Library and Finance and Social and Entertainment were amongst them.

During World War II, temporary membership was granted to visiting arts enthusiasts and these included Stanley Spencer. In 1944, the Club instituted the scheme for the awarding of prizes to students at the Belfast College of Art. In 1949, reciprocal membership was established with the Scottish Arts Club in Edinburgh, and with the United Arts Club, Dublin. Other arts practitioners associated over the years have included Joseph William Carey, Hans Iten, Charles Braithwaite, Humbert Craig, Colin Middleton, and Rendle Wood.