Guild of Aviation Artists

The Society of Aviation Artists as it was originally called, held its first exhibition at the Guildhall, London in 1954. Its membership at that time consisted of professional artists. The President was Norman Wilkinson, with Frank Wootton as his vice president. In 1958 another entity started in London, known as the Kronfeld Aviation Art Society. It headquarters the Kronfeld Club was a communal centre for gliding and light aviation devotees. The first exhibition took place at its headquarters in 1958. The Kronfeld Aviation Society was eventually replaced by the present Guild of Aviation Artists, which held its first exhibition at the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1971. Its founding President was Frank Wootton and during his long term in office, the GAvA flourished. His successor was Michael Turner a former Kronfeld member and later President of the Guild. They were providential in attracting many former members of the original Society of Aviation Artists, which had yielded under financial pressure. These included Roy Cross, Terence Cuneo, Roy Nockolds, Keith Shackleton and David Shepherd. Currently, the Guild has over 500 members as well as associated worldwide organisations in America, France, Holland, Canada, Australia, Italy and South America. It currently exhibits annually at the Mall Galleries.