Edinburgh Ladies' Art Club

The Edinburgh Ladies' Art Club (also known as the Edinburgh Professional Ladies' Art Club) was founded in 1888. It was established by Mary Cameron and her contemporaries as an 'oppositional group' to address the lack of professional support in Edinburgh for the tuition of women artists. At the time, the Royal Scottish Academy, based in Glasgow, also failed to offer tuition to female students and excluded them from membership. The Club held its first exhibition in October 1889 at the galleries of Messrs Doig and McKechnie, in George Street. The primary goal of these exhibitions was to place artists' work alongside one another to 'detect wherein their weakness lies' and to encourage a 'spirit of emulation'. Membership was initially limited to 30 artists, though this cap was eventually lifted as the Club grew.

The Club's first president was Christina Paterson in 1892. While complete contemporary membership rolls are often reconstructed from exhibition catalogues and archival research, historical records indicate there were 28 members at the first exhibition in 1889 and 33 by 1892. There appears to have been no meetings after 1898, but I would be happy to be corrected.