Royal Society of Marine Artists
The Royal Society of Marine Artists ( RSMA ) is a British artist association of marine painters. It belongs to the Federation of British Artists (FBA ) and has its headquarters in the Mall Galleries in London, where also the other of the nine members of the Federation of British Artists are housed. Among the most important representatives of the Society include Charles Pears, Montague Dawson, Claude Muncaster, Norman Wilkinson and Keith Shackleton.
History
The company was founded in 1939 as the Society of Marine Artists, after the Admiral of the Fleet William Henry Dudley Boyle, Earl of Cork and Orrery, advocated the formation of such a society had and was pushed by the press on broad public interest. The first shows were so successful that the company soon became the main contact point for artists and lovers of marine art. The main exhibition was Sea Power, the. , Under the auspices of King George VI stood and was opened by Winston Churchill.
The Second World War curtailed the activities of the Society a significantly so that there are no exhibitions were held during this period. The first exhibition of the post-war period took place in 1946 at the Guildhall Art Gallery in London, which was rented in the coming years for events. 1966 Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the Royal Charter of the Company so that it ever since Royal Society of Marine Artists may call themselves. 1981 moved the Society to host their annual exhibitions of the Guild Hall in the Mall Galleries near Trafalgar Square.
The Society now has 51 members whose common theme is the sea in all its breadth and diversity. Represented are a wide variety of painting traditions such as plein air painting, history painting, landscape painting, portraiture and still life. The range of media including oil paint, acrylic paint, watercolor and pastel, as well as drawings and prints. The most important activity and at the same time showcase of the company is the big annual exhibition in the prestigious Mall Galleries in London. This is open to contributions from both members and non-members. A jury awards prizes for outstanding works. In addition, the Association organizes workshops, tutorials, demonstrations and lectures.