Biography
The Fine Art Society was founded in 1876 by a group of knowledgeable art collectors. Comprising of a five storey town house in Mayfair, it is the oldest gallery in London. Since its inception the gallery has always championed and worked directly with living artists, giving The Camden Town Group their first show and holding historic shows that have since entered the canon of art history. It is at this location that Whistler invented the concept of a solo exhibition and introduced evenly spaced installations against pale walls – a precursor for every contemporary gallery today.
The Contemporary Gallery was established in 2005 and the new 1,000 square foot space added a progressive dimension to the already prestigious and established history of the gallery whilst retaining independent programming. The Contemporary team have embraced the twentieth and nineteenth century heritage of the gallery and increased cross-cultural links, particularly in Asia, Australia and the US.
Exciting artists have joined the gallery’s core stable and these are complimented by internationally recognised artists who participate in critically engaged survey shows at the gallery, as well as a growing number of global art fairs annually. In October 2014, the Contemporary team organised the biggest ever exhibition in the history of the gallery, the critically acclaimed What Marcel Duchamp Taught Me.
