Biography
After an initial forst meeting in 1906, the Scottish Modern Arts Association was founded in Edinburgh in 1907. Established by artists and their supporters, the organisation aimed to secure for the nation a representative collection of modern Scottish art. For more than 50 years it actively acquired work by leading artists of the day. The Association displayed its collection at venues around the UK and abroad. It organised events to promote contemporary art, and campaigned tirelessly for a dedicated gallery. These activities laid the ideological foundations for the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art even though the offer of its collection of over 300 works was rejected by them in 1959. When the Association finally disbanded in the 1960s, most of its artworks were transferred to the City of Edinburgh. They are now maintained by the City Art Centre, Edinburgh which itslef was created from a bequest by Jean F. Watson in 1961.
