The Society's History
Haslemere Society of Artists 1894-1930
Towards the end of the 19th Century, Haslemere became a noted centre for Arts and Crafts activity, with painters, architects, designers and weavers all contributing to a rich local culture alongside poets and authors.
In 1894 a committee was formed to arrange an exhibition by leading local artists. Chaired by the Hon. Rollo Russell, son of Prime Minister Lord John Russell, its members included Herbert Hutchinson, Charles Whymper, Rayner Storr, Axel Haig and Walter Tyndale. The exhibition took place from 3rd to 5th October 1894 in the New Educational Hall, since demolished, in Gasworks Lane (given the more elegant name of Kings Road in 1906 to commemorate a visit by Edward VII). It included works by Helen Allingham, Walter Tyndale, Axel Haig, J.W. Whymper, Charles Whymper, Kate Hopkins and W.C.T. Dobson R.A., first President of the Society.
The exhibition became an annual event and led to the creation of the Haslemere Society of Artists. The Society’s Minute Book shows that a set of rules was adopted in 1897, including that “The object of the Society is to encourage local art”. The term “Art” was interpreted broadly, to include “paintings, drawings, etchings, architectural designs and handicrafts”.
Exhibitions continued annually, apart from the period of the First World War. Members of the Society could exhibit, and the Executive Committee had the power of inviting non-members to submit works.
As well as painters, a number of leading members of the Haslemere Society of Artists were notable architects (such as Haig, Penfold and Hutchinson, see below), and their work has become integral to the town’s appeal.
Haslemere Art Society 1931-present
It seems that the original Society came to be regarded as too exclusive, and in 1930 it was dissolved and replaced by the Haslemere Art Society, with broader membership and involvement. The inaugural meeting of the HAS was on 26th March 1931 and its first President was L. Campbell Taylor R.A.
Before many years, it was wartime. However, the Society managed to remain active during the Second World War, with a Show in the Spring of 1940 in Elektra House, as the Museum itself was in daily use at that time for lectures to evacuees. There is also reference to an exhibition in 1941 and a 50th-year Jubilee Exhibition in 1944.
One of the key figures in the Society in the mid-20th century was Terence Lambert, whose membership bridged the old and the new Societies and who served as Chairman of the HAS for 23 years from 1951 to 1974. Also noteworthy is the 34-year Presidency served by Thorold Harper from 1943 to 1977.
It was in 1951 that our HAS logo was created. The Society’s Committee ran a members’ competition for a design and the winning entry was by Mr C. J. Creed.
The Society held a major exhibition in July 1994 to celebrate its centenary. As well as new works by members, this Show collected together numerous works by original founder members.
W.C.T. Dobson RA, RWS 1817-1898
W.C.T. Dobson had work in the first exhibition in 1894 and was the Society’s first President, chairing two General Meetings in 1897. He lived in nearby Lodsworth. He was regarded in Victorian times as a very considerable artist in both oils and water-colours, and his painting “St. Paul at Philippi”, 1872, is in the Royal Academy’s collection.
Axel Herman Haig 1835–1921
Axel Haig was an architect and artist, a friend of George Bernard Shaw and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and was perhaps the leading figure in the Haslemere Society of Artists, serving as President from 1903 to 1921. He designed Grayswood Church, 1902, and the striking relief “Adoration of the Magi” inside the church is also by him. In the last part of his life Haig was well known for his engravings, with subjects influenced mainly by the Gothic revival. His grave is in Grayswood churchyard.
John Wornham Penfold 1828-1909
J.W. Penfold was a leading surveyor and architect, and designer of the Penfold Postbox, an example of which can be seen near the Georgian House Hotel. His principal local work was the reconstruction of the parish church of St. Bartholomew’s in 1870. Another important work was Haslemere’s first hospital on Shepherd’s Hill, now converted into flats.
Rayner Storr 1835-1917
Although not an artist, Rayner Storr played a key part in the early days of the HSA as its treasurer. He built the New Educational Hall (see above) and lived for a period at what is now the Georgian House Hotel.
Helen Allingham RWS 1848-1926
Helen Allingham was a leading water-colourist and many of her much-loved scenes are from the Haslemere and Witley area. She was represented in the HSA’s exhibitions from 1894 through to 1903. She and her husband lived at Sandhills near Witley from 1881 to 1887, and she often returned to the area later, to see friends and to paint. The Allinghams socialised in the area with other leading figures including Tennyson, Gertrude Jekyll, Edwin Lutyens and Sir Robert Hunter, one of the founders of the National Trust. Helen Allingham died in 1926 while on a visit to friends at Valewood House.
Helen Allingham “Fleur de Lys Cottage, Haslemere”
(image: Haslemere Educational Museum)
The Whymper family
Josiah Wood Whymper (1813-1903), a wood engraver and water-colourist, was President of the HSA from 1900 to 1903. J.W. Whymper’s son Charles (1853-1941) was a leading member of the Society from its first meeting. Another son, Edward, was the first man to climb the Matterhorn, in 1865. The Whympers lived in Town House in Haslemere High Street.
Walter Tyndale 1854-1943
Walter Tyndale was born and brought up in Bruges but his family moved to England when he was sixteen. He first became known as a portrait painter but after moving to Haslemere in about 1890 he switched to water-colours, travelled widely and wrote and illustrated books on Egypt (1907), Japan (1910) and Italy (1913). He was the last President of the old HSA and, in 1931, a founding member of the re-constituted Haslemere Art Society. In 1900 Tyndale commissioned W.F. Unsworth and Inigo Triggs to design the Arts and Crafts style house “Broad Dene” in Hill Road as his own home.
Walter Tyndale “A Takhtabosh in Cairo”
Hedley Fitton 1859-1929
Hedley Fitton was President of the HSA from 1922 to 1929. He was an engraver and printmaker noted mainly for his architectural etchings. He came from the Manchester area but moved to Haslemere in 1898.
Herbert Hutchinson 1868-1957
Herbert Hutchinson, an architect and son of Sir Jonathan Hutchinson, the founder of Haslemere Museum, was a founder member of the Haslemere Society of Artists and had work in its exhibitions.
L. Campbell Taylor RA 1874-1969
Campbell Taylor became the first President of the Haslemere Art Society, in its new form, in 1932 and remained President until 1943. He lived in Odiham. He was a figurative artist who brought a modern approach to traditional subjects. His painting “Arabella”, 1931, is in the Royal Academy’s collection.
Alice Hogarth Nicholson 1879 (?) - 1947
Alice H Nicholson served on the Committees of the old HSA in its final year, 1930, and then of the new Haslemere Art Society from 1931 until her death in 1947. She was Chairman from 1936 to February 1939. Born in Manchester, she was active in St Ives, Cornwall, and then came to live in Beacon Hill, Hindhead in the 1920’s. Her painting “Idleness”, shown below, is in the Gray Art Gallery and Museum in Hartlepool.
Alice H Nicholson “Idleness” (Image: Hartlepool Borough Council)
November 2019