Exhibitions

The Art Manufactures Association was established in1856.  The Association held exhibitions at the National Gallery in Edinburgh in 1856, 1857, 1861 - and which other years?

Catalogues

The catalogue for the First Art Manufactures Exhibition held at National Gallery, Edinburgh, began:

 1856 EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

PREFACE

"The object of Art Manufacture Association is to offer opportunities for elevating the imperfectly cultivated taste of the public, by making them familiar with the best Ancient and Modern specimens of Art Manufacture, and at the same time to encourage Manufacturers and Designers to leave the beaten track, and produce  Works worthy of the place which the nation occupies in every other department of intellectual exertion."

 1861 EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

"The 1856 and 1857 exhibitions, held in the Gallery, were formed for encouraging the application of high art to the manufacture of articles of utility and ornament"

Photographs in Exhibitions

The first two Art Manufactures Exhibitions, in 1856 and 1857, were held in the winter months of December and January, in direct competition with the first two photographic exhibitions staged by the Photographic Society of Scotland.

1856  -   A few photographs were included in the 1856 Art Manufactures Exhibition.

1857  -   Many more photographs were included in the 1857 Art Manufactures Exhibition.

Several of Edinburgh's professional photographers chose to exhibit in "The Art" rather than the PSS exhibition, following a disagreement between the amateur and professional PSS Members.

1861   -    Manufactures Exhibition.  

No suitable class was provided for photography in this exhibition.

Early Exhibitions

1854   1855   Art Manufactures  1856 Exhibition   1857 Exhibition   1861 Exhibition