April 1895: Arts and Crafts Exhibition, in the Queen’s Rooms
An article on page 250 of The Woman’s Signal (page ten, in The British Newspaper Archive), on
Thursday the 18th of April, 1895, reads:
“A unique exhibition — yclept the Arts and Crafts — was opened on the 6th April in the Queen’s
Rooms, Glasgow, for a two-fold object. The idea of the promoters of the scheme was to assist
in clearing off the debt on the building of the Soldiers’ Home at Maryfield [sic], and at the same
time to resucitate interest in art. The exhibition owes its inception to the happy thought of Miss
Boyle, Hillhead, who originally intended it solely for the display of amateur work, but fortunately
the enterprise became more comprehensive, and professional contributions are considerable, many
exhibits having been forwarded by London designers. The ladies’ stall is of the orthodox bazaar type,
while the Soldiers’ Home stall contains a varied miscellaneous collection. At the adjoining stalls
craftsmen are engaged in wood-carving, glass-staining, mosaic work, the printing of etchings
and photogravures, and metal and pottery working. Professor Baldwin Brown delivered a long
and interesting address on the subject of art, and Colonel Oxley afterwards opened the exhibition,
which proved so great an attraction that instead of being open for five days it was prolonged to
ten.”
The British Newspaper Archive.
George Fairfull-Smith, August 2023.