Mall Galleries empowers artists through a not-for-profit programme of exhibitions and events, prizes and awards, with a focus on figurative art.
Managed by the Federation of British Artists, a visual arts charity founded in 1961, Mall Galleries offers learning and engagement opportunities for everyone.
The Federation comprises nine national art societies, each specialising in figurative art. All of the societies host their annual exhibitions at Mall Galleries, which are regarded as flagships for the art forms they champion.
Although the Federation of British Artists was founded in 1961, a timeline of its history should begin long before, in 1823, with the founding of the first member art society.
1823: On 21 May, a group of painters gathered at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London and formed the Society of British Artists, known today as the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA), the oldest art society within the Federation of British Artists
1824: On 19 April, the inaugural exhibition of the Society of British Artists opened on the corner of nearby Suffolk Street and Pall Mall (at which sold works were indicated by a black spot, not the universal red dot of today)
1831: The New Society of Painters in Water Colours was founded, nowadays the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI), whose first exhibition opened at 16 Old Bond Street on 14 April 1832
1882: The Institute of Oil Painters was founded, which became the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) in 1909
1885: The New English Art Club was founded, whose inaugural exhibition opened at Marlborough Gallery, Pall Mall, in 1886
1891: A group of artists joined together to found the Society of Portrait Painters, today the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP), devoted to the art and development of portrait painting
1898: The Pastel Society (PS) was founded, whose inaugural exhibition opened on 4 February 1899 in Piccadilly with 311 exhibits by 72 artists
1930: The Royal Society of British Artists established an Art Club as part of its educational provisions, which was re-named the Hesketh Hubbard Art Society (HH) in 1958; today, the Hesketh Hubbard Art Society has a membership of 200 artists, making it London’s largest life drawing group
1939: Founding of the Society of Marine Artists, whose inaugural independent exhibition opened at London’s Guildhall in 1946 after the Second World War, and which became the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA) in 1966
1959: On 26 February, the first meeting was held to discuss the proposal of creating a Federation of British Artists: the bringing together of a number of art societies under one administrative umbrella, to pool and share resources, while retaining their independence and autonomy. Among those attending were the Presidents of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, New English Art Club, and Royal Society of British Artists
1961: Under the direction of its first Secretary-General, Maurice Bradshaw, the Federation of British Artists incorporated and became established as a charitable company that operated from the RBA Galleries in Suffolk Street
1964: Founding of the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA), the youngest society in the FBA, devoted to wildlife art
1971: On 25 February, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Mall Galleries, the new home of the Federation, housed in the long podium of John Nash’s 1827 Regency Terrace
1991: HM The Queen returned to Mall Galleries for the centenary exhibition by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters
2008: Mall Galleries presented the Columbia Threadneedle Prize, a major competition for contemporary figurative art; the prize ran for a decade, until 2018, during which time ten artists were crowned winners
2012: The Federation launched FBA Futures, its annual exhibition of figurative art by new graduates; to date, over 220 art school graduates have participated in the exhibition
2021: The Federation of British Artists celebrated its 60th anniversary and 50 years since the opening of Mall Galleries by awarding over £100,000 worth of prizes at its annual exhibitions and special anniversary show, Figurative Art Now
2022: The gallery hosted the group exhibition, 'Winners: Award Winning Artists', bringing together recent prizewinners from across the annual exhibitions of the FBA art societies
2023: The oldest member society, the Royal Society of British Artists, turned two hundred! The RBA celebrated with a Bicentennial Exhibition, in March, featuring 200 non-member exhibitors to mark the occasion
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