Society's generous role in the gift of art

Laura Turner has had a ball over the past 12 months.

The York Art Gallery curator has clocked up the miles travelling to galleries around the county to plunder their collections.

"It was a real joy to be able to visit galleries and see what work is in their collections and see how they would work in terms of this exhibition," says Turner.

Visiting the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, the Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate, Doncaster Museums and Art Gallery and Sheffield Museums Trust, the curator has been in charge of bringing together works owned by Yorkshire's galleries and museums which have

been bought with donations from or directly donated by the Contemporary Art Society (CAS).

In 2010 the society celebrates its 100th anniversary and last year, when the events to mark the occasion were being planned, it was initially thought that a London gallery would hold a large exhibition bringing together work collected over the century.

Lucy Byatt, head of national programmes for the CAS, says: "There was a temptation to bring the masses of collected work to an exhibition in London, or another big city somewhere in the country. When we started to think about it, we decided that, rather than give the money allocated for the celebrations to transportation companies, which would be needed to collect the works together and bring them to London, or wherever the exhibition would be held, it made more sense to celebrate the centenary more widely throughout the 63 museums and institutes who are our partners across the country."

Founded in 1910, the Contemporary Art Society exists to encourage the appreciation and understanding of contemporary art and to develop public collections and collectors in the UK.

Membership is not limited to galleries, with members of the society including contemporary art enthusiasts and collectors, curators and artists, commercial galleries as well as a nationwide network of regional museums and art galleries.

A registered charity, the society receives funding from the Arts Council and membership schemes which it then uses to purchase works of contemporary art. It also has experts who encourage and help galleries, museums and similar organisations to raise funding to purchase their own works of art.

Byatt says an important aspect of the society is that it has, in its 100-year history, often been ahead of the curve in terms of recognising what sort of art, unpopular during its time, may become significant and important in the future.

Byatt is impressed with the collection brought together at the York Art Gallery and agrees that spreading the celebratory exhibitions around the country was the right move.

"There are curators around the country, like Laura Turner in York, who are doing very ambitious things with the collection and it gives audiences a fantastic opportunity to see the important works the society has been instrumental in purchasing over the years," she says.

Highlights of the York Art Gallery exhibition, which runs until May 3, include work by artists such as David Bomberg, William Roberts, Sarah Lucas and Gillian Wearing.

Sculpture, photography, painting and works on paper are all included in the show which will compare and contrast styles of contemporary art during the last 100 years.

Turner was previously an assistant keeper at Hull's Ferens Art Gallery, and so was aware of the art works kept there which had been bought by the society. "It was wonderful to discover the other fantastic pieces that are held in stores and galleries around the region," she says.

"Bringing the work together from over the 100 years gives a fantastic perspective on the way art has changed in that time.

"The David Bomberg piece we have, which dates from 1922, is a typical example of British modernism, which at the time was quite controversial, but is something we have grown used to seeing and is now something that people are comfortable with.

"Equally, we have some pieces by photographer Sarah Lucas which are quite explicit and still evoke quite a lot of controversy."

Bringing the art works together in this one space provides a narrative

history of the 100 years of the CAS.

There are also literal narratives which make up the exhibition, in the form of letters sent by curators to the society, explaining why a certain piece should be granted to their particular collection.

Turner says: "Sometimes there were several galleries all wanting to get the same piece, and in those instances, the society would ask a curator to explain why they wanted a particular art work for their collection.

"Having the letters on display that were sent between the society and curators provide a really interesting insight."

With more than 30 pieces of art, and spanning the full century of the society's history, it also gives an insight into the inspiration for artists.

Turner says: "A perfect example of this is with Jacques Emile-Blanche's painting of Sloane Street, London produced in 1903 and photographs of figures against the backdrop of shops in London, by artist Seamus Nicholson, taken in 2000."

York Art Gallery, to May 9. 01904 687687.

Contemporary Art Society

In April 1909, a group of leading art figures, including Roger Fry, artist, lecturer and critic, and DS McColl, keeper of the Tate Gallery, gathered at the home of arts patron, Lady Ottoline Morrell in Bloomsbury to discuss the foundation of a new society.

Initially named the Modern Art Association, it aimed to promote the understanding and appreciation of contemporary art and to develop public art collections in Britain. In May that year the Contemporary Art Society was formally established.

The Contemporary Art Society continues to act as a catalyst for visual arts in this country, developing audiences, artists, curators,collectors and collections alike. For more than 100

years it has played a pioneering role and has donated more than 8,000 works to public collections in the UK.