ROYAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH SCULPTORS
The Society of British Sculptors was established in 1905 with fifty-one members, including all the leading sculptors of the day. The founder members were Sir Thomas Brock RA (President), Sir Charles Lawes-Wittewronge (Treasurer), Sir George Frampton RA, William Silver Firth, Frank Lynn Jenkins, Thomas Stirling Lee, David McGill, Sir William Reynolds-Stephens and Francis Derwent Wood RA. The aims of the Society were cited as, 'The promotion and advancement in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and its Colonies and Dependencies, of the art of sculpture and the maintenance and protection of the interests of Sculptors and the elevation of the status of the Profession of Sculpture.' In recognition of the Society’s services to the art of sculpture, it was granted royal patronage in 1911 and became the Royal Society of British Sculptors. For many years the Society helped organise exhibitions in the UK and overseas but did not put on its own shows. This changed in the 1990s when the Society launched an active exhibition programme, opening a gallery at Dora House and mounting large off-site shows.