Artists attracted to the L.A.S. over the decades were probably encouraged by the increasing professionalism of a body which welcomed the talented amateur but set very high standards for exhibitions. At first, there may have been a stark contrast between the works of origional members and those of William Warrener, William Logsdail and Frank Bramley, three Lincoln-trained artists with established international reputations who exhibited alongside the amateurs. Warrener, sa founder-member, had been one of Toulouse-Lautrec's circle in Paris and was quickly elected by an all- female committee as the first chairman. In 1912 he pushed through the change of name that would appeal to professionals - Lincolnshire Artists' Society.. As a result some superb artists

The Middle Years

Sometimes the critics were famous, like Adrian Hill of BBC Television's 'Sketch Club', and a procession of Royal Academicians visited over many decades, culminating in the presence of Sir Albert Richardson, their President, for the Jubilee Exhibition of 1956. More recently, the Academy's Roger de Grey, Ken Howard, John Ward and Ben Levene have journeyed to Lincoln to encourage and praise the high standard.

joined like the landscapist Herbert Rollett of Grimsby, sculptors, Philip Pape and Bob Blatherwick, and art teachers like Judith Oyler and Patricia Laing and, in 1970, Gill Nadin. Nadin had trained under William Scott at Bath Academy. She was inspirational and persuaded many others to join.

The Brannan family - Edward and his two sons Noel and Peter - were devoted to the LAS and aquired enviable reputations, Noel for his unusual industrial landscapes and Peter for miraculously balanced work employing fine shifts of tonality and light. He was favourably compared to Vemeer, Mondrain and Utrillo. In 1949, a charasmatic Czechoslovakian artist called Antonin Bartl joined the society, having escaped Nazi persicution. Taught by Oskar Kokoschka and head of publicity for 20th Century Fox in Prague, he became a lecturer in painting at Lincoln College of Art. A superb portraitist and landscapist, his expressionistic work inspired many students and he became a local legend in his own lifetime.