The Camden Town Group in Context

The decision of the Camden Town Group artists to form a new exhibiting society in 1911 should be seen in the context of the range of exhibiting opportunities then open to artists. In the early 1900s the London art world expanded rapidly, with many new commercial galleries adding to the provision of exhibiting opportunities offered by institutions such as the Royal Academy. In 1911 there were over 300 commercial art galleries in London, many more than in Paris.

Essays in this section explore how the purpose of forming a group was less to do with finding venues for exhibitions than with creating a distinctive public profile within an already crowded art scene.