WAPPING GROUP
The Wapping Group of Artists began in 1939, when members of the Artists Society and the Langham Sketching Club met at the 'Prospect of Whitby' public house in Wapping, East London and decided to pass the summer sketching and painting by the River Thames but it was not until the end of the Second World War that the artists got together again in 1946 to establish the Wapping Group. The membership was limited to twenty-five artists whose aim was in painting en plein-air. Their first President was Jack Merriott and their first three exhibitions were at the Port of London Authority headquarters before moving to the Royal Exchange Galleries where they remained until 1981. For the next twenty years exhibitions were at St Botolph's Church, Aldgate and then at the Mall Galleries. Since its formation the group has been closely aligned with the Royal Society of Marine Artists and share some members both past and present.