Glasgow Art Club is a club for artists and lay members with an interest in the arts, that has become over the generations "a meeting place for artists, business leaders and academics". Each year it has a range of exhibitions open to the public for their enjoyment; and, subject to club events, a number of its rooms are available as venues for social occasions. History and premises One of Glasgow's, and Scotland's, most creative institutions Glasgow Art Club was founded in 1867. Membership is open to ladies, gentlemen, students and corporate organisations. The club premises include function rooms, studios, library, dining room and Gallery. Extensive exhibitions and events are programmed each year. It is based in Bath Street close to Blythswood Square, the area having been developed in the early 19th century by William Harley. Following initial discussions by artists William Dennistoun, {Sir} David Murray and friends at a tea room above a baker's shop in Candleriggs, Glasgow, on the proposal to form a club, the first formal meetings of the club were held at the Waverley Temperance Hotel, on Buchanan Street, Glasgow, with Dennistoun elected the club's first president. Membership was to grow during the 1870s, with more artists joining and exhibitions being held and in 1875 the club moved to another hotel called the Waverley, this time one on the city's Sauchiehall Street. From there the club was to relocate to the Royal Hotel on the city's George Square, renting rooms for six months at a time, where life and sketching classes were held. Membership of the club began to be extended beyond painters (in 1881 the pioneering photographer James Craig Annan was admitted as a ‘'photographic artist'’ and in 1903 John M. Crawford (another former pupil of Hamilton Academy), Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, became the first architect to be elected President of Glasgow Art Club.) In 1878 the club moved to rented premises at 62 Bothwell Street and the need to raise funds led to a change in the club’s constitution and the admission in 1886 of male lay members with an interest in the arts (admission of women not extended until 1982.Glasgow Herald article 27 March 1982 Club opens its doors to women after 100 years Retrieved 2011-08-17 ) With membership burgeoning new premises were rented at 151 Bath Street, on Blythswood Hill originally developed by William Harley. These formally opened on