| has gloss | eng: The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts under the Patronage of His Majesty; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century club in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists. Unlike the Royal Academy it admitted only connoisseurs (rather than practicing artists) to its membership. In its gallery in Pall Mall the Institution held the world's first temporary exhibitions of Old Master paintings, which alternated with exhibitions of the work of living artists. From 1807 prizes were given to artists who painted the best companion pieces to works by Old Masters on display at the gallery. |
