{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} The '''Smashers Club''' was a drawing club created in Edinburgh in 1848 by a small group of artists, almost all of whom went on to national fame and recognition.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.royalscottishacademy.org/collections-archives/rsa-archives/ |title=RSA ARCHIVES {{!}} The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland |website=www.royalscottishacademy.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009032930/http://www.royalscottishacademy.org/collections-archives/rsa-archives/ |archive-date=2015-10-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.scottisharchives.org.uk/archives-map/royal-scottish-academy-collections-department/ | title=Royal Scottish Academy Collections Department | date=10 September 2018 }}</ref>
The founding members were [[William Fettes Douglas]], [[William Crawford (artist)|William Crawford]], [[Thomas Faed]], [[John Faed]], [[James Archer (artist)|James Archer]] and [[John Ballantyne (artist)|John Ballantyne]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.kirkcudbrightgalleries.org.uk/artists-footsteps/artist/william-fettes-douglas/ | title=William Fettes Douglas - Kirkcudbright Galleries | Dumfries and Galloway | Artists | Gallery }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://electricscotland.com/art/school18.htm | title=The Scottish School of Painting }}</ref> As all members lived in the [[New Town, Edinburgh|Second New Town]] or nearby [[Comely Bank]] areas in Edinburgh, it is presumed they probably met in this area. Members refer to the club being akin to [[John Dowie's Tavern|John Dowie's College]], an affectionate name for a tavern in the [[Old Town, Edinburgh|Old Town]] which had been demolished three decades earlier but which had a reputation as a meeting place for the artistic community. This implies they met in a bar, but is unclear which one. The club name implies a degree of alcohol consumption.<ref>http://www.avictorian.com/Archer_James.html</ref>
In 1863, largely due to relocation of the members, the club removed to [[London]] and renamed itself the Auld Lang Syne Sketching Club: open to Scottish artists living in London. New members included [[Erskine Nicol]], [[John Stirling (artst)|John Stirling]], [[Andrew Maclure]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portraitExtended/mw02161/Thomas-Faed | title=NPG 4840; Thomas Faed - Portrait Extended - National Portrait Gallery }}</ref>
==References==
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[[Category:1848 establishments in Scotland]] [[Category:Clubs and societies in Edinburgh]] [[Category:Organisations based in Edinburgh]] [[Category:New Town, Edinburgh]] [[Category:Organizations established in 1848]]