For nearly sixty years the Gallery Painting Group has gathered to paint. In the beginning they painted in "rooms over downtown shops", in public buildings and private homes and a stunning variety of regional settings. Regular outdoor painting sessions have become a unique and much-loved summer activity and today it is the primary focus of our group.

Club Highlights

Fall 1952    Western Art league offers lessons.

Spring 1953    Gallery Painting Group is formed.

1977    Under the leadership of President Wyn Slemon our official by-laws are created.

 May 1978    Celebration of 25th Anniversary is held at the London Public Library.

1979    GPG logo, created by Pat Dinsmore, is selected in the logo contest.

1987    Gallery Painting group celebrates its 35th Anniversary.

2002    GPG holds the first exhibition in the newly opened downtown London Central Library.

February 2003   Gallery Painting Group celebrates its 50th Anniversary.  To commemorate this milestone, a show , Looking Forward, Looking Back, juried by Maurice Stubbs, former director of the McIntosh Gallery at The University of Western Ontario and a long -time associate of the group, is held in the Community and North Galleries of Museum London.  As well as the juried exhibition of work by current members, older works by former members and prominent London artists, with whom the group has been associated in the past, are displayed.

Jan. 2011    The  Gallery Painting Group decides to establish a website for the group

March 2013 The Gallery Painting Group celebrated its 60th Anniversary with a special show entitled "A Love Affai With London". The show exhibited paintings of scenes of London and was held March 19 to 30 at The Arts Project, 203 Dundas Street.

September 2014  A special event was held in Blackfriars to raise awareness of the need to conserve the attractive diversity of this neighbourhood.  During the Blackfriars Event, members of the Gallery Painting Group painted various sites within the neighbourhood.  A portion of the proceeds from sale of the paintings was donated to the Blackfriars Event.  

Club History

Artists in London Ontario have been coming together to paint for over a century.

The Western Art Union was founded in 1876 to encourage public participation and practice of art. This was superseded by the Western Art League ten years later with Frederick M. Bell-Smith, whose paintings of contemporary Victorian London were such an inspiration to the students of the early town, as first president. Among the founding members was John Peel, father of Paul Peel.

The Western Art League became the focus of art promotion among the citizens of  London, Ontario.

In 1953, Selwyn Dewdney, president of the League, encouraged the development of a new group to meet the needs of those wishing to practise art. The new group was founded in 1953 and was called The Gallery Painting Group. Important pioneers of the Gallery Painting Group were Sylvia Clarke and Helen Lansing.

2010 Perspective Workshop