History

The charity was established in 1810 and was granted a Royal Charter in 1827 as the ‘Society for the protection and relief of artists in the several studies of painting, sculpture, architecture and engraving, and their widows and orphans’. The charity became known as the Artists’ Benevolent Fund (ABF) in 2002. Its aim is now defined by the Trustees as being ‘a charity that supports visual artists of all kinds’. This gives the Trustees a wide area of discretion.

Now the work of the ABF reflects the changes in the art world that have happened since the beginning of the 19th century. In 2018 the focus of our art funding programme shifted to supporting recently graduated young artists. We established partnerships with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to provide postgraduate art funding, facilities and supervision to help promising emerging artists who have a financial need to develop their careers in those all-important initial years after graduating.

Following a significant legacy gift in early 2024, ABF is at the start of a new phase that will amplify the position of the charity as we enter our third century. Our strategic priority over the next five years is to scale up our grant-making activities, deliver greater and more wide-ranging support for artists in need, and thereby enrich and diversify the cultural landscape in England and Wales.

"I have the freedom to research, to experiment, and to push the boundaries of what I can do without financial worry."

Ceramicist, Sarah Kirk