Societe nationale des beaux arts

The name under which two groups of French artists united, first in the early 1860s for exhibitions, and second in 1890 for annual exhibitions when this founding group defected from the Societe des Artistes Francais over academic credentials of exhibitors. Early organizers included Aime Millet, Eugene Delacroix and Leon Bonnat. After a period of dormancy, the Societe was re-vitalized by artists including Carolus-Duran and Auguste Rodin. Their exhibition was called the Salon des Champs-Elysses. Source: Wikipedia, Established in 1881, it is an association of French painters and sculptors whose annual exhibition is called the Salon des Artistes Francais and sometimes called Salon des Cahmps Elysses. The first president was William-Adolphe Bouguereau, and the main task of the Societe began as organizing the Salon because the French government quit doing it. In 1890, Bouguereau suggested that the Salon be composed of young, unrecognized artists, and this led to defectors including Auguste Rodin and Puvis de Chavannes creating their own exhibition, which in 1899 became the Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts. Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//Societe_National_des_Beaux-Arts