The Association produced an extensive, lithographed exhibition catalogue for the show. It included a complete list of all artwork in the show, the owners and artists of the works; a list of members of the Association; and programmes for a number of activities associated with the exhibition - a Musicale, a Ball, and other events. There were also a number of advertisements for various local businesses.

The exhibition was an excellent effort by a small group of people, but it would be ten years until an equivalent exhibition was mounted in Vancouver. There was a loan of a number of British Columbia paintings by Lucius Richard O'Brien, the Founding President of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

There were 59 members listed in the exhibition catalogue for the 1st Annual Exhibition, as well as six patrons and fifteen officers.

Exhibitions

Clippings

"The Vancouver Art Association, established just one year, is, we are pleased to say, in a flourishing condition, and those ladies and gentlemen who inaugurated this movement deserve every praise for the good work they have undertaken - a work which commands the sympathies of all who love art, and one that call for voluntary help in every town and village of the country, as it is of the highest importance from a material and an educational, as well as from an aesthetic point of view. ... (continues)"
      From "Vancouver Art Association"
      Victoria Weekly Colonist, February 28 1890

"The annual exhibition of the Vancouver Art Association was opened in October by Lieut.-Governor Nelson. There was a large assemblage present to hear the addresses, and three galleries of pictures were thrown open to the public. Two of these were filled by a loan collection, among which were some fine paintings lent by Mr. J.M. Browning, Mr. H. Abbott, Mr. R.G. Ferguson and others. The third room was filled by the work of the pupils and also by the members of the association. Many of these were entered for competition. ... (continues)"
      From "Our British Columbia Letter"
      The Dominion Illustrated, December 20 1890

      "The first Art Association in Vancouver was formed in the 1889. This seems to have been the result of a suggestion made to the late S. Gertrude Mellon by an old country relative who proposed a centenary celebration of the building, by Captain Meares in June 1788, of the first fort at Nootka Sound, under the auspices of the East India Company. The Daily News-Advertiser of September 22nd, 1887, commented upon the suggestion and discussed the advisability of having some Historical society which should gather and preserve all records and information connected with the history of British Columbia. The matter was freely discussed for some time, and efforts to form some society of the sort were made from time to time. Through various ups and downs, there finally evolved the First Annual Exhibition, held by the Vancouver Art Association in the Art Gallery, Lefevre Block, Hastings Street, which continued for one week, October 6 - 11, 1890.
      After this, the Art Association seems to have disappeared, but the Daily News-Advertiser, April 15th, 1894, contains this notice: "It is proposed to revive the Art Association of Vancouver and also to enlarge its scope by the addition of an historical and scientific department."
      "The First Art Organization in Vancouver", Museum Notes, Vol. III, No. 3. September 1928
      Published by the Art, Historical and Scientific Association of Vancouver

"From the newspaper files could be obtained, notices of the second exhibition. That was held in an empty store on Granville Street, and was opened by the Governor; was not only an exhibition of paintings, but a loan collection of china and valuable bric-a-brac. ... It was surprising to find such a collection in a place like Vancouver in those days."
       From personal correspondence, Mrs. Annie E. Richards (formerly Mrs. (Capt.) Webster, 1939
       Vancouver Art Gallery file on Vancouver Art Association