ART-UNIONS are societies formed for the encouragement of the Fine Arts by the purchase of paintings, sculptures, he. out of a common fund raised in small shares or subscriptions ; such works of art, or the right of selecting them, being distributed by lot among the subscribers or members. They appear to owe their origin to M. Rennin, a distinguished amateur of Paris, who about forty years ago organized a little society for the pur pose of bringing together the unsold works of artists, exhibiting them, and with the exhibition money, and other subscriptions, purchasing a selection from among them, which was afterwards dis tributed by lot to the subscribers. In 1816 this company merged into the "Societe des A uais des Arts." Art-Unions have been extensively organized in most of the German states. The Art-Union of Berlin was established in 1825. The first Art-Union formed in Great Britain was in Scotland, in the year 1834. The
Art-Union of London was established in 1837, and since that period similar socie ties have been established in Ireland, and in many of the principal towns in England. The American Art-Union of New York has exhibited the most remarkable in stance of rapid growth and prosperity of any similar societies. It was founded in 1939, and at the close of 1850 the num ber of members was 16,310, to whom were distributed as prizes, 433 paintings select ed by a committee, 27 statuettes, 30 sets of prints, from Col. Trumbull's cele brated pictures of the Battle of Bunker Hill, and Death of Montgomery, measur ing 30 inches by 20 inches, 50 sets of Outlines and Sketches by Washington Allston, 250" Trumbull" medals, and 250 "Stuart" medals.