From Mekteb-i Sultani to Galatasaray Lycee Painters
The first Galatasaray Exhibition was opened in the spring of 1916 by the Association of Ottoman Painters at “Galatasaraylılar Yurdu” with the participation of 49 artists. It was the starting point of an organization that was meticulously upheld for many years to come and attained a distinctiveness that was akin to the “Salon” of Paris.
Recognized in Turkish art history as “Galatasaray Exhibitions” and held for 35 consecutive years, the exhibitions featured nearly 6000 works by more than 300 artists. These figures alone constitute a significant source of data in terms of art production in that particular period. Until the 1950s, establishing oneself as an artist in Turkey did, in a sense, require a rite of passage through the Galatasaray Exhibitions.
The Domestic Goods Exhibitions were held for 11 years from 1929 onwards and they transformed Galatasaray Lycée into what can only be defined as a fairground. Sometimes organized concurrently or immediately one after the other, Domestic Goods and Galatasaray Exhibitions became outstanding events that were, year after year, eagerly anticipated by the city dwellers, intellectuals and the art milieu.