The Glasgow Dilettanti Society was formed in 1825 as a society for the improvement of the fine arts. Membership was restricted to painters, sculptors, architects, engravers and etchers, or men professing taste and critical knowledge in one or other of these branches. The society organised regular exhibitions and built up a library for the use of members. Many of the leading artists of the day corresponded with the society and entered their works for exhibition. Although the society had its own premises in Buchanan Street for a time, latterly it operated from Anderson's College buildings. The society came to an end in 1843.