The club, modeled on Whistler's International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, encouraged achievement of individuals and was nationalist in persuading expatriates to exhibit at home, but defined nationality in only the broadest terms.

[4] The main instigators of the club were the painters Edmund Morris and Curtis Williamson, who were "deeply disturbed by the tired, old-fashioned look of Canadian art as seen in the various annual exhibitions"[5] and attempted to establish higher standards through small shows.

[1][6] The work of these artists was varied in style and subject, but generally it showed influence from Impressionism and James McNeill Whistler.

Their eight exhibitions were well received, but the Club disbanded in 1915, having lost some of its momentum because of the death by drowning of Morris in 1913 and because of the distractions of the First World War, personality clashes among some of the members and the modest financial reward.

Works by the members were well received by critics, and the club's activists played the roles of important catalysts for both artistic and institutional change.