In 1953 the eminent Seaton Carew born artist Frank H Mason R.I., R.B.A. accepted the invitation to become club President, a position he held throughout the decade. He entered three paintings in the Annual Exhibition and the club accounts for the year show it cost the club One Guinea to transport his pictures.

In the mid-1950s the club regularly toured various pubs and hotels with painting displays, Mr Lyde, Director of Libraries & Museums at the time told the Exhibitions Secretary he didn’t think much of this idea – however it continued despite some misunderstanding with the Licensed Victuallers!

At the opening of the 1956 Annual Exhibition, club member Mr W H Wynn told the audience of 40 ‘many people probably fought shy of joining because they thought club members were unusual individuals, or even cranks. We are nothing like that, we are ordinary people who paint for the sheer pleasure‘. However he went on to say the show of 40 paintings was a very poor one adding ‘ it is just disgraceful, there must be lots more people in the town who could paint’! The club chairman, Tom McAndrew rescued the situation adding that what the show lacked in size, it made up for in quality.

Early in 1957 the club gained its own rooms courtesy of Smith Hogg & Company in Victoria Road, an arrangement which appears to have been short lived but had the makings of a Hartlepool version of the Ashington Group or the Spennymoor Settlement. Mr Peter Hogg, in allowing this arrangement free of rent, even offered to provide coal for the fire as he didn’t use his weekly ration!Intriguing advice was offered to the club by George Rowney & Co. Ltd in respect of ‘chemical experiments’ planned for the attic studio!