Mrs Joyce Gearing became the administrator and was immediately faced by a sharp rise in rent at the High School. In addition the Arts Society had stimulated interest in the arts so effectively that it began to lose members to other cultural groups which had sprung up in Wetherby. Its financial state became unsatisfactory. An excellent gallery, free of charge, was found in the town centre at Wetherby Library. The Meeting Room upstairs was suitable in every way and the Library provided a constant source of interested visitors and opportunities for publicity. It proved to be a turning point in the schemes progress.

By the end of 1977 Wetherby Arts Society had ceased to run events and to have a membership, but continued as a parent body for the two sections remaining active. These were the poetry section run by the poet Brian Merrikin Hill and the Art Loan Scheme to be run by Stephen Maude, a professional artist, with Mrs Gearing and Mrs Penny Mclean. The exhibitions were reduced to two a year and hiring was limited to one a year to avoid lengthy records. A carefully planned publicity campaign increased to schemes popularity and made it easier to persuade artists of note to exhibit. 10% of receipts was retained which adequately covered running expenses and built up a reserve.

With the formation of Wetherby Art Festival Association it was felt that Poetry Readings (which required financial subsidy) could best be arranged through that Association. The old Arts Society therefore decided to disband and let the Art Loan Scheme run its own affairs. The Scheme had already become a Member of the Festival Association. At its final meeting the Arts Society recommended that the Scheme should have a committee of four, two being Artists and two "lay-men", any two of the four to sign cheques; that Mrs Joyce Allred, a former Arts Society committee member, should join the existing committee of Mrs Gearing, Mrs McLean and Mr Maude, with Mr Maude continuing as Secretary, Treasurer and Exhibition organiser; that the committee should meet regularly and keep proper minutes and Accounts for inspection, and that as far as possible the present style should be followed as it was fulfilling its aims. The Arts Society then disbanded after transferring its funds of about £200 to Wetherby Art Loan Scheme which, on 11^th November 1979, became completely independent and, it was hoped, self-supporting.

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To mark the tenth anniversary a "Post-View" sherry party was arranged on the final Saturday of the exhibition at which the artists could hand their pictures to the hirers. This de-hanging event was so successful (and convenient for the dispersal of the paintings) that it has been repeated ever since.

The exhibitions continued to prosper, getting excellent reviews in the Yorkshire Post from the art critic Mr W.T.Oliver and in the Wetherby News supported by photographs. Between 70 and 80 pictures are out on loan from one show to the next (hiring and re-hiring) which ensures an interest in the following exhibition.

The Library introduced a charge for the room but finances were adequate for this, some £400 being in reserve. At this time the hiring fee was £8 for six months, 10% of all receipts being retained as before. As the volume of administration increased it became too much for one person to cope with/ Therefore Mrs Allred took over much of the work relating to the borrowers and the transaction register. Mrs Gearing attended to the publicity. Mr Maude dealt with the artists, pictures, accounts and mounting the shows, in which all the committee helped.

It became apparent that more help was needed and the committee was increased to six by the inclusion of Mrs Jill Roberts and Mr Philip Chantrey, both of Wetherby. Duties were as follows:-

In this history (updated every five years) little has been said about the artists. The Scheme could not function without their goodwill and cooperation in letting expensive pictures be borrowed so cheaply. All the catalogues with their names, picture titles and process have been kept since the beginning in 1970.

Most artists stay with the scheme once they have started to sell their hired paintings. Two of the original exhibitors still show their work. Most of the pictures are landscapes, the four or five local artists supplying views of the district which are always in demand. Other pictures are flower pieces, wildlife, farming studies and occasional collages. The shows have a rural atmosphere which appeals to the many residents who work in nearby cities. At present all artists are well known in the area and their work is in many exhibitions. Four are members of the Yorkshire Watercolour Society. When a new artist is required consideration is given to soundness of technique and an individual style. Preference is given to a local person, if suitable.

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Spring and Autumn shows proceeded year by year and in 1990 the Scheme’s twentieth anniversary was celebrated. A dinner was arranged to which the founders were invited.

Since the beginning almost 1,500 pictures have been hired out and incredibly not one has been lost. Inevitably one or two people forget to deliver or collect their paintings but as Wetherby is a small town, these lapses are easily rectified.

The onset of a world financial recession had little effect on our fortunes. Only lack of space in the library prevented expansion. It should be said however that the first Saturday morning of a show accounted for more than half of the whole weeks hiring’s. On weekdays there were sometimes only twenty or thirty visitors a day.

The committee was again enlarged, this time to eight.

There was some consternation felt early in the year when we heard that the Wetherby Library would no longer be available because the Children’s Library needed the Meeting Room. After the Spring Exhibition new premises would have to be found. Fortunately Wetherby Town Council offered us the use of one of the large first-floor rooms in the Town Hall for weekend exhibitions, and as a sum of money was put at our disposal for the purpose of meeting some of the cost of providing display facilities.

It was at that point that Stephen Maude expressed a wish to retire as Chairman of the Scheme. Fortunately the Knaresborough artist, Peter Nelson, was able to accept the invitation to become the new Chairman, and with the assistance of Mr Maude and members of the Committee the transfer to the Town Hall went smoothly. The Town Hall staff provided a removable rail which was fitted round three sides of the room, and tall stands were made upon which battens were fixed for a ‘continuous’ display on the fourth side. A system of small straps looped through the top ends of the peg-board strips, into which peg-board hooks could be fixed, completed this part of the display facilities. For the central part of the room pegboard table-tents were to be made to be placed on six table tops. This arrangement gave us the chance of displaying up to a hundred pictures, with no real restriction put on the size. The number of participating artists could now be raised to twenty. Also more viewing spaces became available.

It was agreed to open from 9.0 a.m. to 4.0 p.m. on the Saturday, and from 12 noon to 4.0 p.m. on the Sunday. The previous Friday would be used for receiving and hanging.

This year we were all saddened to hear of the untimely death of Mrs Diana Bromely, one of the Founder Members of Wetherby Art Loan Scheme. She had become a popular and widely acclaimed Yorkshire Landscape artist in watercolours. Apart from her contributions to the scheme her cheerful and efficient presence at the Admin. Table has been sorely missed. The proceeds from the sale, posthumously, on one of Di’s pictures have financed the purchase of a flower arrangement pedestal which will be used at each successive Exhibition.

The May Exhibition was without doubt the most successful to date, with the best-ever attendance and a total of twenty-one artists contributing. In all ninety-nine pictures were put on display out of which eighty-eight were hired, with a few being bought outright.

The Committee and its helpers have again done a splendid job in matters such as pre-exhibition paper-work, publicity, the collection of Hirer’s fees and Purchasers’ payments, and in ensuring that the Artists have received their dues promptly and accurately.

The hire charge is currently £15.00 and the Scheme continues to take 10% to cover running-costs. However the balance in hand has gradually increased over the years so that, now, we occasionally in a position to use some of that money for the benefit of Wetherby; for instance, by supporting the Wetherby Civic Society in its efforts to improve various aspects of the town itself, and also by supporting EnACT in its determination to establish an Arts Centre. A subscription is made to the Wetherby Arts Festival Association of which the Art Loan Scheme is a member. In 1995 and extra £125 was donated to the Association.

Although the April/May Exhibition saw a drop in the number of paintings bought (subsequent to their being hired over the previous six months), the number of visitors was a record, exceeding one thousand.

The October Exhibition celebrated the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Scheme. This was marked by an extra (selling only) Exhibition, mounted in the ballroom of the Town Hall. It was attended by the Lady Mayor, Councillor Mrs Sheila Evans, together with the Mayoress, Mrs Janet Clark, Town Councillors, other invited guests and Artists. Mrs Evans made presentations to Mrs Joyce Gearing and to Mr Stanley Dollimore, both of whom had been associated with the Scheme for the whole of the twenty-five years, the former as a Founder Committee Member and the latter as contributing Artist.

Earlier in the year, from accumulated funds, the Scheme was able to make a donation of £250 to the Wetherby Town Council towards the installation of Victorian-style lighting on the Bridge (in memory of the late Councillor John Evans). In June the Scheme was able to donate a further £250 to the special Town Hall fund for the replacement of window boxes. These were installed in June, and have helped to make the building look extremely attractive.

A Committee decision was made to denote some of the future accumulated funds to the Wetherby Civic Society for some of its projects as and when those would occur. The administration charge to the Artists is to remain at 10% of hiring and sales.