 J.J. Willson, dedicated to raising funds for, and founding, the building of a permanent public fine art gallery.Although the committee members changed over time, and the building and funding process was ultimately taken over by Leeds Town Hall, it can be said that the original committee initiated the movement to found the gallery, and arranged much of the early funding by subscription.Several of the original committee members, including J.J. Willson, took part in the process to the last.