PR E F A T OR Y N OTE

The reproduction of water- colours in monotint is so un satisfactory that in dealing with this important subject the Editor has decided

h a to include in t is work only coloured reproductions . In m king the selection his endeavour has been to render it as representative

s an d i for as po sible, while regrett ng the inevitable necessity many

f ffi of omissions rom the list, he hopes that a su cient number drawings have been presented to afford an insight into the evolution of water

art r of colour during the histo y the Society . The thanks of the Editor are due to those ladies and gentlemen who have been so good as to assist him in the preparation of this work

a f by the lo n o original drawings . In this connection he desires to

a s a . n me Mis C rlisle, Mrs Todd, General Sir Henry Smyth, Mr .

a a l H rold Hartley, Mr . Alex nder T. Ho lingsworth, Mr. Frederick

i . l MacD on ald ff Macm llan , Dr Grevi le , Mr . Edward Cli ord, Mr .

a N cwall . as McL ean . Willi m , Mr Thom , Mr Charles Dowdeswell,

. M an d Messrs Thomas Agnew and Sons and essrs . Ernest Brown

Phillips .

L IST OF REPROD UCTION S IN COL OUR

PLA T E

rn in . r e arret I . E arly Mo g By Geo g B i I row an e . e er dc n t I . C l d Abb y By P t W

III hi . Co e F ie n . W tby By pl y ldi g V D avi ox I T he lac err Gatherers . C . B kb y By d ” n in n e n lers . oh L V . A g By J ll ” V r Catterm le The o son e u . Geo e o I . P i d C p By g ” V R e II os s . un . H . By W t II La as Marin a F oliera Ven ice W lia Callow I C a . m V . , By il f e D c hc ai Car aa IX . On e o th How in rwees s C ro . H l g , By l g ” n Mr n Mars o oo Sir oh il er . G X. t By J b t i c er XI Y oun n ers . B rk t F o s . g A gl By t ”

I lo E l . un XI Sch ss z . . H t . t By A W ” I i he Sor er Sir E n —on cs II i on a t ess . ur S c . e X . d By B J ” V t a Sir F ran cis owe XI S afl . By P ll ” P a s G . ll Th ar wn ho . . in we e P is P p By J V f T F T a . . N ort X . he l t e h I a ls o h y . By J W ta Mr n II A n Ol Surre Cot e s Al li ham . d . XV y g . By g I o e M Th re in he S r n r oore II . e a t m H XV B k t . By y ” XI e r he n i T o rn e ai e X Ha fi l n ea t Me s R . h . A y d d p . By W t he T a es Sev r in er e er MMars a T h m e e . H r t h XX . : A W t By b . ll " l r XXI . S ra e . E re a e t y d. By W y W k ”

II N or h m er an o a Sir rn es . Waterlo . u R . E w XX A t b l d d By t A ,

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III . lois . Samue Ho son XX B By l J. d V I . Tw e r O n e ain o H a s e e han . a e r . wr h XX d B tt t By W. W ig t ” J

. Comra e l Moore s er XXV d . By A b t

I . ou n D Murra h avi XXV Pl g i g . By d y ” X VII L oc i ill . h L om o n Co n h X d . By l B. P ip ”

X III . Crom art from the E as . R o er Al an X V y t By b t W . l ”

I . as o r l . R Hu hes a . E XX X A P t By . g ” i . Mi l e esex as ures R o er L t XXX dd P t . By b t tl

I . T he R ain ow lies in the Curve of the San R e . . W uelin XXX b d By . g ” J - II . F an c re M E n exan e ouse w A l r XXX A y B d . By d i d ” X III he E Stan ho F r es t roo Mrs . e o X X . By B k . By . p b ”

I . T he Si ver Mirro r a er es XXX V l . By J . W lt W t " . Th M c l n n X e a i hr s a R n C . e ll XXV g t . By A i g B y ” X I . Can a en in i ce R . arra X XV A l V . By B tt ” X II . T he f R ac am n a . h XX V Wi d ll By A . k

III . T he Cun n in S ll to rea a Hear . M ss F r XXXV ki B k t By i E . o tescue B rickd aIc

X I . The Clois rs te Mn t vi ie s . o e ll r D . Y Cameron XX X , By . ’ - XL . S u for a lue ac e s Yarn H . S T u e t dy B J k t By . . k A CH R ON O L O G IC A L L I S T O F T H E MEMBER S A N D ASSOCIATES OF T H E R OY AL SOC I ETY O F PA I N T E R S I N W ATER COLOUR S F R OMT H E F OUN D

ATION O F T H E SO IETY 1 8 0 T O C IN 4. T H E PR ESEN T TIME

N B The n m in a es ( . . a es qf those whose work is reproduced in thefollow g p g are prin ted in capital letters) W illiam Sawry Gilpi n Presiden t I 80 dm n d orrell ( , 4) E u D Robert Hills Charles Wild t Secretar 1 826 (Secre ary 1 804) ( y , ) oh n Claude Nattha Frederick Nas h Jran cis Nicholson PETER DE WINT ' ‘i c la V P Ni ho s Pocock A. . CO LEY FIELD ll am en r P n e Presiden t 1 8 1 Wi i H y y ING ( , 3 )

am e l ll ll a es tall . . . S u She ey Wi i m W , A R A Corn elius Varley William Scott Jo hn Varley DAVID COX l William Frederick We lls Luke Clen n el Presiden t I 806 harles Barber ( , ) C A GEORGE B RRET, OHN LINNELL Mar et Gouldsm ith UN R iss J . g es Joshua Cristal" u n es Ho r Presiden t I 2 I { rede rick ac en z e ( , 8 ) M k i John Glover H en ry Richter Presiden t 1 80 eor e en n el obson ( , 7) G g F R Presiden t I 820 William Havell , ) ll ort Jam es H olworthy Hen ry C . A p l Pro t tephen ran c s a d Sam ue u S F i Rig u ’ Jam es Ste phan ofl

W . . en n et An n e Fran ces B m e J B

. ard n o n am es on R . A . J h J C , D H i g illiam alker William Delam otte W as tin eau Robert F ree bairn H . G Mrs . . . eld n Paul San dby Mun n T H Fi i g les Moore d amsa R ein a le har Richar R y g , C 808 ran c s l ver n ch A . Presiden t 1 R . ( , ) F i O i Fi ohn Sm ith GEORGE CATTER ran cis Steven s MOLE arr ss . B et ohn Thurston Mi M ss . cott homas Heaphy Mi M S . . N esfield Augustus Pugin W A chard am lton ssex John Au ustus Atkin son Ri H i E 8 . ac son er J k William urn W . hic helo s Uwin s R . A . Tho ma , J retar 1 8 x WILLIAM HUNT (Sec y , J o hn asey r ht William Pay n e M W ig CHRON OLOGI CAL LIST OF MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES M m u . BM John Sell Cotman Miss Nan cy Ray n e r a el s t n o n ur ess n or S mu Au i J h B g , ju i George Py n e ohn Bostock o n rn e 1 8 J h By 54. IR JOHN GILBERT,

. . e w s R . A . R . A . Presiden t 1 8 1 J F L i , ( , 7 )

Presiden t 1 8 . Parson s ere ( , 55) H Rivi an s f ss ar W. Ev (o Eton ) Mi M garet Gillies Pen William s 1 85 5 Sir Frederi ck Burton Th es Fieldin g 1 861 Walter Goodall s ol 1 8 6 am el P ll A . Chi h m 7 S u hi ips Jackson Miss Eliz a Sharpe Hen ry Bran dlin g

ss ou se ar r 1 88 . ll a oll n wo Mi L i Sh pe (Ms . 4 Wi i m C i g od ' Seyflarth) 1 85 8 Charles Davidson 8 8 o n r 1 eor e . n r J h W. W ight G g H A d ews Secrets: 1 8 0 a uel ead ( ’ S m R 1 86 dward reder c a . oo F i k T yle? 4. E A G dall

Presiden t 1 8 8 1 8 a uel . . an s ( , 5 ) 97 S m T G Ev 8 ran ton e 1 l red P. e wton F k S , A . R . A . 79 A f N George Chambers 1 862 BIRKET FOSTER Charles Ben tley Frederick Sm allfield 1 86 Joseph Nash 3 Heur B rittan Willis 1 86 Valen tin e Bartholomew 4. ALFRED WILLIAM James Hollan d HUNT r 1 86 ames A thur Glen n ie 4 J W. Whittaker 1 8 . eor e o W Lake Price 7 G g P. B y ce 1 86 WILLIAM CALLOW SIR - E . BURNE JON ES Secretary 1 865) 1 886}

1 86 . n d r George A rthur Frip; 5 E S . Lu g en Secretar 1 1 866 reder c al er A R A ( y , F i k W k , . . . 1 8 0 o n Octavius Oakley 7 h D . Watson m Jrederick Sam uel Pal er J . Shields 1 8 6 d ar Thomas Miles Richardson 7 E w d Killin gworth oll n wood m t o n son W. C i g S i h J h l r n r omas A f ed Down i g F ipp Th R . Lamon t Secretary 1 8 0 1 8 6 P ( , 7 ) 7 SIR FRANCIS OWELL 8 Douglas Morison 1 7 0 Thomas Dan by 1 88 William Evan s (of B ristol) 1 Basil Bradley 1 88 l George He n ry Harrison 7 W. Ho man Hun t Samuel Ray n er 1 87 0 GEORGE OH N Miss Maria Harrison PINWE L osen er 1 8 W ll am . . b 75 i . . obson W F R g i C T D ,

eor e a doc od son R A . G g H y k D g . ard n can r Edw Du Arthu H . Marsh ran c s o a ll F i W. T ph m Wi iam Wood Dean e a d C ox un or 1 88 1 l ert oodw D vi , j i A b G in ose o n en n s 1 88 N J ph J h J 3 J . N ki OH W ORTH,

Secretar 1 8 . ( y , 54) A R. A . rl Bran whi Cha es te 1 88 1 William Matthew Hale

Mrs . r A n n a r ddl 1 88 a e . t c ar s R . A M y C i 3 H S y M k , . o n llow J h Ca Arthur Boy d Hou hton

1 01 . . ac et . A CARL HAAG 9 R W M b h, . Pa l aco a tel 1 880 Sir swald E ri l u J b N f O W. er e CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATE S

ME M . laren ce a t n H . C Wh i e 1 89 1 Charles Robertso Sir auren ce lma- ade a e wood ard L A T m , H y H

R . A . V DA ID MU RAY, lter un can a R . A W D . Miss Clara Mon talba 1 898 COLIN BENT PHILLIP

dward P. B rewtn all E 1 896 ROBERT W . ALLAN r elen ll n a ule a tel Ms. H A i gh m ( Miss Maud N f Paterson ) 1 888 Sir Frederick (afterwards

dward adford ord e ton P. R . A . E R L ) L igh ,

R . A . 1 8 alter ran e HENRY MOORE, 99 W C lohn Parker Alfred Edward Em slie il THORN E WAITE Miss Edith Martin eau Robert Barn es 1 899 Arthur Melville tto e er auren ce ulleid O W b G . L B

dw n c man 1 8 8 eor e la sen A . R . A . E i Bu k 9 G g C u ,

rt ur o n s 1 8 . N a er Hem . . . A h H pki 97 C pi y , A R A t ert r r Cu hb Rigby Cha les E . F ipp en r all s 1 8 H y W i 95 E . R . HUGHES T o lo d 1 ooke m L y 03 Thomas M. R

1 . on el Sm the . . . W r 94 Li , A R A . oc a t . E L kh 1 899 ROBER LITTLE

N or an T a ler 1 8 ert von Herkomer R . A . m 94. Hub , o HERBER M. MAR Miss Rose Bart n 1 8 W GUE LIN SHALL 97 J . R . E

Mrs . elen ordel a n ell w n e R . A . d . H C i A g E i A Abb y ,

R . . n l e ole an 1 8 . . wan A ( C m ) 99 J M S , er eld o wood Walt Fi H S . H p K ss ldred tler W. EYRE WAL ER Mi Mi Bu s Da s SIR ERNEST A . Loui vi W W t n A R . A mes a erso T E R LO , . a P Presiden t 1 8 N X ( , 97) DWI ALE ANDER P a n RS. . Thomas J. W tso M E STANHO E George Du Maurier FORBES

l ot Pilsbur l red Parson s . . . Wi m y A f , A R A Charles Gre or Walte r Bay es {l DS N ss n n e m the SAMUEL J. O O Mi Mi i S y Richard Beavis RE GINALD BARRATT

rd 1 0 . N B Jessop Ha wick 9 4. R ANNI G ELL hiss Con stan ce Phillott 1 904. WALTER WEST O R Sir dward . Po n ter E J y , ISS ELEANOR F T E SCUE -B RICKDA L E P. R . A . KH M ran oll R . A . F k H , ARTHUR RAC A

rr . . ull an hn R. Bu E J S iv Muss A l ce w r lin don i . an Jpen y G . G i M S

. Sar en t R . A Hen Hen shall S g , .

Jo W . K . . . ILL AM J. AIN S TU E, A R A WRIGHT D . Y . CAMERON ALBERT MOORE ar o tho se n le Mrs . M y L f u ( er ert lexan der Forster) H b A T H E HISTORY OF T H E ROY A L SO C I E T Y O F PA I N T E R S I N

W A T E R - C O L O U R S

HERE is a close connection between the history of the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours and that of the late r development 01 the of - art water colour painting in this country . As the first influential Association which occupied itself espe cially with the encourage o f f of has n ment this orm practice, it duri g the century of its existence played a very important part in the promotion o f a proper understanding of the f of the o f the cra t, and in the advancement position artists who have

- devoted themselves to water colours . The services it has rendered have been two- fold in the first place it provided the worke rs with a central organisation which helped th em to make themselves known an d to art lovers , in the second it asserted in an emphatic manner the claims to attention possessed by a technical method which was comparatively a new creation and not directed by any old- established n ull e for traditio s . F cr dit is due to the Society the manner in which it has done its work ; an d its authoritative position to- day can be taken as a proof that its strenuous recognition of its responsibilities has been acknowledged by every one who is qualified to pass judgment

on its efforts . It can not of course be assumed that the actual formation of the English water- colour school resulted from th e operations of the for fo r f Society . This would be claiming it a little too much ; be ore it was instituted there were in this country many artists who were uffi n - an d ffi s ciently disti guished as water colourists, there was an e cient i for f somewhat limited demand their productions . But by bringing together scattered forces it made possible that united action by which alone a vigorous school of artistic practice can be created it showed of the value combination , and it carried to success a movement which if f might possibly have languished , or even died out, le t unassisted .

Moreover, by its periodical exhibitions, in which the painters who sought to introduce innovations into the craft could compare th eir experiments with the performances which did not depart from the of f e general custom the pro ession, it encouraged very valuabl B 11 l T H E HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY competition between different types of workers and fulfilled an f educational mission o undeniable Significance . of - To explain exactly what was the origin water colour painting , it would be necessary to go at some length into the histo o f technical - 0? all f of processes . In a sense, water colour is the oldest orms for f painting ; in resco , tempera, and the other devices which were n f was used by the a cient decorators, water was the chie vehicle, as it d in the illuminations produced so extensively in the mid le ages . There were water- colourists among the seventeen th- century Dutch f of olbein e and Flemish artists, and rom the time H onwards th re was

of i . in England a considerable school miniatur sts But , despite the of f l antiquity the cra t, it is stil possible to describe English water colour of the type which was specially fostered by the Society as a

comparatively new creation . It was not at all like the tempera work of the few afiin ities o f the Egyptians or Greeks, it had with the art was u the earlier miniatures ; really it a thing apart , with pec liar an d possibilities and particular characteristics, its first beginnings do not date much further back than the middle o f the eighteenth

cen tury . For some fifty years previously there had been in this country considerable activity in the production of topographical illustrations — literal representation s of places an d buildings which were set down without any intention save to realise in a matter- of- fact manner the f of of e bare acts the subject selected. Most thes illustrations were e xecuted by engravers who attempted to give to their work n o f pictorial graces, and satisfied themselves with a purely ormal statement o f . Y et ff e obvious things , crude, sti , and unimaginative as thes e a ngravings were, they showed the way to a much less mech nical type n o f work . As a guide to the e graver it was necessary to prepare d rawings in which the details of the subjects chosen would be of for p resented with a due amount accuracy, and the demand these d of of rawings had called into existence a school draughtsmen , many of w hom were in their particular direction men undeniable ability . I n f of the precise ashion the period they did excellent work , and t hough they strictly respected conventions which to- day seem absurdly l i sf of im ted, they were not unsucces ul in their treatment the material with which they had to deal . There w as in this topographical drawing practically no attention v s given to arietie of atmospheric effect or subtleties of tone . The an d af the subjects were presented in conventional light shade, ter n o f an d w man er an architectural design , without any attempt to d ell upon accessories which would have increased the picturesqueness o f H ii OF PAINTERS IN WATER-COLOURS

e the final result . Certain set rules were observed, rul s which governed of the h f the practice all draughtsmen , and prevented t em rom e of i attaining any individualiti s expression . The one prevail ng t idea was to be minu ely explanatory, to leave out nothing which seemed to be necessary to convey to other people a full impression of r e of eve y d tail the subject . Anything like generalisation or subordination of accessories to an artistic scheme was contrary to the customary practice, a refinement which was neither understood nor desired . of However, in this mechanical work there was the germ better w as things, and all that was required to develop it an artist with r o f f cou age enough to Show a definite degree personal pre erence . Some hint of a coming change was given by the drawings of men K i who like John Joshua irby, Will am Taverner, an amateur x fo r e ecuted views with reasonable regard pictorial quality, and of Samuel Scott, a painter seascapes and London bits . In their productions the use of colour washes to give greater comple teness and more variety of effect was studied more carefully than it had of been by any their predecessors. It was, it must be admitted , of f i f x merely tentative, a kind eel ng the way to uller e pression but, far as as it went, it was correct in intention , and proved that the possibility of advance in the application of the water- colour medium be was beginning to appreciated . At least the idea, by which the e of earlier draughtsmen had be n governed, employing washes merely f to tint arbitrarily drawings executed in line, was ceasing to satis y the few men who were not absolutely convinced by the convention f f the f of in avour at the time . That these men oresaw uture the art with which they were experimenting is scarcely probable at best they can only be said to have been restless under the restrictions laid u n of . po them , and to have tried to enlarge their sphere action The artist who was really the first to respond definitely to the new o f a as point view was Paul S ndby . He has been generally claimed the father of English water- colour ; and though he was not the originator of the movement which was destined even in his lifetime he to assume remarkable proportions, he deserves this title because began sy stem aticall to put into shape the growing protest against f e the ashion which ad hitherto prevailed . The more or less vagu of of experiments others he reduced to a regular scheme practice , an d f he worked consistently to improve the art he ollowed . As it happened he had special opportunities of influencing the men about as of him, and an educator he played a part real importance . There fore his activity produced results which were far greater than could 11 111 THE HISTORY OF THE RO YAL SOCIETY have been expected when the conditions under which he had to as work are taken into account . He was well fitted to guide the t te of an d f his contemporaries, as, unlike most re ormers, he came ff mm f exactly at the right moment, he had not to su er the co on ate of being eithe r ignored or treated as an impracticable dreamer . 1 2 He was born at Nottingham in 7 5 , and with his brother Thomas , his f senior by our years, he entered in the drawing school in connection with the map and survey office at the Tower o f London . e Success came v ry speedily to both brothers . Thomas was chosen in as draughtsman an d private secretary to the Duke of of of Cumberland, and was present at the battle Culloden , which he executed drawings that are still preserved in the Royal collection . of In he was appointed Deputy Ranger Windsor Great Park,

- fo r fift 1 8 . and this post he retained y two years, till his death in 7 9 H e was one of the foundation members of the Royal Academy an d its f of as b e first Pro essor Architecture , and an architect attained a o f of some me sure distinction . His drawings , many which are to be f n ou d in various collections, prove that he was a most accomplished n th his of draughtsma , and at knowledge executive processes was e x t u as cep ionally well cultivated . Had he not chosen architect re hi s f mi . pro ession he ght, it seems, have been eminent as a painter

P n f ffe . aul Sa dby, however, can be judged rom a di rent standpoint H e f was truly an artist, and his purpose was to clothe the dry acts o f f nature with some degree o poetic suggestion . At first his was t t of for n his occupation stric ly hat topographer, he bega ‘ a career in with a five years’ engagement as a draughtsman in the of of as survey the Highlands, the sort work which , can be well ff l for of al imagined, o ered him but ittle scope the exercise his pictori ambition . But as years went on he widened considerably the area of his practice . Topography remain ed undoubtedly the primary motive fo r much o f his production but he had the good sense to realise that even in th e most veracious records of buildings and e for of places th re was room the display artistic individuality, and that drawings which began by being mere diagram s could be amplified into pictures by attention to subtleties of light and"shade of ff and refinements aerial e ect . Out of this perception grew also a belief that he would find in creased opportunities if he did not limit himself so closely to only s of for one clas subject. He saw that there was more room the exercise of his faculty o f observation an d imagination in motives which did not demand such strict topographic accuracy ; so he was t w on for a t empted more and more , as time ent , to seek materi l tha 11 iv OF PAINTERS IN WATER-COLOURS

r an d f t e he could va y adapt as his ancy dictated. In his way w re of developed his love pure landscape , and that ingenuity in avoiding commonplace methods which is so agreeably manifested even in his e illustrative drawings . Mor over, he was enlightened enough to depart frequently and markedly from the classic tradition which r then had a ve y strong hold over the men who painted oil landscapes , from that imitation of Claude and his school which is so apparent in the - r eighteenth centu y English pictures . Although in his imagina so f tive compositions he was mainly a classicist , he digressed o ten into easy and intelligent naturalism that there is no question about his right to a place among the m e n who could receive inspiration f i o f directly rom nature, and could retain in a transcript on an actual e f scen the true sentiment o the subject . What was the extent of his influence over others can be judge d from — the position he held durin g a great part of his long life he died in 1 0 — an d 8 9 as a teacher producing artist . He was a prominent figure an d f of K in social artistic circles , a riend the ing , and intimately

of all . H is acquainted with people ranks personality was attractive, and in consequence he was welcomed as a companion by several influential patrons who could do much to popularise his artistic fo r f . o f theories Moreover, he held some while the post Chie r Drawing Master in the Royal Milita y Academy at Woolwich , to 1 6 which he was appointed in 7 9 , a post which gave him special o f the of opportunities improving taste the rising generation . It was this exceptional combination of memorable capacities and of chances for making them effective that secured for him so distinguished a t as f o f place in our art history, and that jus ifies his title the ounder n - E glish water colour. In his progressive advan ce in understanding of nature and in tech n ical f the o f acility, Sandby may be said to have summed up course

- development followed by the water colour school as a whole . The men before him were topographers pure and simple ; to them of e l succeeded a number int lligent experimenta ists, who were honestly seeking to escape from conventions which they felt to be cramping and inelastic ; and then came finally the sincere nature c an d a rs lovers, who re orded vividly with origin lity their pe onal o f aw f impressions what they s . Within a comparatively brie period water- colour painting and especially water- colour landscape f f of passed rom a merely ormal process , capable very narrow applica fu of i r tion , into an art ll v tality and restricted only by the necessa y f d f limitations o the me ium. These limitations were soon ound to be much less definite than the earlier painters had imagined and the 11 v THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY

t o f la er men , who could profit by the experience their predecessors , f d carried the art to remarkable per ection . Indee , it became in their hands one of the most subtly significant o f all the available means of x an d - i e pression , it took then a pre em nent position , which it has

retained to the present day . There are in the long list of water- colour painters who were active during the lifetime of Paul Sandby many names well worthy to be f hi o f remembered . Be ore s death in 1 8 09 the greatest masters the h has e art w om this country produced, De Wint , David Cox, Copl y Fielding , J . S . Cotman , and Turner, had been born , and were begin ning to range themselves among the most brilliant members of the f school . But rom the middle o f the eighteen th century onwards a succession of skilful workers cam e forward to demonstrate the vitality of e o wn the new mov ment , and to interpret in their way the prin i l f k c es . o p which Sandby had laid down Some these men , li e ex an d e W Al ander Cozens , his son John Rob rt Cozens , A . . Devis,

Thomas Hearne, John and Robert Cleveley, Michael Angelo Rooker, N n icholas Pocock , William Pars, William Payne , the two Malto s , of u John Smith , and Edwin Dayes , several whom had been act ally t of n aught by Sandby, aimed simply at the improvement the existi g of e method tinting drawings . They were, according to modern id as, fo r essentially draughtsmen , and the most part illustrative draughts " ” m e n whose views were inten ded for reproduction by mean s o f i engraving . They claim attent on principally because they carried f ll topographic drawing to its highest per ection , and by practica y exhausting its possibilities cleared the way fo r the pictorial departures o f f n the greater cra tsmen who were then risi g into prominence . These greater craftsmen made their influence strongly felt at the i of e n beg nning the ninete nth century , and then bega decisively the ff in of - final and e ective change the practice water colour. Many o f fo r af the topographers, it is true , lived and worked some years ter — the n ew condition of affairs was definitely established fo r instance, e 1 8 1 t I 8 1 — Hearn did not die till 7 , and John Smith not ill 3 but e their authority was rapidly diminishing, and as they disappear d of the one by one , none new comers showed the least inclination to e f m n r vive the ading tradition . The new e had consciously or unconsciously committed themselves to an a sthetic policy which f l e r was in obvious Opposition to that o lowed by their pr decesso s, and the whole course of their professional proce dure was in its way

a protest against the methods and mannerisms of the old school . Fortun ately fo r them they were able to command the attention of f of m the public , and to secure rom people sound judg ent such a 11 vi OF PAIN TER S I N WATER-COLOUR S considerable me asure of support that they were encouraged to put forth th eir fulle st energies ; and when once the brief transition

period was passed , while the old school and the new were striving ff side by side, they had no cause to complain that their e orts were

misunderstood or not appreciated . If Paul Sandby can be considered to have Shown the way for the of e new development , the credit proving its gr atest possibilities may f . was airly be given to Thomas Girtin This young artist, who 1 1 8 0 2 d f born in 7 7 5 and died in , was extraor inarily gi ted, and had naturally an artistic endowment that was almost pe rfect in its

balance . He was one o f those men who have occurred occasionall y of o f in the history art, to whom the practical details their work ffi e of presented apparently no di culties, an instinctive master capabl x e attacking and overcoming triumphantly the most e acting probl ms . That he was ultimately surpassed by his contemporary and fellow f i f student, Turner, can be rankly adm tted , but this act does not d t f e ract rom his importance, and certainly does not diminish the f h significance o his intervention . It must be remembered t at Girtin - he was only twenty seven when died, and the opportunity was therefore denied to him of establishing his position am ong English

artists by a long and brilliant career such as Turner enjoyed . e i Ind ed , the astonishing quickness with wh ch Girtin matured is one o f f f f the most interesting features o his too brie li e . At an age — fo r when most men are only beginning when Turner, instance, was s — he i still but a tudent was an accomplished and influent al artist, and was fully able to demonstrate the completeness of his under standing of the new methods of artistic expression which he n of was s in advocated . He had an unerring perceptio what e sential of i pictorial arrangement , a singularly correct idea comb ning har m on io usl of of h h y the various parts a picture, and investing t em wit the right degree of poetic sentimen t ; an d as he was a sound and f b acile draughtsman and a sensitive colourist , he was a le to set down F ew m en his compositions with most persuasive con viction . have been better fitted to direct th e course of an evolution of artistic t fe w e of aste, because have possessed so compl tely the combination intelligence and manual skill which is necessary for leadership in the ’ fe artist s pro ssion . The great difference between his man ner of working and that of the other water- colour painters of his time was that he did not occupy himself with drawings in which colour and atmospheric effect were f made subsidiary to a ormal and conventional design , but chose rather to produce paintings that were in their colour qualities and H vI I THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY in their adjustment of tone relations as carefully studied as the or canvases of the oil painters . He abandoned the previous system n r of setting dow an arbitra y scheme light and Shade, which was afterwards amplified in an apologetic fashion by thin washes of of colour . Instead he stated his subjects in all their varieties local h ue , and recorded properly the changes in these hues caused by an d f- f shadows hal tones . In act, he substituted vigorous naturalism for f- hal hearted conventionality , and looked at nature not as an arrangement in black an d white which might be tinted according to r h of d certain set ules, but rat er as a mass colour which should be ma e

vivacious and sparkling by properly related light and shade . This undoubtedly justifies the claim on his behalf that he was the first of all the earlier water- colourists to prove that this particular f n f orm o f art was capable of independent and active existe ce . A ter f n o an d he had shown the way orward there was turning back ; , l few n f until quite within recent ears, when a peda ts have oolishly im erfiection s of r tried to imitate the p the p imitive tinted drawings ,

the mannerisms of the old school have been properly disregarded . f f a Girtin set a ashion which , unlike most ashions, was b sed upon so li n reason and good taste , and he did it bril a tly and with such masterly confidence that he converted the whole of the rising o f is o generation artists to his views . His success the more m mor able because the bulk of his work was executed for purposes of f l reproduction by engraving, and was there ore in all probabi ity i subject to some limitations . But these l mitations did not prevent him from giving even to his illustrative drawings the fullest measure o f an d spontaneity naturalistic charm, and did not hamper the assertion of his delightful individuality ; they only narrowed his choice of subject and caused him to occupy himself a little too f o f requently with architectural motives . In qualities handling his drawings for reproduction suffer hardly at all by comparison with his of an d pure landscapes, with those Studies wide distances stretches of m oorland which he treated with a largeness of s tyle and a delicacy o f a tmospheric quality such as no English painter before him h ad

attained . It is possible that the in fluence of Girtin upon the men about him might have been less immediate if there had been no opportunities afforded to the younger painters to meet an d exchange ideas about t i fo r heir intentions and achievements . Facil ties the systematic of - art t s study water colour painting as an were compara ively carce . o f - a as It is true that many the better known p inters took pupils, d di w s of ffi e San by d, and so ere able to train with ome degree e ci ncy 11 VI I I

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY

t as for n n en husi m a new moveme t, it can well be imagi ed that Girtin with his brilliant capacities an d zealous originality must have be en a ' aflected n of prominent figure , and must have most persuasively ma y hi e s . associat s He had , moreover, a disposition which was altogether f f l h ree rom jealousy, and he was always ready to exp ain his met ods f t and to expound his views to any one who wished for in orma ion . s i m e was The carele s, genial artist c tempera nt strong in him, the m a e his f t te perament which m k s a man popular with ellows, hough usually it somewhat hampers its possessor in his dealings with the ’ e of f ff of l comm rcial Side his pro ession . The e ect Girtin s genia ity ’ s hi n a a did not cea e when s attendances at Dr . Mo ro s cl ss c me to an

end . For the few years that he lived as an independent artist his t f S udio was always Open to his artist riends, and his knowledge was f as reely imparted to them as it had been in his student days . That with a disposition so attractive he Should have combined remarkable u n derstan ding o f a sthe tic questions and a de gree of Skill in f fo r was r cra tsmanship which the time at which he lived extraordina y, m a s y be accounted a most fortunate circumstance . It cau ed the n f n i fluence he exerted over a host of ollowers to be wholly be eficial , and it started practically the whole o f the new school upon a sound

and sensible course . When the eighteenth century close d water- colour painting in Englan d had passed well beyond the tentative stage into serious an d purposeful l it . u accomp ishment Its reso rces had been markedly extended , and had been proved to be worthy to ran k as something much highe r ’ for e art. than a plaything amat urs , or a subsidiary to the engraver s But it still had to make its proper appeal to the general public as one of f the greater orms of artistic achievement . Hitherto it had been e i l e t few patronis d , nte lig ntly enough wi hout doubt , by only a e of the s of coll ctors and connoisseurs better sort, but by the great ma s for f n in art lovers it was little known . The reason this can be ou d the fact that there were so far few facilities fo r exhibiting drawings

under suitable conditions . Moreover, nothing had been done to

for - h suflicien t widen the market water colours, or to assert wit conviction their importance as man ifestations of a new aesthetic spirit . d of In eed , the attitude the existing artistic associations towards this form of practice was at best one of somewhat contemptuous tolera

. the of of tion To exhibitions the Society Artists, the Free Society, a and the Roy l Academy, drawings were admitted , but they were an f an d l not treated with y great avour, were exposed in the ga leries to a competition with oil paintings which was plainly to their f disadvantage . The Academy had actually a law excluding rom 11 x OF PAIN TER S IN WATER- COLOUR S

- was membership artists who worked in water colours only, which naturally resented by these artists as a slight on them and their f of f was al aff pro ession , and as a badge in eriority that c culated to ect f harm ully the public judgment . Most o f all was there complaint about the manner in which water- colours were hung in the Academy x e hibitions , in dark corners and on walls unsuitably lighted, with the result that they could not be seen even by the people who as wished to examine them . It was partly a protest against this n f of u airness, partly with the idea helping on the new school by of n providing it with a kind central organisation , that certai painters set to work at the very outset o f the nineteenth century to establish n of - an exhibitio water colour drawings only, and to give the art a reasonable chan ce of proving what strong claims it had to wide i i apprec at on . n e for o f Against this, the generally assig ed r ason the promotion a for - x f scheme a water colour e hibition , it is only air to quote a f o f n Uwin s passage rom the biography Robson , writte by Thomas , ” ” the Royal Academician . The writer is old enough , he says , to re collect the time when the council room of the Royal Academy of - was devoted to the exhibition paintings in water colours . Here o f were to be seen the rich and masterly sketches Hamilton , the f of f o f ascinating compositions Westall , the beauti ul landscapes C allcott an d R ein a le i n of —Girtin , , g , and the splend d creatio s Turner the mightiest enchanter who has ever wielded the magic power o f

art in any age or country . At this time the council room, instead o f o f e being what the present arrangement makes it, a place r tire f of was f n ment rom the bustle other departments , itsel the great poi t o f e w li attraction . Her cro ds first collected, and here they ngered be d longest, cause it was here the imagination was ad ressed through o f the means o f an art which added the charm novelty to excellence . It was the fascination o f this room that first led to the idea o f form ” i of - ing an exhibition ent rely pictures in water colours . It is to be feared that this enthusiastic account o f the interest excited by the drawin gs which found their way into the earlier exhibitions of the Academy is not supported by contemporary n e b evidence . It has certainly been stre uously contradict d y art f o f l historians , and it reads, it must be con essed, like a piece specia

pleading . However, it is unnecessary to examine too closely the reasons that induced certain water- colourists to band themselves together to form an independen t organisation for the advan cement is of their particular interests . That they did so all that need be recorded : they may have been actuated by resentment at the ir 11 xi T H E HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SOCIE T Y

i as Uw i n s treatment by the oil pa nters ; they may have thought, s its so f m o n uggests, that an art which could hold own success ully a g the many counter- attractions in the rooms of the Academy wo u l d be even more prosperous when given chan ces o f fuller expan sio n or they may simply have wished to unite somewhat scattered forc e s n n - n wi t h i to close an d helpful associatio . To day we are concer ed the results of their activity and little enough with the cause s b y which it was inspired . The first step in the direction o f organisation was taken in th e firs t or secon d year o f the nineteenth century by William Frederick o f l f o f Wells, an artist moderate abi ity, who was an intimate riend o d f a s d u Turner and a teacher f much repute . He evoted himsel s i ousl o f an d th e y to the advancement his project, tried to secure co- Operation o f all the better known water -colour painters b sendi n g to them a printed circular letter in which the advantages o formin g a Society which would hold exhibitions o f their work were eloquentl y f ff i e l set orth . His e orts were seconded by the m niaturist , Samu d u i m e Shelley, who had , it is sai , been engaged pon a sim lar sche before he became acquainted with Wells through the introduction — of a mu tual friend ; and Shelley brou ght two other artists Robert o f n Hills, the painter animals and rustic subjects, and William He ry — Pyne, the landscape painter to join in the discussion . Pyne was a man who took an enthusiastic interest in new schemes and was always ready to assist energetically any movement which promise d was good results , so that he a valuable recruit . f These our men set to work to prepare a programme, and agreed upon a series of regulations which seemed to be suited to the of purposes such a society as they had in view . Their next step was to choose from among the painters available a number sufficien t to enable the Association to commence operations with some hope of w e f r m en . o v success This, ho ever, required delib ration, ob iously of of e Standing were required , and not all those who would have don h ad w honour to the Society were available . Girtin died hile the e o f an d a scheme was in proc ss incubation, so had lso both the

an d . . s Maltons, Rooker, Wheatley , while J R Cozens and Thoma n Sa dby had passed away some few years before . Turner was not of u eligible because he was a member the Royal Academy , and Pa l an six S dby because he was nearly eighty years old . But finally a of u n m 0 1 8 0 p inters repute were ind ced to joi , and on Nove ber 3 , 4, n the ten members, Wells, Shelley , Hills, Pyne, Francis Nicholso , an d t Nicholas Pocock, John Varley his younger bro her Cornelius, an d w the John Claude Nattes, William Sa rey Gilpin , met at 11 xii OF PAI N TER S IN WATER- COLOURS

f C ff f r f Strat ord o ee House in Ox o d Street, and ormally declared to f themselves be the Society o Painters in Water Colours . At this meeting they se ttled the details of the constitution of the i u d Soc ety , and passed r les to efine the financial responsibilities and o f privileges the members . They also elected Gilpin as president, as r an d Shelley treasurer, and Hills as secreta y , appointed Pyne, an d l m Nicholson , Pocock , We ls , to serve on the co mittee . It was decided that the president and theother office holders should be elected annually, and that all the members in rotation should serve on the of - oflicio committee , which the secretary was to be an ex member . Immediately after this inaugural meeting the n ames of six more r 1 011 l ll a tists were added to the , Joshua Crista l, William Have , James H olworth y , John Glover, Stephen Francis Rigaud, and George the x Barret the younger, so that when first e hibition was held the had i o Society a membersh p f sixteen . The place chosen fo r this first exhibition was a large room at 2 0 Brook

2 2 1 8 0 . Street, and the opening day was April , 5 All the members f - were represented ; John Varley by orty two works , Pyne and

- e - Shelley by twenty ight each , Glover and Hills by twenty three

- each , Wells by twenty one, Gilpin by twenty, Pocock by seventeen, f an d Nicholson by ourteen , Cornelius Varley Havell by twelve six each , Barret by eleven , Cristall by eight, Rigaud by , and Nattes H olworth t ll was as and y by five each , so tha the co ection varied and s of its comprehensive as it was artistically important . The succes appeal to the public was instantaneous ; during the seven weeks that the show remained open nearly twelve thousand people paid fo r of admission , and a considerable proportion the two hundred and - five f was n seventy drawings ound purchasers . The result that whe the accounts came to be made up at the close of the exhibition the e f f Soci ty ound itsel in an excellent position . The receipts exceeded f x 57 7 , and there remained , a ter all e penses had been paid, a surplus of m t 2 0 th e ore han J£ 7 , which was divided between members , according to the rule laid down , in shares proportioned to the declared values of their contributions to the gallery . Naturally such a satisfactory starting of the career of the Society was most encouraging to the group of artists whose efforts had the t of brought Association into existence . On the streng h it they 0 1 8 0 decided at their annual meeting, on November 3 , 5 , to extend their boundaries and to increase the scope of their operations . A ” n ew of w d class contributors, called Fello Exhibitors, was create , x f who were to be si teen in number, and rom whom members were to f was h of be chosen in the uture . It also agreed t at the number 11 m t THE HISTORY OF THE ROYA L SOCIET Y

- f ai e d members should be fixed at twenty our, to which it should be r s by the election of two men annually: At this meeting the thre e ffi re— an d o ce holders were appointed, and Pocock, John Varley , l w Glover , were put on the committee . A month later, nine Fe lo — Exhibitors the name was changed afterwards to Associate i — Delam o tte Exh bitors were elected , John James Chalon , William , reebairn n R ein a le Robert F , Paul Sandby Mu n , Richard Ramsay g , n n e John Smith , Francis Stevens, John Thurston , and a lady , Miss A f n . Fra ces Byrne , who painted ruit and flowers x A The second e hibition was held in the room in Brook Street . month before it opened Gilpin resigned the presidentship of th e his Society, and was succeeded by Wells he retained membership , x w however, and continued to e hibit . Three hundred and one dra t e ings were included in it, and the total proceeds amounted to a lit l 60 of for the over £ 7 , out which was available division among R ein a le an d ohn f l members . g J Smith were advanced to u l member in 1 80 6 f s ship December , and in the ollowing spring Thoma

Heaphy , and Augustus Pugin were elected Associates. About the R ein a le m in of l same time g was ade treasurer the place She ley , who had resigned that post . For the third exhibition the rooms in Pall Mall which had been a previously occupied by the Roy l Academy were secured . It - f d a included three hundred and twenty our drawings, and pro uced profit of more than Four days after it closed a meeting was call ed to investigate a charge which had been brought against of o f Nattes, one the original members , exhibiting as his own work drawings by other persons . The charge was proved , and he was in

. n 1 80 consequence expelled At the a nual meeting in November 7 , f Glover was elected President, and Chalon and Heaphy ull members ; and in January 1 8 0 8 John Augustus Atkinson and William Turner were made Associates and in the same month occurred the death o f of F reebairn 1 8 0 8 one the first elected Associates, Robert . The 1 6 an d exhibition was held in some rooms at Old Bond Street,

. i l a produced a profit exceeding £ 44. 5 It was the last to which W l i m D elam o tte contributed , though he continued to exhibit in other for f an d 86 1 . galleries nearly fi ty years, lived until 3 In November 1 80 8 R ein a le in g succeeded Glover the Presidentship , in which position he continued u ntil 1 8 1 2 ; and Atkinson an d Turner were t f f the f promo ed to ull membership . Just be ore end o this year h of fift - e the exhibi S elley died , at the age y ight he had shown in of - tions the Society sixty three drawings altogether . At this stage of the history of the Society of Painters in Water 11 x1v OF PA IN T E RS IN WATER-COLOURS Colours it will be as well to make a digression for the sake or explaining the position of a rival Association which has frequently

been confused with it . This rival Association was started by a group o f artists in June 1 8 07 it bore at first the same title as the older of Society , but changed this first to The New Society Painters in ” " M - 1 8 08 to iniature and Water Colours , and finally, in , The ” - Associated Artists in Water Colours . It opened its first exhibition 2 1 8 0 8 on April 5 , , at the same rooms in Brook Street which had n of of seen the inauguratio the activity its predecessor, and it moved af 1 6 fo r terwards to Old Bond Street , so that there is some excuse f of s the ailure historian to distinguish between the two Associations . r f of Moreove , many men who a terwards became members the old o f Society were first on the roll the Associated Artists . It lived , 1 8 1 2 of however, only till , when the contents the gallery in which its last exhibition was held were seized by the lan dlord and sold to

p ay the rent . M t eanwhile , however, it had done by its compe ition an appreciable a of 1 8 0 mount harm to the original Society , which had in 9 taken a - s lease of the well known gallerie in Spring Gardens . The first e xhibition in these new rooms was attended by nearly twenty- three t an d of 62 6 1 8 1 0 housand visitors , produced a surplus £ but in the t 1 8 1 1 a ttendance was only just over wenty thousand, in a little over n 1 8 1 2 n ineteen thousa d, and in it did not reach ten thousand seven h of undred, with , course, a corresponding diminution in the surplus s available for distribution . During the e years several changes were

m of . 1 80 Uwin s ade in the list contributors In 9 Thomas , William

Payne , Edmund Dorrell, and Charles Wild were elected Associates ; 8 1 0 in 1 Frederick Nash , Peter De Wint , Anthony Vandyke Copley 1 8 1 2 Fielding, William Westall, and William Scott and in David

Clen n ell . . m f l Cox, Luke , and C Barber The p ro otions to u l 1 8 0 Uwin s membership were Stevens and Dorrell in 9 , and Nash

1 8 1 0 1 8 1 1 " u n in , De Wint and Westall in , and Wild and P gi in

1 8 1 2 .

n ff of as I this last year the a airs the Society had , the members for t recognised, come to a crisis which called immediate ac ion . So m l was f a eeting was ca led to discuss what to be its uture policy . wo on e the scO e of T suggestions were made, that p the Association should be extended in such a manner as to ensure its receiving the of of - h support the whole body water colour painters the ot er, that the members and Associates should be allowed to contribute to its n l of exhibitio s oil pictures as we l as drawings . The second these d was suggestions was adopte , and confirmed at a subsequent meeting THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SO C I E T Y d a n d a but at a third meeting a few days later it was rescinde , I n t h e resolution to wind up the Society was passed instead. n l an d n R ein a le e s i d e t, interval Chalon , Dorrel , Steve s, and g , the Pr in . 0 an of fo u n d had resigned On November 3 , the niversary the g a f the fo r e s o l v e d eight ye rs be ore, members met the last time , and r f f r an o t h e r that the Society, having ound it impracticable to o m of - n i ts e f Exhibition Water Colour Paintings only , do co sider l ” dissolved this night .

an d d H a v e ll there were present Barret, Cristall, Copley Fiel ing, , m H olworth i n n e ll Ja es Holmes, y , John and Cornelius Varley, John L , Uwin s d e d t o Smith , and , with Nicholson in the chair . They deci f orm a Society for the purpose of establishing an exhibition c o n sisting of pictures in oil and water- colours it was to be limi t e d t o f t t o b e twenty members, but a certain number o other artis s were t f f i s s o l u invited to contribu e to the exhibitions . A ter the ormal d tion of the original Society an other meeting of the promoters o f t h is i of l u d in new assoc ation was called ; a list members was drawn up , inc g r G o u ld Barret , Cristall, Cox, Copley Fielding, Glove , Miss Harriet t H olworth Sm ith smi h , Havell, Holmes , y , Linnell, Nicholson, , Uwin s e l e c te d Turner, , John and Corn lius Varley Nicholson was e t e l a te President, Smith Secretary, and Barret Treasurer ; and a lit l r ’ Frederick Mackenzie and Henry Richter were added to the mem b e rs n list . Several other artists from the old Society consented to c o — Sc o Clen n ell . tribute among them Nash , Atkinson, , C Barber , tt ,

De Wint, Pugin , Wild, Dorrell , Stevens and Miss Byrne . The new Society took care to conceal as far as possible that t h e re ’ air e l f th e had been any change in the position of afl s. It called its t of in - the l e se Socie y Painters Oil and Water Colours, it took over a o f l r b t o the ga le in Spring Gardens , and it numbered its first exhi i i n in 1 8 1 3 as tye ninth ; and it inserted in the catalogue o f this s h o w ’ n fi e t - C o l o u r a ote to the e c that The Society of Painters in Water s , e fi ce f o m stimulated by Public Encouragem nt, and gaining Con den r e i o f th Success, have ventur d this year on a considerable extens on eir n - a l s an d Pla . Pictures in Oil and in Water Colours, Portr its, Mode , Miniatures are admitted into the present exhibition ; and s h o u ld the se increased efforts receive from the Public that liberal su p port f of which has always accompanied the ormer exertions this S o c iety, Y d f of an d every ear may pro uce resh sources Amusement , each 11 xvi

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY o o f a r ccupied by the Society P inters in Water Colou s, having R l s expired, and their new Exhibition oom being e s spacious than f t r n the ormer, they have taken the opportuni y to revert to the o igi al an h t was 1 80 i pl on w ich the Socie y established in 4, by confin ng t s rs of t an d heir exhibition to Works executed by Membe the Socie y ,

- t l r . n t eas h e in Wa er Co ou s only This alteratio , hey have r on to op , will be generally approved ; and they trust their removal will n ot ' o e a a hi r en o ed an d p r te to diminish the p tronage they have the to y , w has rom o te o 0 t e art hich enabled them to the impr vement h ir , b the 0 as fo r y distributing profits the Exhibition, Premiums , the ” w en couragement of meritorious and elaborate Works . But the sho excited only languid in terest ; it was visited by less than nine thousan d o f af e people , and it produced a margin only £ 44 ter expens s were f r for e a . p id In the ollowing year things were even wo se, the att nd an s an d was a ce dropped to but little over seven thou and, there e of fi deficit inst ad a pro t . Evidently the Egyptian Hall was not likely to prove a suitable exhi bition lace a f n p , and cle rly the Society had not yet ou d out how to f r v s ffi . ecure rom the public su cient attention So, to try and imp o e the m an d set matters, members decided to increase their nu bers, seriously to work to find a larger gallery in which to establish them 1 8 2 2 selves permanently . At last, in December , they took on lease l r a new room which had just been built in Pa l Mall East , and the e h the Society as remained to the present day . In the interval between th e signing o f the lease and the opening o f the 1 8 2 3 exhibition s o f rs s everal additions were made to the list membe and Associate , so - T he that the total number of contriMbutors amounted to thirty two . members were George Barret, iss Barret , Miss Byrne , David Cox, ll Crista , Copley Fielding, Mrs . T . H . Fielding, J . D . Harding, Robert n Hills , Frederick Mackenzie, Samuel Prout , Pugin , G . F . Robson , Joh Ste han off W t . Smith , p , F . S evens, Miss Scott , Turner, John Varley, and C . Wild ; and the Associates , H . C . Allport , W . T . Bennett,

R . H . Essex, F. O . Finch , H . Gastineau , S . Jackson , C . Moore, Whi lo he . . esfield . c . a W N , H Richter, W . Scott , W . W lker, and J 0f f these three, Smith , Stevens , and Allport , ceased to exhibit a ter 1 8 2 3 . This new departure on the part of the Society was immediately s ju tified by its results . Over eleven thousand people visited the 1 8 2 f 3 exhibition , which produced a satis actory surplus ; and there was 1 8 2 a definite increase in sales . In 3 it was decided to allow the of number the Associates to be increased to sixteen but , though this r was for o n ule passed, it was, various reas ns, not acted upo , and there 11 xviii OF PA INTERS IN WATER-COLOURS was for a while a falling off rather than an increase in the list of o f 1 8 2 it 1 8 2 members this class . In 3 stood at twelve, but in 4,

1 8 2 1 8 2 6 . 5 , and , it was respectively eleven , ten, and nine It rose 1 8 2 f f to to twelve again in 7 , to ourteen in the ollowing year, and f f fi teen in 1 8 29 . There were eighteen full members and our lady 1 8 2 1 8 2 f - members in 3, and in 9 the ormer numbered twenty three an d six o f the latter . This progressive advance in the strength the a Association was n o t the only proof o f its revival . The ttendances at — the h h v f n ex ibitions went on—growing t ere were well o er ourtee tho usand visito rs in 1 8 2 6 and the balance on the right side became an n a nual certainty, with the consequence that not only were the f was premiums increased in number, but the reserve und rapidly

e 1 8 2 8 it 00 . augment d, until in stood at £ 7 f During the whole o this period Cristall remained President . He — had held the post twice before in 1 8 1 6 and 1 8 1 9 ; he was t e in 1 8 2 1 ffi his elected , and continued in o ce until resignation in July

1 8 1 . 3 , when Copley Fielding was chosen to succeed him A special n ote must be made o f the fact that in 1 8 2 5 De Wint returned as a m of 1 8 1 2 n ember the Society . He had resigned in , and had bee asked to come back when the change of constitution was made in

1 8 2 1 his of fo r f s . , but he delay ed acceptance this invitation our year T he year before De Wint returned William Henry Hunt was elected a n 1 8 2 6 was f Associate, and in he promoted to ull membership , so that at this date there were together on the roll of the Society four o f the greatest masters whose names are recorded in the history of

E - — an d nglish water colour David Cox, De Wint , W . Hunt, Copley of Fielding . It would be impossible to question the authority an o f organisation which, among many other artists eminence, could a count s supporters four men o f such supreme ability . The Presidency of Copley Fielding continued till his death on 1 1 8 - f . o f March 3, 5 5 For the whole this twenty our years the

Society enjoyed unbroken prosperity, and did not cease to attract to its o f ranks artists distinguished capacity . It could not complain in suflic ien tl fo r that it was y appreciated by the public , the number of i its x er r w n v sitors to e hibitions av aged, during the pe iod bet ee 1 8 1 1 8 as 3 and 43, over nineteen thousand, and its position the lead ing institution fo r the encouragement o f water- colour painting was f f ully recognised both in England and abroad . Its unds were steadily its f r growing, and finances had arrived at such a satis acto y condition 0 that it was able to expend some £ 24 a year in premiums, as well as to vote sums o f money for the assistance o f the families o f deceased m f embers and as contributions to various charities . This ortunate 11 xi x THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY state of affairs was the result o f wise management an d of careful husban ding o f the profits which accrued from the ann ual exhibitions . a i The Society, indeed, had le rned thoroughly the lesson wh ch had x r been taught by its e perience in past yea s, and realised the import of ance providing against possible losses . 1 8 f of In 5 5 , soon a ter Copley Fielding died, a group English water U colours was exhibited in the niversal Exhibition at Paris, and there attracted the enthusiastic admiration of French critics and con n ois seurs f - . O the two first class gold medals awarded to English artists was Catterm ole of one allotted to George , a member the Society whose drawings were the most generally approved o f the whole

. of group Frederick Tayler, another member, served on the jury al the Exhibition in the place of Fielding . At the annu meeting in

N 1 8 i . but ovember 5 5 , John Frederick Lew s was elected President ffi 1 8 8 e he held o ce only until February 5 , when he resign d his m embership of the Society because he wished to give his time to oil painting . Certain importan t events occurred during his Presidency ; f of 1 8 the chie them was the decision , arrived at in 57 , to abandon the of 000 n custom giving premiums . Some £ 5 altogether had bee in an d f expended premiums, the members now elt that they would be acting more wisely if fo r the future they exe rcised a stricter

e . economy , and used all possible means to increas their reserve The of r question enlarging their galle y was then under discussion , so it was necessary to provide a sum sufficient to meet what were likely to be serious expenses . i for . Th s matter remained in abeyance, however, some little while was It actually settled while Frederick Tayler, who had succeeded 1 8 8 f Lewis in 5 , was President, and a ter an attempt had been made to secure from the Government part o f the site of Burlington House fo r of f l . the erection a new ga lery This application was re used, and as an alternative the Society decided to buy the ground lease of its

of the . premises in Pall Mall East, with some adjoining properties r 1 862 and to reconstruct its rooms on a larger scale . By Februa y , of this rebuilding was completed at a cost several thousand pounds, f of v f an d which was de rayed partly out the reser e und, partly by the of fo r issue debentures and the first time in its history, the Society f f ound itsel in an absolutely independent position . Meanwhile a revision of its rules and constitutions had been in

of . . progress, under the supervision its legal adviser, Mr Field This revision was finally passed at a meeting in February 1 86 1 among other changes it formally defined the status o f the lady members and an d included them among the Associates , it imposed upon each new 11 xx OF PAINTERS IN WATER-COLOURS member the obligation to present to the Society an example of his

. f work This last rule was un ortunately not made retrospective, but ‘ the the members already on roll were invited to give drawings, and so to make reasonably representative what was intended to be a

. 1 862 of far diploma gallery In , with the intention utilising as as of possible the advantages the new gallery, a second annual Show was of in commenced, a Winter Exhibition Sketches and Studies, which it was proposed to include slighter and more spontaneous

works than were admissible to the Spring Exhibition . This scheme as an was advocated by John Gilbert, who had joined the Society 1 8 2 f e Associate in 5 , and had become a ull m mber two years later f it was pre erred to an alternative scheme, suggested by J . D . for of - u Harding, that classes the teaching water colour painting sho ld ’ s r T a lor s of ffi be e tablished in the galle y. During y tenure the o ce of President a small increase in the number of members and - of f Associates took place . There had been twenty six the ormer an d - of 1 8 1 8 0 twenty two the latter in 5 5 , but in 7 , when Tayler n - resig ed, they had risen to thirty and twenty eight respectively . John Gilbert was chosen as President in succession to Frederick 1 8 2 o f Tayler, and in 7 received the honour knighthood ; he held offi fo r - 1 1 8 2 n 8 . ce twe ty six years, until his death in 97 In 7 he was an of also elected Associate the Royal Academy , an event of which marked decisively the abandonment the old rule, to which of the Academy had long adhered, under which members other art of societies were incapable becoming Associates or Academicians .

1 8 0 . . This rule had been previously broken in 7 , when W C T . o f - Dobson , was elected an Associate the Water Colour 1 8 1 Society , and again in 7 , when Frederick Walker, who had been

of S t 1 866 . . . a member the ocie y since , was made an A R A Since that time many distinguished artists have belonged to both in s titu n e o f tio s . In 1 87 3 a new ord r honorary members was created ; it was intended to include people, whether artists or not, whose of services to art seemed to deserve recognition . The first these

h . . m e . onorary mbers were the Right Hon W E Gladstone, Sir a Richard W llace, Sir Prescott Hewett, Jean Baptiste Madou , President o f the Roy al Belgian Society of Painters in Water

Colour, and John Ruskin .

f . m s Nearly ten years a ter Sir John Gilbert beca e Pre ident, the Society was honoured by permission to call itself " The Royal ” of - Society Painters in Water Colours, and the members were given n diplomas Signed by the Sovereign . This cha ge came into opera

2 0 1 88 1 . 01 tion on July , In the previous year the number THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY

n members had been again increased, and the limit had bee fixed at f was al the t of so t orty ; an addition so made to lis As cia es, who in - 1 1 883 numbered as many as forty five . In April 1 88 the Society p h of i - h was ap roac ed b the Institute Pa nters in Water Colours —wit suggestions fo r t e amalgamation of th e two Association s the Institute h ad bee n founded in 1 8 3 1 as The New Society of

- P r n 1 86 . ainte s in Water Colours , and had changed its ame in 3

These suggestions, made by the Institute in a most reasonable spirit, s f f and di cussed thought ully and care ully by the Society , were i o f 1 88 2 the e ultimately d sposed in April , when Pr sident wrote ffi of w l o o cially to say that the members this Society, hi e rec gnising and acknowle dging the friendly feeling Shown in th e p r0posal of the t a t t af Ins itute , which they very sincerely reciproc te, regre hat ter mature consideration they have been led to the conclusion that the fusion or amalgamation o f the two Societies presents difficulties of n an d various kinds which they find to be i surmountable, that con sequently they are unable further to entertain the proposition which ” h m h f al the Institute has done t e the onour to make . This re us was a parently based on th e conviction that the amalgam ation would 0p t f an d be no benefit to the Society i sel , would have only the ff t of ase es i s th in e ec involving it in greatly incre d r ponsibil tie , wi out an r e i e y co r sponding degree improving ts finan cial prospects . Wis ly the members of the Society res olved to adh ere to their traditional n ot to u a s la ion r l ts of h policy , and la nch out into pecu t the esu whic an d a ss fo cas were indefinite practic lly impo ible to re t. ’ For some little while before his death Sir John Gilbert s in firmities c f in i s of r s so f sso prevented his a tively ulfill g the dut e P e ident, Pro e r H erkom er as n the Hubert von acted his deputy . When Sir Joh died n ed h f W erl t e o . E st t at ow vaca cy was fill by election Mr rne Alber , who had been made an Associate in 1 8 80 and a full member in w 1 8 . a n s was d e 94 he s k ighted oon afterwards . There a ecid d a s as ea of o for as ppropriateness in his election the h d the S ciety, a distinguished lan dscape painter he repres ented a class o f art practice m ll u which had always been ad irably i strated in the exhibitions . At th e was s of the an d has time he an As ociate Royal Academy, he S n ed the ra of c n so t the t i ce been advanc to nk A ademicia , hat Socie y is for ec s ed f the s ond time pre id over by a member o the Academy. Un der his direction the prosperity of the institution sh ows no sign of the a al tra s o f s t s diminution nnu exhibitions still at ct a ho t vi i or , and the record of sales year by year proves how thorou ghly accept ’ art l s of all t es the eflo of co n r able to over yp are rts the t ibutors . d the s i n of the o i t af c n r of is en s ows Indee , po it o S c e y ter a e tu y ex t ce h OF PAINTERS IN WATER-COLOURS with what consistent judgment its best traditions have been main tain ed fu h , and how skil lly it has been steered t rough the risks and has its f vicissitudes to which it been exposed . That it has had ull s of n has hare adventures ca not be denied, but it always been ready to learn by experience and to turn to good account whatever oppo r tun i ies of t improving its position have presented themselves . One of f s of an d of the chie source its artistic success, its financial pros erit as ll r p y we , has been its readiness to add to its roll those a tists f who can airly be called leaders in thought and practice . Unlike n e has ma y other art institutions it has never become st reotyped, and never hesitated to associate in its gallery the most varied kinds of o - accomplishment . An astonishing array f great water colourists h as con se been gathered under its banner, and its record provides in quenco an almost complete history of the progress of water- colour — painting in this country . To day it can with justice claim to be the most comprehen sive and the most broad- minded of all the Societies for r is of ae with its particular purpose, the e scarcely any phase sthetic conviction that cannot be adequately studied in its exhibitions .

11 xxiii

THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIET Y

01 1 1 8 0 2 an Associate the Academy in 7 99 , and an Academician in , so he was absolutely barred from taking any part in the schem e which resulted in the formation of the Water- Colour Society in 0 ve n 1 8 4 . Other men were on the same ground not available and e of those who actually joined the Society a certain number withdre w n a at one time or a other because they had, or thought they had, l chance of admission to the older institution . All this natural y helped to weaken in some measure the strength of the appeal whic h the water- colourists were making for attention but fortun ately there was n too much vitality in the movement, and there were too ma y a of f fo r rtists ability ready to fill the gaps le t by those who seceded, f e ha d the progress o the association to be perceptibly ch cked . It fr the of an d th e om beginning the sympathy the public , received on e o f i s whol an adequate amount support while the internal d ssension , which might well have destroyed it if they had been dealt with in f th e the wrong spirit, were actually help ul because they led to making of intelligent experiments an d to the multiplying o f experi en ces which were of much value in settling details in the policy an d

management o f the Society . For its actual founders no extraordinary prominence among British

artists can fairly be claimed . William Frederick Wells was a skilful f f of topographer, who is chiefly known to ame as an intimate riend " ” be Studiorum Turner, and the one at whose instigation the Li r was undertaken ; Samuel Shelley was a figure painter who had his made a reputation by miniatures, and was in some measure a rival o f C o wa d s . l an . y The other two, Robert Hi ls W H . Pyne, who

were brought in by Shelley to help in planning out the scheme, were of n f as o f some sta ding in their pro ession , Hills a painter animals, an d an t l as of as exquisi e draughtsman in penci , and Pyne a painter of landscapes and rustic groups with landscape backgrounds . But ’ perhaps Pyne s claim to be remembered rests more upon his writings r of on art subjects , and his contributions to the artistic histo y his his times, than upon actual pictorial achievements . ich olson ohn an d The six men , Nicholas Pocock, Francis N , J Cornelius Sawr Varley , John Claude Nattes , and William y Gilpin , who joined the other four before the first meeting was held to draw up formally the of o f constitution the Society , were all acknowledged position . l Pocock had been origina ly a sailor, but had adopted the artistic pro fessio n w t when he was about thirty , and was well kno n as a pain er of landscapes, portraits, and especially marine subjects ; Nicholson f o f n es f was a skil ul painter la dscapes and portraits, and a succ s ul t teacher ; Na tes, a topographic draughtsman who had been con Mxxv i T HE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY c erned in the production of many books o f views in the British Isles a n d so n o f was abroad ; and Gilpin , the a Royal Academician, a Var d . Of le s rawing master with a very large practice the two y , John was the elder by three ye ars ; he was only twen ty- six when t h e t Society was constitu ed, but he had already gained a position o f o f some distinction by the merit his work in landscape , and had — j ustified great anticipations as to his success in the near future antici at n f f fi p io s which be ore long were amply ul lled . Art historians count h im rightly enough among the chief of the earlier masters of water an d of hi n u c s . olour, estimate highly the value services He was d oubtedly an important addition to the small group o f enthusiasts who were so anxious to see the claims of their art presented to the p ublic with due persuasiveness . Of n o t less distinction were the recruits gai n ed by the Society during t he short interval which separated the inaugural meeting o f the m 0 1 8 0 t embers on November 3 , 4, rom the first exhibition early 0 of in 1 8 5 . The list adherents was raised to Sixteen by the addition of r of f George Barret the younge , the son the oundation member of of the Royal Academy , and an artist with an exquisite sense r style and a ve y sound technical method Joshua Cristall, a poetic painter who treated figure subjects and landscapes with dainty facility an d H olworth e with charming taste ; James y , an able landscap n ain painter ; Stephen Fra cis Rigaud, who had g ed the Academy gold medal for historical painting three years before ; William ll of - o af Have , a young man twenty three, who Sh wed promise, ter f of his f n an d wards well ulfilled, becoming eminent in pro essio ; n f- o Joh Glover, a sel taught artist, who had attained a g od position o il as a teacher, and had become widely popular by his works in - of n of an d water colour. He filled the post Preside t the Society fo r 1 8 1 i 1 8 1 8 u the year 5 , but he res gned his membership in beca se an was l d m he had ambition , which , however, not rea ise , to beco e of an Associate the Royal Academy. The nine artists who were elected at the e n d of 1 8 0 5 as Associate ” - f Exhibitors, the newly constituted class rom which members were for f r to be chosen the uture, were Miss Anne F ances Byrne, the of B eldest daughter the engraver, William yrne, and a clever painter of f n of ruit and flowers ; Joh James Chalon , a landscape painter n Delam o tte unquestio able ability ; William , the drawing master at the of Great Marlow Military Academy, who had been a pupil Ben jam in West but had subsequently made a reputation by his ’ sc t an u of land ape drawings in Gir in s m ner ; Pa l Sandby Munn , a man F reebairn a of h n moderate ability ; Robert , pupil Ric ard Wilso ; M xxvu THE MEMBERS OF THE SOC I E T Y

a i n t e r Fr ncis Stevens, a capable and accomplished landscape pa ; - b u t h ad John Thurston , who had begun as a copper plate engraver, acquired later a prominent position as an illustrative figure drau g h ts m an R ein a le son o f a and wood engraver ; Richard Ramsay g , the n an r of u n e r Royal Academicia , and a tist some note among the yo g of n w a t e r landscape painters the time and John Smith , the vetera colourist who had played an important part in the earlier dev e l o p of art an d h n ic al ment the , had done much by his intelligent tec R ein a le a ft e r experiments to improve its processes. g and Chalon w of 1 8 1 1 8 2 ards became Associates the Academy, in 4 and 7 respectively . During the succeeding period of six years which ended with t h e of 1 8 1 2 c i a te reconstitution the Society in December , sixteen Asso m en of t h e Exhibitors were elected . Among them were several of e c ial greatest distinction , to whom by general consent places sp r o m as prominence have been assign ed amon g British maste s . Th 1 8 0 b o th Heaphy and Augustus Pugin , chosen in March 7 , were f of fr o m valuable acquisitions, the ormer as a figure painter subjects f as r f al a n low li e, and the latter a ve y skil ul architectur draughtsm was fo r w h o he some time an assistant to John Nash , the architect f ll n tw o designed Regent Street . In the o owi g year were added o f o f an d men some note, John Augustus Atkinson , a painter rustic " an d o f military subjects, William Turner, better known as Turner ” f n e Ox ord , a you g artist who had been apprenticed to John Varl y ’ and had acquired something of his master s largeness of manner an d of 1 80 Uwin s am breadth style ; and in 9 came Thomas , Willi fi of w as Payne , Edmund Dorrell , and Charles Wild, the rst whom then layin g the foundation of the considerable reputation as a roman tic figure painter which more than twenty years later gaine d ll l him admission to the Academy . Payne and Dorre were wel his al s known by their landscapes, and Wild by architectur drawing , r f which had a more than ordinary deg ee o pictorial quality . The year 1 8 1 0 is notable in the history of the Society because it saw the addition of the names o f De Win t and Copley Fielding to f the o . r list Associate Exhibitors In the same year Frede ick Nash , n d a very able architectural draughtsman ; William Westall, a la scape et r painter who , though not y thirty, had had many adventu es in of of various parts the world ; and William Scott , a student English c s enery , about whom little is now known , were also elected ; but they cannot be reckoned to have done m ore than stren gthen the n a d of of ra k n file the Association , and one them , Westall, retired h f wit in two years to become an Associate o the Academy . Copley M xxvm THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY

r f - Fielding and De Wint, howeve , were not only li e long supporters o f the n o in Society , but also instrumental in small degree establishing its claim to b e regarded as the chief cen tre of the British water

. f of l colour school Both were cra tsmen superlative ski l, and both n studied and recorded nature with exquisite se sitiveness . Fielding of o f was, perhaps, the greater the two as a painter atmospheric ff i e ects , but he scarcely equalled De W nt in breadth and expressive of of ness brushwork and in masculine individ u ality manner . They l fo r both had practica ly the same training, they were much influenced f by John Varley, who gave them many use ul hints, though they m were not actually his pupils, and they were both ad itted to the f f o us o . class young painters who met at the ho e Dr Monro .

’ n of Fielding, however, u like De Wint, who was the son a physician , h ad the advan tage o f being brought up among artistic surroundings f was e f his f his ather a succ ss ul painter, who allowed our sons to he follow t same profession . f for 1 8 1 2 Another amous name appears the first time in , when David

e Clen n ell an d . Clen n ell Cox was lected with Luke Charles Barber , a was who had been tr ined by Bewick as a wood engraver, a water of bu t colourist more than ordinary power, his career ended by the ’ f u of his - Six an d ail re mind when he was only thirty , Barber s connec tion with the Society ceased shortly after his election so that neither o a for f them c ll more than passing mention . But Cox continued to contribute largely to its exhibitions until his death forty- seven years later ; during this long period his reputation steadily advanced, and his place at the very head of a school which had won its way to w unquestioned eminence as at last universally acknowledged. He fully deserved the recognition which came to him in the later years of his laborious life few men have striven so consisten tly an d with of t a few such firmness purpose to realise a wor hy mbition, and have combined so happily acuteness o f observation and sympathetic un der of f t standing nature with delight ul mastery over executive de ails . It can certainly be accounted a fortunate circumstance that of these ts three great artis Fielding and Cox, with others like Glover, an d Varl e s Barret, Cristall, Nicholson , the y , should have remained fai thful to the Society during the crisis which overtook it at the end 1 1 2 f of 8 . Nearly half the total number o members and associate of exhibitors seceded then, some them permanently, others like De B u t Wint to return at a later date . other artists who had not pre viously belonged to the association showed themselves not unwilling to attach themselves to the distinguished group by which its tradi n tions were bei g upheld, and to help in carrying on a movement THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCI E T Y

w o rs w e re which had been well begun . The first o f these ne c me t f of o a sc a e John Linnell, subsequen ly a amous painter r m ntic land p , was w n - m ad e a who then barely t e ty one ; James Holmes, who specialty of humorous rustics and miniature portraits ; and Miss G ouldsm ith a n d Harriet , who treated landscape with some success f 1 8 1 of r e r a be ore the 3 exhibition opened, the names Hen y Richt , of i z an rc hi painter domestic subjects, and Freder ck Macken ie, a tectu ral draughtsman who chose chiefly church interiors as moti v es for fe w t a th e his drawings, were enrolled . A mon hs later c me o f of twe n t election George Fennel Robson , a young artist five and y , n n ra n s who was destined to achieve disti ctio by his landscape d wi g , and especially by his romantic studies of moun tain scenery an d in this year also the re appears for the first time in the records of t h e o f ffi n te r Society the name Henry C . Allport , a su ciently capable pai , is about whose career little, however, known . 1 8 1 a n d No other elections took place until 9 , when Samuel Prout Ste han off r m an James p were made membe s . Prout, who was then a of - of b thirty six, had not yet turned to the particular type work y f f w e l which he a terwards became amous . He was, however, l r lf u ro known as a ve y ski ul topographical dra ghtsman , and he had p duced of v f o wn d n s a large number etched iews, some rom his rawi g o co n and some from those f other artists . He had commenced of S 1 8 1 an d h e n tributing to the exhibitions the ociety in 5 , began t a connection with it which continued u ninterruptedly till his dea th f han o ff a . Ste nearly orty years later p , who was about five ye rs

n ll 1 86 1 e d . you ger than Prout, remained a member ti , when he resign of te He was not , perhaps, a painter the highest rank, but he trea d f m s figure subjects, mostly taken rom romantic fiction , plays, and poe , f few in with undeniable vigour and much acility . He painted a c ide n ts f f of , as well, rom the li e his own times . After the second reconstruction of the Society in 1 8 2 0 there was an imm ediate increase in the n umber of artists who were admitted k e to membership . There were gaps in the ran s to fill b cause some men had signified by resign atio n their disapproval of the further change of policy decided upon by the majority ; and there we re additions necessary to bring the association up to a sufficient worki n g strength to enable it to continue its activity without the assistance of of illiam am e s outside contributors . The first the new comers were W J e D uflield al Benn tt, James Harding , and William W ker, who joined of e 1 8 2 0 . n s as Associates in June Bennett, a landscape pai ter pas abl t f e capaci y , must not be con ounded with the oth r William Bennett , wh o of Cox f 1 8 8 e was a pupil David , and rom 4 onwards a memb r MXXX THE MEMBERS O F THE SOCIETY of the n it te o f - I st u Painters in Water Colours. Walker was best b his o f the an d t r of known y paintings scenery archi ectu e Greece , in which country he travelled for some while and Harding by his facile but conventional landscapes which he treated in accordance t h ff n with a par icular recipe t at was more e ective tha intelligent . was an d f an d He a popular success ul teacher, published several of f r books on the practice art . In the ollowing yea were added a

n e Mrs . . t e w . h member, T H Fielding , a flower painter, who was ’ f of ieldin s wi e Copley F g elder brother ; and a new Associate, r was as l Hen y Gastineau , who known both as a teacher and a and

scape draughtsman . a 8 2 2 1 8 2 Still more numerous were the ccessions during 1 and 3. In addition to certain former members who were reinstated two new lady members, Miss M . Barret and Miss Scott, were elected, and e v seven Associat s, Charles Moore, Francis Oli er Finch , George Catterm ole A N esfield , William ndrews , Richard Hamilton Essex, Whichelo of Samuel Jackson , and John . Miss Barret, a daughter r n f the elder George Ba ret, the Royal Academician , pai ted still li e subjects and made some reputation by her miniatures also an d Miss f an of Scott devoted hersel to flowers d fruit. The most important the C atterm ole his - men was George , then in twenty second year he was at this stage of his career known only as an architectural d an d was n raughtsman , busy with drawings inte ded to illustrate ’ B " t o f John ritton s great publication , The Cathedral Antiqui ies ” Great Britain . He was represented by one o f these drawings in 1 8 2 2 x of n the e hibition the Society, but he sent othing more till 1 8 2 t e- 9, when he was elected an Associate. By this latter date he had found his way into the romantic and historical class of subjects by which he became so widely known and until his final resignation of his membership in 1 8 5 2 h e con tinued to be a prolific o exhibitor f figure compositions o f this kind . He was accounted of of - by his contemporaries as one the ablest British water colourists, and this opinion h as been fully endorsed by later judgment . d Finch , a elicate and poetic landscape painter, who worked in the - c Catterm ole earlier water olour manner, perhaps comes next to in o f f importance He was a pupil John Varley, but he ollowed o f of rather the style George Barret . Three others the new s es field Whichelo As ociates, N , Samuel Jackson , and , contributed f . esfield landscapes N , who had been a lieutenant in the army be ore his f f for ta he adopted art as pro ession , had a pre erence moun inous r f his of scene y, and made water alls specialty ; Jackson , a pupil

F . Danby, painted with much ability picturesque bits in Wales M xxxi THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY and the West of England ; and Whiche lo alternated between c oast u l scenes and pure landscapes . He is supposed to have been a p pi o f v n o w n either Varley or Cristall, but there is comparati ely little k h h t about his early life . Moore and Essex were arc itectural draug s of f l Catterm ole o m e men some standing the ormer, ike , executed s ’ ” of u fo r a t the ill strations Britton s Cathedral Antiq uities, the l ter of h f did a certain amount illustrative work , but made his c ie e of l x fo success s with drawings buildings like Magdalen Co lege , O rd,

and Ely Cathedral. T he 1 8 2 1 8 2 for th e years 4 and 5 are both memorable, the first saw of l e s of Se election Wi liam H nry Hunt, and the econd that John ll s Cotman . With Hunt was admitted a second Associate, John Ma ey of f - ta Wright, a man orty six, who had gained a considerable repu ’ t r e fr k s s ion by his compositions illust ating sc nes om Sha e peare s play , an d f wa s f- r i t rom various romances . He s practically a el taught a t s h but in his youth he had known Stothard , and had been muc

. an d was influenced by him Hunt was some twelve years younger, th h almost unknown to e general public . Up to the time when e joined the Society he had painted chiefly landscape s or architectural subjects but he began then to exhibit those st udies of rustic figures l f fo r the of e and sti l li e to which he adhered rest his long car er. n He was an admirably acute observer and a masterly executa t, and by his consummate ability he gave a meaning and importance to his work far beyond what can ordinarily be claimed for such essays t i in wha is necessarily more or less unimaginat ve realism . In some ways it is surprising that an artist so highly gifted should have been w content to confine his practice within such narro limits, but he his f - an d it was was severely hampered throughout li e by ill health , scarcely possible for him to attempt anything which might have x ta ed his physical energies . Cotman was a painter of much wider ran ge ; he produced land sea scapes, architectural subjects , and pieces, figure compositions, - an d and portraits ; he worked equally well in oil and water colour, he was a successful etcher . His drawings and paintings can be for of unreservedly praised their largeness and distinction style, and fo r their splendid technical qualities ; he can be counted without H is of hesitation among our greater masters. understanding the of was few principles pictorial arrangement extremely judicious, artists have known better how to adjust the composition of masses

how of . and details, or to manage relations light and shade There is in all his work a dignified simplicity which resulted artly from of f orwardn ess the correctness his vision , and partly rom the straight Mxxx n

THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY f i new Associates were John William Wright , who made a a r reputa tion by his compositions from Shakespeare and the poets ; and

Frederick Tayler, a young artist who had studied in Paris under Horace Vernet and Paul Delaroche and in 1 833 there was on ly f i h one, Frank Stone, who , a ter exhibit ng sentimental subjects wit fo r f an the Society ourteen years, retired and was elected Associate of the Royal Academy . ' Of all these artists none played a more prominent part in the aflairs of t n the Society ha Frederick Tayler . He not only filled the post of for al President twelve years, but he so contributed largely to the x an d of his e hibitions, earned considerable repute by the excellence of work . The subjects of his drawings were mostly a romantic f if type, and were chosen sometimes rom contemporary l e and some s f of n u f time rom that bygo e centuries . He had a partic lar pre erence for n an d f r hu ting and hawking scenes, o pastorals which gave him opportunities of introducing both figures and animals into the same composition an d he executed all his drawings with a directn ess and rt of H is ce ainty touch that can be unreservedly admired . retirement from the Presidentship was the outcome of his belief that his un fitted for his advancing years him duties, but he continued to h r n ea of t ex ibit as an ordina y member u til his d th , at the age eigh y

1 88 . seven , in 9 a sea s n Charles Bentley, painter who digressed on occa io s into s s e landscapes and coast scene with figure George Chamb rs , another sea painter whose accurate kn owledge of his subject and whose skill as a draughtsman of shipping and boats had been obtained by some ’ a as a an d h N an years actu l experience sailor Josep ash , architectural n a m 1 8 an d draughtsma and figure p inter, were ade Associates in 34 th a al of a year later Valentine Bar olomew, who made speci study u b e l a s as flowers, tho gh on rare occasions exhibited andsc pe well, an d la u as a had James Hol nd, who had beg n flower painter, but by the f h f date o is election turned to a more ambitious type o practice .

f the 1 8 2 1 8 6. u He le t Society in 4 , but returned in 5 D ring this interval he had developed into an artist of exceptional power he a as n an d a a ss was m terly executa t, m gnificently expre ive sketcher, and there was the truest originality in all his performances . He f of his a al r u al ound the majority subjects broad, in It y, Po t g , the T t o " u an d al in V l y , the Low Co ntries, especi ly enice, which ast place ’ he painted with something of Turner s brillian cy an d charm ; but al a f r n u a he exhibited so ai mber of British lan dsc pes. He died in 1 8 0 his ear 7 , in seventieth y . n 1 8 an d of 1 8 2 l five a n s Betwee 35 the end 4 , on y dditio were made Mxxxiv THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY

ss a . a to the A oci te class, two, Arthur Glennie and W L ke Price , in 1 8 l a l w 1 8 8 1 8 1 37 , Wi liam C l o in 3 , George Arthur Fripp in 4 , and

Octavius Oakley in February 1 842 . Glennie showed more than f u n n our h ndred drawings duri g his con ection with the Society, a connection which lasted until his death in Jan uary 1 890 an d s i of f n s the e drawings were almost ent rely oreign la dscapes . The la t t rt - five r of if t hi y yea s his l e he spent at Rome, a ci y which he had previously visited and sketched ; an d he travelled extensively in a u of n v rio s parts the Contine t . Lake Price painted architecture and fi ure compositions with architectu ral backgrounds he was a pupil

g an d f 8 2 . o Augustus Pugin De Wint . He le t the Society in 1 5 a is was his William C llow , who still living and working, in earlier f a life a amous teacher . He went to Paris to study when he was of n an d for w boy sixtee , remained there some t elve years, painting an d his i of teaching . Among pup ls were many members the lea i l fa n u for n f Or n st roya mily . He conti ed to teach more tha orty f his r 1 8 1 his n years a ter eturn to England in 4 , but despite ma y en gagemen ts he has found time to execute a large number of s of d an d u s admirable drawing lan scape picturesq e building , and he has taken a very definite position among our leadin g water- colour a an d ak of a the f p inters . Fripp O ley were both men bility ormer a u l an d s an d made rep tation by his andscapes river scene , the latter his s an d - c u a by rustic figure composition water olo r portr its . After 1 842 there was a perceptible increase in the n um ber of elec i n 1 8 the s sf l s a t o s. In 43 ucces u candidate were Willi m Collingwood S a n a was n s mith, la dsc pe painter whose method in ma y respect akin to of a - c s as that the e rlier water olourist ; Thom Miles Richardson , the son of a a l a i an d a an d Skilfisl who Newc st e rt st, prolific worker before his death in 1 890 contributed more than eight hun dred land ’ s a s to S t n an d a u a an ti t c pe the ocie y s exhibitio s S m el P lmer, a rom cis who was in his earlier life much influen ced by William Blake an d H e a e s l John Lin nell. p inted more or less idealis d landscape bri liant m n a n an d'Stron an d i n s r e in illu i tio g in colour, d sti gui hed by emarkabl f ea of t qualities o poeti c in vention . The gr t merit his work is i s a e a of se t en an d s an a r not bl be uty n im t, it pre ents dmi able and rather of an d a a as rare combination naturalism im gination . P lmer w n fu l s 1 8 an d he s adva ced to l member hip in 54, held thi position till h a in 1 1 is de th 88 . f o F r a e b of e r F was Al red D wning ipp , young r rother G o ge ripp, ec in 1 8 so a un t who e el ted 44 with Douglas Mori n , yo g ar ist di d o l two e ea s l f a f ca in h n y or thr e y r ater, a ter brie reer whic he showed o s as an ar al a d lan a e a n t m uch pr mi e chitectur n dsc p p i er . Fripp m xxxv THE MEMBERS OF T HE SOCIETY

f f ela devoted himsel to figure subjects illustrating rustic li e in Ir nd, an d o f als Scotland, and Wales , other parts the British Isles, and he o i 1 8 a found a few mot ves in Italy . In 45 another Willi m Evans was an s t an d w r made As ociate, and wi h him Samuel Rayner George Ed a d ” o f s to dis Harrison . William Evans, known as Evans Bri tol tin guish him from his namesake who had been elected nearly twenty f f n years be ore, occupied himsel chiefly with Welsh and Italia land s al capes, which he treated cleverly, but in a more or less convention h manner . Rayner, an architectural draug tsman who imitated C atterm ole 1 8 1 George , ceased to belong to the Society in 5 and 1 of Harrison died in October 846. His drawings were chiefly

fan cifisl n s o f . of r garde cenes wi th groups figures One his siste s, i an d f M ss Maria Harrison , a flower ruit painter, was made a lady

e a . e m mber in and in the same ye r George F Rosenb rg,

f an d s . who painted still li e landscapes, was added to the Associate 1 There was no election in 846. 1 8 8 1 8 m t However, in 4 and 49 , eight new artists ca e into the Socie y, a o f four in each year . The first b tch consisted George Haydock of Dodgson, whose drawings landscape , coast , and architectural sub ects of j were deservedly popular Edward Duncan , a marine painter l f e great abi ity, who made many success ul digr ssions into pure land s an an d n cape Francis William Topham, who was first engraver the developed into a very skilful painter of peasan t life at home and f a . so n o broad ; and David Cox, Junr , the only the great English ’ fu of f e master and a skil l exponent his ath r s artistic creed, though he was not possessed of an equally great endowment of executive f c . o apacity The second batch was made up three men, John C i Bran white an d allow , Joseph John Jenk ns , and Charles , one l the l . r a ady, Mrs Criddle, who , contra y to what may most be called c of f of ustom her sex, occupied hersel with figure subjects instead fe w of f u s . till li John Callo , a younger brother the more amo s l an d William Ca low, painted chiefly coast scenes shipping ; he was a f an d of f of success ul teacher, held successively the posts pro essor d a A ddiscom be s of rawing at the Roy l Military College, , ma ter l ar de andscape drawing at the Royal Milit y Aca my, Woolwich , ’

. an d f " u l o . . . l k pro essor at een s Col ege, L ndon J J Jenkins , i e T n an a of opham , bega as engraver, and then became a p inter an d o f figures landscape . That he was an artist ability is beyond n his q uestio , but he will be even better remembered by literary l abours as the historian of the English water- colour school than

. Bran white an by his artistic work , who never rose above the r k o f i n for rs Associate, exhib ted la dscapes thirty yea ; he worked in M xxxv i T HE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY

al t h body colour, and sought his subjects most en irely in the Britis

Isles . The most importan t of the men who were added to the list during f . of the fi ties were Carl Haag, and John Gilbert The election Carl 1 8 0 f Haag took place in 5 , three years a ter he had come to England f r w as of rom Bavaria, his native count y . He already an artist well s for f e tablished reputation abroad , and he soon won himsel a position of not less prominence in England by his wonderfully elaborate and - fi d highly n ishe drawings . During his long career he has treated of f f n has for many types figure subjects , but his chie pre ere ce been an d has al a Eastern scenes , these he ways h ndled with vigour and f t o . dis inction manner He still lives, but he is now an honorary instead of an active member of the Society with which he has been r 1 8 0 associated fo r more than half a centu y . In 5 there were also aftel f o f t elected Paul Jacob N , a clever and care ul painter pret y l n 1 8 a dscapes ; and Miss Nancy Rayner, who died in 5 5 and in 1 8 1 f of was a 5 John Burgess, John Bostock, the ormer whom r of a f spirited d aughtsman architectur l subjects , and a very skil ul of sketcher in black an d white . Bostock was deprived his Associateship in 1 85 5 because he contributed nothing to the f exhibition that year . He only showed our drawings altogether, ositio and these were sentimental figure com n s . ’ John Gilbert began in 1 85 2 a forty- five years conn ection with the

t an d was u n . Socie y, one which as disting ished as it was le gthy He of t - five e k as was then a man thir y , and already w ll nown a subject

as l fa . H is painter, and an extraordinarily pro ific and cile illustrator illustrative faculty was of the greatest value to him in his water for d colour work , it enabled him to give to his rawings a dramatic q uality which is scarcely to be found even in the compositions of ' c m C atterm ole aflected l his su h a aster as , and it beneficia ly even of his was r he technical method . The range subjects ve y wide ; u in managed modern s bjects with conspicuous skill , but he excelled romantic and fanciful designs in which b e reconstructed in a robust n n f f of an d and convinci g manner sce es rom the li e past centuries, he drew many of his motives from the plays of Shakespeare and from an d a the works of other great writers . As a splendid colourist t se al n h masterly hough es nti ly u academic draughtsman , he ranks wit the best of the painters who have built up the reputation o f the British school an d as a characteristically English artist he was very ' well fitted fo r the prominent part he played in the aflairs of a Society which has a just claim to be considered a truly n ation al institution . Mxxxvu THE MEMBERS OF T HE SO C I E T Y

1 8 2 n r wh o s e n t In 5 there were also elected He y Parsons Riviere , p of f in f his m a t e ri al a considerable part his li e Rome, and ound best an d l r a r t i s t in about that city and Miss Margaret Gi lies, a popula , er c h i e f who had made a success by her miniature portraits . H exhibits with the Society were sentimental figure compos i t i o n s . m for in f e a r Four more na es appear the first time the ollowing y , l n a n d Frederick Burton, Walter Goodall, Samuel Phi lips Jackso , n a - kn e x e r t . n an d l Henry Brandling Burto , able artist a we l own p , was for some years Director of the National Gallery ; he r e t i r e d f 1 8 0 n r m b e r in rom the Society in 7 , but retur ed as an honora y em f b e c t s 6. 1 88 Goodall was a figure painter who pre erred rustic su j , and sought them among the peasantry of Englan d an d o t h e r of earlier a m u e l countries ; and Jackson , a son the Associate, S w s o n Jackson , attained great popularity by his coast scenes and vie an d fu u t a n t the Thames . He was a pleasant colourist , a care l exec ,

and he managed subtle effects of atmosphere with much s k i ll .

1 8 6 f c i e t . Brandling ceased to exhibit in 5 , and then le t the So y The few drawings by which he was represented in the exhibi t i o n s o f were architectural subjects . Seven more Associates were added in the in terval between 1 85 3 a n d

1 860 : . e w s William Collingwood, Charles Davidson , George H Andr , an d l fr e d . ll Samuel Read, Samuel T . G . Evans , Edward A Gooda , A d i n of . . a n P zzcy Newton . Colli gwood was a pupil J T Harding o f i n e Samuel Prout , and was best known by his drawings Alp n a n d scenery , Davidson painted landscapes, Andrews la dscapes f it is a . O marine subjects, and Read architectur l motives Read recorded that he was the first special artist sent abroad by an ill u s trated paper to provide drawings for reprod uction ; he was fo r near ly ” f s " h c h orty years a sociated with the Illustrated London News, to w i paper he began to con tribute in Evans was a son of Eva n s of f m e Eton, and can airly be considered to be entitled to the sa ’ for f as as te r designation , he succeeded to his ather s position art m , f h th e and spent his li e at Eton . H is tragically sudden deat in l of e w as ga lery the Soci ty is a matter o f recent memory . Goodall of had in 1 8 an elder brother Walter Goodall, who been elected 5 3 1 8 8 an d he came into the Society in 5 , is happily still counted n m 1 8 8 f a amo g its me bers . A . P . Newton died in 3, our ye rs f o f f x a ter he had attained the rank ull member . He e hibited chiefly the of Scottish landscapes, but he varied series these subjects with n o f of f al occasio al drawings the scenery oreign countries, especi ly an d Italy Greece. h n es es w t Birket Foster, an artist w ose domestic sce and landscap i h M xxxvu t THE MEMBER S OF THE SOCIETY s rustic figure have always been exceedingly popular, came into 1 860 Sm allfield who the Society in , and with him Frederick , is

s . 1 8 f best known by his figure subject Birket Foster died in 99 , a ter fu n the a very success l career, and is now , judgi g by prices which his d f - m e of rawings etch in the sale rooms, reckoned among the ast rs H is f water colour . popularity has undoubtedly come rom the prettiness of his motives and from the minute elaboration o f his

- work . As an exponent of the stippled method of water colour 0 painting he has a very definite right to attention, N election took 1 86 1 1 8 6 1 862 place in either or 3, but in three Associates were n f m chose , Al red William Hunt, Henry Brittan Willis, and Ja es W .

Whittaker . Hunt remained a supporter of the Socie ty until his 1 8 6 death in 9 , and took a distinguished place as a landscape painter, b e fo r f n k a place which well deserved, his work can be ra ly admired fo r f be of its delight ul sensitiveness and auty atmospheric quality . He an d x was a delicate yet vigorous e ecutant , with an eminently true of n of a appreciation the refi ements technical practice . Britt n Willis n an d a an an d pai ted cattle l ndscapes in able manner, occasionally f attempted figures . Whittaker was well known by his power ul f an e Welsh landscapes . He had begun li e as engraver , but gav h f a up t is pro ession to become painter . He was drowned in 1 87 6 a —— in a stre m near his house at Bettws y Coed . The year 1 864 may be called an important one in the history o f the Society because it saw the election of Frederick Walker and Edward B - d . a . urne Jones With them c me George P Boyce , a ainty technician , S of of n of whose tudies groups buildi gs, and what may be called , e a n without disparag ment, suburban landsc pes, are marked by quai t n l Sillif wh o and charming origi a ity and Egron Lundgren , a Swede , travelled much in many parts of the world an d painted the people o f the of various countries he visited . Frederick Walker, at the time his - f election, was only twenty our, but was already well known as a

- charming illustrator and an accomplished water colourist. He f o f 1 866 became a ull member the Society in , and contributed regularly to its exhibitions until his death in 1 87 5 ; his rare merits the of were also recognised by Royal Academy, which institution he

1 8 1 . n was made an Associate in 7 To the Society, however, belo gs the credit fo r having Shown a practical appreciation of his abilities at a time when the Academy was treating his work with rather scanty n n — f e co sideratio . Edward Burne Jones was advanced to ull memb r 1 868 1 8 0 fe Ship in , but withdrew in 7 because what he lt to be an unjustifiable accusation of impropriety was bro ught against a drawin g f r was which he had sent in o exhibition . Happily this separation M xxxix T HE ME MBERS OF THE SOCIE TY not destin ed to be permanen t after the lapse of sixteen years he a l r was ag in enrol ed among the membe s . Only nine new Associates were added in the period inte rven in g 1 6 1 0 tso in 8 8 an d . between 4 and 7 Frederick Shields J . D Wa n 6 K w t a 1 866 1 8 5 Edward illing or h Johnson an d T. R . L mont in ; i n P ll 1 86 Bas l Bradley, Thomas Da by, and Francis owe in 7 and 6 e William Holm an Hun t and George John Pin well in 1 8 9 . Thre o f e i i in s thes are st ll l v g Frederick Shields, who re igned his member in 1 0 0 e a la n t to the ship 9 ; Francis Pow ll, still regu r co ributor x i o f an d l of the al e hibit ons the Society, the President as wel Roy Scottish Society of Painters in Water Colours and William Holman n - i i or Hunt, the vetera Pre Raphael te, who now holds the posit on f r e . O r s Honora y memb r the othe s, Thoma Danby was the only lf " l was son of one who devoted himse sole to andscape . He a n the c 0 the e h Francis Da by, Asso iate Royal Acad my, who ac ieved a considerable reputation by his strongly treated sunsets ; but he can ’ i f t art scarcely be sa d to have ollowed in his father s foo ts eps . The of the an of cat o an d younger D by was a much more deli e type, p etic se an d s of m r eflect t nsitive, concerned with subtletie at osphe ic , ra her

t . . than wi h the vehement and dramatic aspects of nature . J D f s but he al s Watson pre erred romantic figure subject , o painted s o n a an d capes, in which the figures were c mparatively u import nt ;

. . K ls T R Lamont, Basil Bradley, and E . . Johnson must a o be counted the u m en Pin well on e among fig re . will always be remembered as of the most brilli ant members of that group o f illustrators which was

of . headed by Fred Walker, and as a draughtsman the rarest capacity H e of - sa as al e died, at the age thirty two, in the me year W ker, whos was junior he by two years . In 1 87 0 and 1 87 1 the total number of elections equalled that of the

r for 1 8 0 . . . preceding five y ears. The th ee Associates 7 were W C T n ful u n d of Dobso , a skil fig re pai ter, who was alrea y an Associate an r t r s the Roy al Academy ; William Wood Deane , a chitec u al draught of s t n aft his man very great ability, who died le s ha three years er an d al se n election Arthur H . Marsh , whose pastor s are still to be e of of n in the exhibitions the Society . Six artists disti ction were o f n : ed ch sen in the ollowi g year Albert Goodwin , the accomplish of e a do painter po tic landscapes ; R . W . Macbeth , now Royal Aca

. . al e his an d u mician ; W M H e, wid ly known by landscapes fig re

s . ri was fo r subject H Stacy Marks , a pictorial humo st, who many r f o f rt n ca e yea s a special avourite the public ; J . W . No h , a la ds p painter of particular delicacy and charm ; and Arthur Boyd h an e al an d Pin well Houg ton , illustrator who b longed to the W ker Mxl

THE MEMBERS OF T HE SOCIETY The most prominent of the four artists who were made Associates Waterlow n in 1 8 80 was Ernest Albert , who was destined seventee ' ff of Presiden t an d years later to succeed Sir John Gilbert in the o ice , to fill with distinction a post which is as responsible as it is honour an o f the able . With him came in Walter Field, earnest student

of . a n ff beauties the Thames Thomas" Watson, pleasa t and una ected

of n an d . l e painter quiet la dscapes ; W Eyre Wa ker, whose subtl sense of colou r and sensitiveness to delicate refinements of atmospheric effect have been convincingly displayed in the many attractive all of ff drawings he has since shown in the G ery . An artist a di erent was 1 88 1 — n type elected in George Du Maurier, the draughtsma whose contributions to Punch were long counted among the m most attractive features of that journal . At the sa e time appeared Pilsbur o f f fo r Wilmot y , a clever student nature, with a real aculty an choosing d presenting her most attractive aspects . 1 88 2 1 88 Another large addition was made to the list in and 3, Ri r m . . Charles Grego y , Sa uel J Hodson , chard Beavis, J Jessop in f r Hardwick, and Miss Constance Phillott, the o mer year and

n . . Glin don i Edward J . Poynter, Fra k Holl, John R Burr, Henry G ,

. r an d l . . J Hen y Henshall, Wi liam J Wainwright, in the latter With the x of a . s his in e ception S muel J Hodson , who seek subjects chiefly - of a the picturesque streets and market places qu int old towns, and f f J . J . Hardwick, who digresses requently rom flowers into pure m n of landscape, these ust all be cou ted as figure painters . Some the h i ot ers, l ke Sir Edward Poynter and Richard Beavis, have not on e o f confined themselves to class motive, and have exhibited sometimes landscapes an d sometimes figures as opportunity offered ; but the chief contributions of C harles Gregory have been idealised f o . f . l of . . rustic subjects J H Henshall, modern i e incidents H G Glin don i o f , groups illustrating the manners and customs the people of r past generations, when social existence was gayer and mo e es - of of pictur que than it is to day and W . J . Wainwright , studies e m for types, medi val and odern , which give him scope the exercise of his f x t e for the o f of wonder ul e ecu iv powers, and display his love s u l umpt ous colour . Miss Phi lott paints pretty figures and faces with ’ an d much grace delicacy . Frank H oll s nam e remained on the list of Associates till his death in 1 888 but one drawing which he 1 8 8 exhibited in 3 was all that ever represented him in the Gal lery . Neither of the two Associates for 1 884 were connected with the t for an r n ft Socie y y ve y lo g period . Miss Mary Forster, who a er

. f f w wards became Mrs Lo thouse, died in the ollo ing year, so that her tenderly- treated lan dscapes were seen in only four exhibitions and M xlii THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY A ’ lbert Moore s death occurred after the lapse of n ine years . The total number of drawings by which he was represented was in co n siderable t h al l the d a i , but hey were distinguis ed by a mirable qu l ties of design and colour management an d by all the fascinating indi vidualit o y f manner which make his oil paintings so memorable . It is a matter for great regret that he did not live to take a more r in of for he prominent pa t the activities the Society, struck a new n ote in water- colour painting and proved its applicability to a type of figure composition that no other artist has ever attempted . More n a r over, the tech ic l beauties that have secured fo his pictures a place apart in British art lost n one of their persuasiveness in the process o f t translation into ano her medium . His touch was as certain , his u as an d as dra ghtsmanship sure masterly, and his rare decorative sense perfectly displayed in his water colours as in his larger an d more a s elaborate c nva es . For the next rew years there was no very rapid increase in the n of n ew in 1 88 umber men admitted . Two were elected 5 , Charles w f of Roberson and Hey ood Hardy, the ormer whom died about nine r f r a an d 1 0 2 two yea s a te w rds, the latter ceased to exhibit in 9 ; in 1 8 86 n , David Murray, now a Royal Academicia and an extremely u of t pop lar painter at ractive landscapes, and Colin Bent Phillip , the son of a famous Academician and a water colourist with a preference for n ai an d mou t n scenes, which he treats with remarkable breadth l of 8 a 1 8 . argeness style ; and two in 7 , Robert W All n and Miss

f . a of Maud Na tel . R W . All n is still a busy member the Society , eX ressive of s of and his broad, p drawings sea and coast ubjects, and scenes in picturesque towns abroad, are among the most striking f u of aftel o f eat res the periodical shows ; Miss N , a daughter Paul aftel lf of n N , and herse an artist the greatest promise, died o ly three f f n years a ter her election . This sequence o small additio s was 1 888 f f broken in when our Associates, Walter Crane, Al red Edward h d t Emslie, Art ur Melville and Miss E i h Martineau, were chosen, of the and the President Royal Academy, Sir Frederick Leighton , was made a full member without passin g through the Associate rank . o f of accom The death Arthur Melville , one the most brilliantly lished o f an p the m y able artists who have belonged to the Society, is of f a matter recent memory . His chie contributions were Eastern, a n Spanish , or Veneti n sce es painted with superb directness and with a w of f al n consummate kno ledge cra tsmanship . W ter Crane se ds s s a m a ometimes land c pes, sometimes figure subjects, sta ped lways with l s his particular persona ity A . E . Emslie , pa torals and imaginative n of a compositio s figures ; and Miss; M rtineau began with figures , M xliii THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY

1 88 saw the but has Since dive rged almost entirely in to landscape . 9 o f au o n e of al of ers election George Cl sen , the most origin living paint of s an d B u lleid has n e rustic subject , George Lawrence , who co fin d himself almost entirely to classic motives treated with suave elegan ce and elaborated with mi n ute care . th e er During nineties eighteen Associates were enrolled, a numb Which by its comparative smalln e ss shows how careful the Society is in its selection of o nly those artists whom it con side rs to be in dis utabl o f n am 1 8 0 at p y worthy recognition . One new e appears in 9 , th a f an d o a of . icr H em ai o C N p y , the p nter marine c st pictures ; rt 1 8 1 . but there are three in 9 , Charles E Fripp, Edward Robe an d o son of Hughes, Th mas M . Rooke . C . E . Fripp is a George f is Fripp, who entered the Society exactly fi ty years earlier, and , as war perhaps, most widely known by his work a correspondent, though he has also attracted attention by his sketches in Japan an d H h a h in other distant countries . E . R . ug es has made distinguis ed fo r f n of f an d place himsel among the pai ters subjects rom romance, h f al al an d e n . especially rom It ian t es l ge ds and T M . Rooke, t ough has x e n a is ce s he e hibited figur drawi gs on many occ sions , most suc s ful a f s o s a . a student picture que rchitecture Lionel Smythe, an s of has t n As ociate the Royal Academy, who a very attrac ive man er o f dealing with what may be called rustic sentiment ; an d Robert of n d is Little , a painter roma tic lan scape, who endowed with a sumptuous sense of colour and a kee n appreciation of decorative 1 8 2 1 8 H erkom er essentials , were elected in 9 and in 9 3 Hubert von , artist who se li e thatamazinglyversatileand accomplished , bril ant achiev ments in water- colour paintin g mark him as a specially qualified of c of t exponent this bran h practice . He has been a strong suppor er of an d has se n t its um of n s the Society, to shows a large n ber drawi g of memorable quality . n 1 8 was We uelin a a te The one ewcomer in 94 John Reinhard g , p in r of fi r e n of of the nude gure , with a ve y charming appr ciatio graces composition and a most sensitive instinct for subtleties of colour d e combination . His rawin gs have a r markable degree of distinction e f f of f n 1 8 as technical p r ormances, and are ull dainty a cy . In 95 R .

. was E n W Macbeth returned, and with him elected dwin Austi f - Abbey, the American artist who, a ter achieving world wide repute ll n o w a n his es f as an i ustrator , has t ke place among the most succ s ul o f of an d n has n ot our producers historical roma tic pictures . He f o s of the T he been a requent contributor to the exhibiti n Society . f saw e o f . a of ollowing year the acc ssion John M Sw n , one the e t can an d a w er greatest animal paint rs whom his country claim, at Mxliv THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY

u of e r o wo od e colo rist m morable power ; Hen y Silkstone H p , whos broadly handle d studies of cottage interiors have unquestionable a of - s be uty rich and low toned colour and two ladie , Miss Rose a of aftel n n B rton , a pupil Paul N , and know both by her drawi gs o f h o f o c ildren and by her studies Lond n streets , and Miss Mildred o f f al Anne Butler, whose drawings animal li e and birds ternate with

of t . o e records pret y garden subjects L uis Davis, a d corative artist of was 1 8 8— and designer much ingenuity, elected in 9 there was no f 1 8 — a success ul candidate in 97 and with him J mes Paterson , a Scottish landscape painter with a rarely broad and telling method and a sumptuous sense of colour and there were three additions in 1 89 9 a r of Edwin Alex nder, who may be credited with the discove y a new and wholly admirable manner of dealing with flowers an d still life ; f of Al red Parsons, an Associate the Royal Academy, whose landscapes and gardens are always notable fo r their sunny brilliancy and high ' o f finish ; and Mrs . Elizabeth Stanhope Forbes, an artist robust and ef n h attractive original ity . Her chi contributio s ave been rustic groups or figures in costume with landscape backgrounds . 1 00 1 0 o f The five years, 9 to 9 4, have seen the addition thirteen in 1 00 a Associates, Walter Bayes 9 ; Regin ld Barratt, Robert t in Anning Bell, James Walter West, and Miss Minnie Smy he, 1 9 0 1 Arthur Rackham an d Miss Eleanor Fortescue- B rickdale in

1 0 2 d . . 1 0 9 E mund J Sullivan , and Miss Alice M Swan in 9 3 and

Y . t John Singer Sargent, D . Cameron , Henry Scot Tuke , and F . 1 Cadogan Cowper in 904 . Walter Bayes paints prettily imaginative a l ndscapes with accessory figures Reginald Barratt, Venetian archi u o f tecture , with admirable delicacy and s reness draughtsmanship R . n A . Bell, figure compositions , in which he Shows a Sple did romantic

of . u e sentiment and great power design J . W West, fig res in costum r o f treated with exquisite cha m ; and Miss Smythe, a daughter f ’ f f . Lionel Smythe, ollows worthily in her ather s ootsteps Arthur Rackham is one of the most inexhaustibly imaginative painters o f poetic and grotesque fantasies whom our water- colour school has ever - B rickdale of produced, Miss Fortescue , a member the new Pre

rt of t . . an Raphaelite school and an a ist high abili y, E J Sullivan , of n accomplished illustrator, and Miss Swan, a sister J . M . Swa , paints flowers and figures in costume in which she displays unusual f n of technical powers . The last our i clude two members the

. . an d of l Academy, J S Sargent , the most brilliant audacious iving d an . painters, H . S Tuke, whose sea and figure pictures are keenly of ll - art Y appreciated by all lovers sincere and we studied ; D . . m f l as a e Ca eron, amous as an etcher, is he d in not less esteem a p int r M xlv T HE MEMBE RS OF T HE SO CIE TY

of n a a s an d . . C o w er romantic and finely co ceived l ndsc pe ; F C p , a th - a an am o n no er modern Pre Raphaelite, promises to t ke high r k g in n o f 1 0 our water colourists . The Associates elected the spri g 9 5

t an d t x . d the So ciet were H . E . Crocke Herber Ale ander Decide ly y by electing artists so dissimilar in views and intention s has p lain ly signified at the end o f the first cen tury of its histor its adheren ce ° - i o yl ch it ad o ted to, the same enlightened and broad m nded p licy w p o i in the earliest years f ts career .

A . L . PL A T ES

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B P r m 's s 'O fl o f Ha ld Ha tl E s : E L T H T v W. A . e T F L O F E a O LAT E xv H S AY . ( y ro r ey . q P J N RTH

" ” W n f Mr T d d . E X X V H E ILVE M ( B m i i o s . ) LAT X I T S IRR . av J . A L E R WES y Per ss o o P R OR T T ,

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P r ” ( B e m ls e lo n of c . Dowae s we ll Es . ) LAT E xxxvm. A A A CUN N IN G SKIL . y , q P THE L To B R E K HE RT v MI — A E KD LE . a SS . F ORT ESCUE BRIC

’ " (Co rl R - ht R FO E KE A . R . A . s rv d DY A B L A AR . av . . ) T J K Y py g LA E X S U U C S . S U e e e P L. T ET N H T ,