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Unlike the Royal Academy or the Society of Watercolorists, London's other leading arts origanziations in the early nineteenth century, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom was openly elitist. It was more or less a club for collectors and connoisseurs rather than artists, opening its exhibitions to just a select few. Here, a handful of painters, both men and women—but all dressed very well—copy the old master paintings on view. The Institution later provided much of the impetus for the foundation of the National Gallery.
Requires Photography
British Institution, (Pall Mall)
Designed by: Thomas Rowlandson (English, 1756–1827)
Designed by: Augustus Charles Pugin (English, 1769–1832)
Etched by: John Bluck (English, 1791–1819)
Designed by: Augustus Charles Pugin (English, 1769–1832)
Etched by: John Bluck (English, 1791–1819)
Medium/Technique
Etching and aquatint with hand-applied watercolor
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Susan D. McKelvey
Accession Number39.312
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
Unlike the Royal Academy or the Society of Watercolorists, London's other leading arts origanziations in the early nineteenth century, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom was openly elitist. It was more or less a club for collectors and connoisseurs rather than artists, opening its exhibitions to just a select few. Here, a handful of painters, both men and women—but all dressed very well—copy the old master paintings on view. The Institution later provided much of the impetus for the foundation of the National Gallery.
Descriptionfrom "The Microcosm of London"
R. Ackermann's Repository of Arts, London, 1808-1810
R. Ackermann's Repository of Arts, London, 1808-1810
Marks
Watermark: JWHATMAN/1807
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ProvenanceMrs. Susan D. McKelvey, Boston, MA by whom given to MFA 2/9/1939