Royal Academy Exhibition of 1792

Edward III Crossing the Somme by Benjamin West

The Royal Academy Exhibition of 1792 was the twenty forth annual Summer Exhibition of the British Royal Academy of Arts. It was held at Somerset House in London between 30 April and 9 June 1792. ^[1] It was the first to be held following the death of Sir Joshua Reynolds, who had served as President of the Royal Academy since its foundation in 1768 and one of the driving forces of British art during his lifetime. Nonetheless, it was considered as showing the continued strength of the institution with growing numbers of submissions and financial earnings. ^[2]

Exhibits

Reynolds was succeeded as President by the Pennsylvania-born artist Benjamin West best known for his neoclassical history paintings, who decisively defeated his fellow American by twenty nine votes to one in the election. ^[3] West displayed two paintings Edward III Crossing the Somme and The Institution of the Order of the Garter he had produced for Windsor Castle celebrating the reign of Edward III. ^{[4] [5]}

The young Bristol-born artist Thomas Lawrence continued his rise with a series of portrait paintings. These included pictures featuring George III in his ceremonial robes and Lady Hamilton as La Penserosa . ^[6] Another work by Lawrence Arthur Atherley as an Etonian has subsequently attracted attention. ^[7] Other Lawrence submissions included pictures of Lady Charlotte Greville and Georgiana, Lady Apsley. ^[8] John Hoppner featured portraits of the Duke of York and the Duchess of York, who had married the previous year in a diplomatic match between Britain and Prussia. He also produced a portrait of York's elder brother and heir to the throne George, Prince of Wales now in the Wallace Collection. ^[9]

Francis Wheatley displayed several entries in his Cries of London series featuring everyday life in the capital. George Morland exhibited the genre painting The Benevolent Sportsman. ^[10]

Gallery

• 
  The Institution of the Order of the Garter by Benjamin West
• 
  Portrait of George III by Thomas Lawrence
• 
  Lady Hamilton as La Penserosa by Thomas Lawrence
• 
  Portrait of Graham Moore by Thomas Lawrence
• 
  Arthur Atherley as an Etonian by Thomas Lawrence
• 
  John Julius Angerstein and Eliza Angerstein by Thomas Lawrence
• 
  A Storm with Smuggler's Landing by Philip James de Loutherbourg
• 
  The Benevolent Sportsman by George Morland
• 
  Westminster Abbey and Bridge by Joseph Farington
• 
  Milk Below Maids by Francis Wheatley
• 
  The Sultan by Anton Hickel
• 
  Manto and Tiresias by Henry Singleton
• 
  Falstaff in the Laundry Basket by Henry Fuseli
• 
  A View on the Banks of the Tiber at Rome by Francis Towne
• 
  The Sailor Boy's Return from a Prosperous Voyage by William Redmore Bigg
• 
  The Abbey Mill, Shrewsbury by John Webber
• 
  The Gnoll and Castle, Neath by Hendrik Frans de Cort
• 
  Rosebud, a watercolour by Richard Westall
• 
  View near Naples by William Marlow
• 
  George, Prince of Wales by John Hoppner
• 
  Frederick, Duke of York by John Hoppner
• 
  Duchess of York by John Hoppner
• 
  William Thomas Lewis in The Midnight Hour by Martin Archer Shee
• 
  Portrait of Sir Francis Buller by Mather Brown
• 
  Portrait of Lord Heathfield by Mather Brown

References

1. https://chronicle250.com/1792#catalogue
2. McIntyre p.537-38
3. McIntyre p.537-38
4. https://www.rct.uk/collection/404566/edward-iii-crossing-the-somme
5. https://www.rct.uk/collection/407521/the-institution-of-the-order-of-the-garter
6. Art on the Line p.28
7. Wright p.86-91
8. Levey, Michael. Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1979 p.28-31
9. https://wallacelive.wallacecollection.org/eMP/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=65497&viewType=detailView
10. Art on the Line p.159

Bibliography

• Levey, Michael. Sir Thomas Lawrence. Yale University Press, 2005.
• McIntyre, Ian. Joshua Reynolds: The Life and Times of the First President of the Royal Academy. Allen Lane, 2003.
• Solkin, David H. (ed.) Art on the Line: The Royal Academy Exhibitions at Somerset House, 1780-1836. Courthald Gallery, 2001.
• Wright, Amina. Thomas Lawrence: Coming of Age. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.