Manuscript copies of Sir Thomas Lawrence's Royal Academy discourses

1 volume

The President's discourse was for many years a fixture on the academic calendar. The lecture was delivered after the distribution of Academy premiums (prizes), commonly during December. The award ceremony and Presidential discourse became a key component of the pageantry associated with the Royal Academy.

Joshua Reynolds instituted the tradition of an annual academic lecture as a way of delineating the role of the practicing artist as theorist. His Discourses have long been part of the canon of art theory have remained in print virtually ever since his death. Benjamin West endeavoured to continue the sequence but was unable to match the standard set by Reynolds. Under Wests's presidency the discourses declined in importance and ceased to be published.

On the accession of Lawrence the annual discourse had essentially ceased to be. It took a concerted effort to relaunch the series in 1823. Lawrence's first discourse was a self-concious attempt to relaunch the Reynoldsian model, although it would be delivered to a private audience of Academy members and students. The initiative was a qualified success. Lawrence's lectures were published and circulated. His high profile and the wide respect in which he was held guaranteed a sympathetic audience.

The published discourse became once more an annual duty for the President of the Royal Academy and continued to be well into the 20th century.

Each manuscript is in Lawrence's hand and bears amendments and annotations, to a greater or lesser degree. Although not fair copies it is likely that they closely represent Lawrence's discourses as delivered.

The form of each discourse is approximately the same. Lawrence talks openly about the quality of works submitted for the premiums in each category, before moving on to a brief essay on some matter of art theory and history.

The lectures passed to Archibald Keightley at the same time as the letter books, LAW/1-5.

The volume was the first part of the Lawrence archive to enter the Royal Academy collections, Keightley's daughter Mary Keightley having presented them in 1935.

The Library contains a volume formed of both printed and hand-written texts for Lawrence's Discourses (05/2042). The volume contains the discourse for 1825 (in printed form), which is not included here, possibly because of its relative brevity at seven pages.

Lawrence - Address to Students, 1824-1827. R.A. Lib. 05/2042