The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-12 00:00:00

Ihe Presidency of the Royal Academy.

Apropos of the present vacancy, the Builder has
some notes upon the last five Presidents of the
Academy. In less than 99 years (1769-1866) the
" Royal Academy of Arts" has had five presidents :
1. Sir Joshua Reynolds ; 2. Benjamin West, who
declined knighthood; 3. Sir Thomas Lawrence; 4.
Sir Martin Archer Shee ; 5. Sir Charles Lock
Eastlake. Of the five, it is not too much to fore-
tell, that if not now, hereafter most certainly, the
first will be held in critical estimation and Christie
and Manson quotations as worth his four successors
" rolled in one." Sir Joshua died (1792) in the
69th year of his age, and the 23d year of his presi-
dentship ; Mr. West died (1820) in the 82d year of
his age, and the 28th year of his presidentship ; Sir
Thomas Lawrence died (1830) in his 65th year and
the tenth of his presidentship ; Sir Martin Archer
She died (1850) in his 81st year and the 20th of
his presidentship ; and Sir Charles Lock Eastlake
died in his 72d year and the 16th year of his: pre-
sidentship. The election of Reynolds to the chair
of the Academy was unopposed, and received at
once the approval of the King (George III.), to
whose " protection," rather than encouragement,
the Academy in a great degree was indebted for
its charter, its existence, and its rooms for its
schools, its discourses, its source of, and its greatbut
still craving, wealth, protected exhibitions. West's
election (1792) to the chair, vacant by the death
of Reynolds, was designed as a compliment to the
royal founder of the Academy, and was accepted as
such ; though Fuseli did vote for Mrs. Mary Moser,
on the plea that " one old woman was as good as
another." That the election (1820) of Lawrence to
the chair, vacant by the death of West, would be
gratifying to King George IV. was well known ;
the election of the future Sir Thomas was, therefore,
without opposition. When Lawrence died (Jan. 7,
1830), " Shee" (as Chantrey wrote in pencil to Allan
Cunningham the same night) " was elected by a
large majority." The names of the candidates wil-
ling or unwilling to be put in nomination, with the
numbers of votes they received, merit reproduction
at this juncture :—Martin Arthur Shee, Esq., 18 ;
Sir William Beechey, Knight, 6 ; David Wilkie,
Esq., 2 ; Thomas Phillips, Esq., 1; A. W. Callcott,
Esq., 1. Collins was one of the two who voted for
Wilkie. At Shee's death (August 19, 1850) Mr.
Eastlake was put in nomination, elected, and
knighted. Devonshire has thus given two presidents
to the Royal Academy ; its earliest and its latest.
Clubs and circles, where artists most do congregate,
talk with reverential decency, and various certainty
about " who is to be the new president." That the
academy will cling to its custom of choosing a painter
there cannot be a doubt ; we may, therefore, it is
remarked, at once reduce the number of candidates
by the sculptors, architects, and engravers. We
shall in this way exclude 11; six sculptors—Mr.
Foley, Mr. Gibson, Mr. Marshall, Mr. M'Dowell,
Mr. Weekes, and Mr. Westmacott ; three architects
—Mr. Philip Hardwick, Mr. Sydney Smirke, and
Mr. Geo. Gilbert Scott ; and two academician en-
gravers—Mr. Cousins and Mr. Doo. By this ex-
clusion we reduce our candidates or " running"
Royal Academicians who " are in the betting" to 30.
First, we are compelled to exclude the father of the
40, Abraham Cooper, Esq. Mr. Cooper is now in the
46th year of his R.A. ship. Then we must exclude
the once Capt. Jones--a Wellington solier, and one
of Chantrey's executors, elected an R.A. in 1802 ;
thirdly, we must set aside Henry Wm. Pickersgill,
Esq., who astonished the Iron Duke by his skill in
his art and his Waterloo surprise question ;
and finally, we must, with Mediterranean and
Drury-lane Theatre tears, " put" Clarkson Stan-
field, of Hampstead-on-the-Heath, Esq., aside, as
a 30 years' and odd plumaged bird, his R.A.-ship
dating from December, 1835. Our next proceeding
is to take up " Dorling's Correct List" for the forth-
coming January meeting in the east wing of the Na-
tional Gallery in Trafalgar-square. Here, men—
" presented" by order of the House of Commons and
" other authorities" not so peremptorily—is a chro-
nologically arranged list of all the living painters
elected since Stanfield in 1835 :—F. R. Lee, Daniel
Maclise, Solomon A. Hart, John P. Knight, Chas.
Landseer, Thomas Webster, J. R. Herbert, C. Vi
Cope, Thos. Creswick, Richard Redgrave, Frank
Grant, W. P. Frith, E. M. Ward, A. Elmore, F.
R. Pickersgill, J. Philip, J. C. Hook, P. F. Poole,
Wm. Boxall, J. E. Millais, E. W. Cooke, J. C.
Horsley, T. Faed, J. F. Lewis. Oddly enough
there is no mention at all here of perhaps the like-
liest man of them all for the Presidency—Sir Edwin
Landseer !

ROYAL COMMISSION ON RAILWAYS.—Her Majesty
has lately issued a new Commission for this body,
with the object of appointing two additional members—
viz., Lord Belmore and Mr. Monsell, M.P. The Commis-
sioners, therefore, aro at present as follows :—His Grace
the Duke of Devonshire, K.G., F.R.S., chairman ; the
Right Hon. the Earl of Belmore, the Right Hon. the Earl
of Donoughmore, the Right Hon. Lord Stanley, M.P.,
F.R.S., the Hon. E. F. Leveson Gower, M.P., the Right
Hon. Robert Lowe, M.P., the Right Hon. William Monsell,
M.P., Sir Rowland Hill, K.C.8., F.R.S., Mr. J. A. Roe-
buck, M.P., Mr. T. B. Horsfall, M.P., Mr. Robt. Dalglish,
M.P., Mr. George Carr Glyn, M.P., Mr. A. S. Ayrton;
M.P., Captain Douglas Galton, R.E., C. 8., F.R.S., Mr. E.
T. Hamilton, M.P., Mr. J. R. M'Clean, Pres. Inst. C.E.
The Commission names as before Mr. William Pole,
F.R.S., as secretary. The commission will resume their
meetings immediately after the meeting of Parliament.
PRUSSIAN TROOPS IN THE DUCHIES.—It has been
mentioned that two Prussian regiments are about
to leave Schleswig and return to Prussia. By their de-
parture the Prussian troops will be reduced to 7,000 men,
of whom 5,000 are in the Duchy and the rest at Kid and
in the fortress of Rendsburg. The Berlin journals state
that the Prussian troops in Lauenburg are also to be
reduced.

17, 1)
If uric br.

HER MAJESTY.

OSBORNE, Thursday.
Their Serene Highness Prince and Princess ger'
mann of Hohenlohe and their family left Osborne
yesterday.

Her Majesty walked and drove out in the morning
and afternoon.

The Prince and Princess of Wales at
Holkham.
HOL K HAM, Thursdal.
The head of game killed on Tuesday, notwithi
standing the gale of wind which was blowing al
day, extended to 1,000, and the greater proportion
of these were pheasants.
On Tuesday evening the Earl and Countess
.of
Leicester gave a dance, in honour of the royal vislai
to a select company, which included their BOY r
Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, Mtt
G. H. Grey and the Countess of Morton, the Pu'
and Duchess of Roxburghe, Marquis of Bownwn '
Earl and Countess Spencer, Earl of Dunniure,'
Countess of Dunmore, Lord and Lady Suffield'
Viscount and Viscount Powerscourt, Lady Ann
Coke, Lady Gertrude Coke, Viscount Haniiit°°,l
M.P., Hon. T. De Grey, M.P., Hon. Edward and
Mrs. Coke, Lieut.-Gen. Porter, Hon. Col. Coke;
Capt. Elphinstone, Sir Edmund and Lady Kerrison!
Admiral Sir Henry Keppel, Capt. Stephensun,;
Messrs. J. Powell, Tredcroft, &c. The royal an
distinguished party danced with great spirit.
ed
Yesterday morning the Prince of Wales join
A
the noble earl and his visitors for a day's wild-f;
shooting. Sport commenced on the lake, which 11_
only a stone's-throw from the hall. Wild-fowl were
abundant, and, the wind having ceased, some ef:e
cellent sport was obtained. Her royal highness tut
princess and the ladies joined the sports:Iloilo
luncheon, and during the remainder of the day
.0
extensive salt marshes recently reclaimed from tmof
sea, with the duck decoys, afforded abundance
sport.

• me
The Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe and
Marquis of Bowmont, on their return to town from 11°",i,i
ham Hall, the Earl of Leicester's seat in Norfolk, intend
be present at the wedding of Miss Blanche Williaubs °-
Lord Charles lnnes Ker. in
The Duchess (Dowager) of Sutherland is
a very indifferent state of health. Her grace is staying '-
Stafford House, St. James's.
The Earl of Ellenborough will arrive in town on
the sth proximo from his seat in Gloucestershire. ea
The Countess Cowper, by the accounts renelf*
in town yesterday, is said to have passed a favuura°
r
night; but her ladyship is still in a very precarious ca
dition.
The Lord Justice Knight Bruce and Lady Bl'l
have left the Queen's Hotel, Upper Norwood, for P"'"
hampton.
Colonel and Lady Henrietta Ogilvy have aril'
at 23, Grafton-street, from the North.
nod,
Rear-Admiral the Hon. James R. Drumm"-
0.8., has returned to his residence at the Admiralty. b.
THE DUCHESS DE CHARTRES.—Her Royal iligro.
ness the Duchess de Chartres and her son are P 0
gressing favourably. The new born infant is the
great-grandson of the Queen Marie Amelie by male
dr
iir
scent. The birth crisis took place under unusually fel:n
-ad
able circumstances. Dr. Gueneau de Mussy, the 0rd'...13
physician of the French Royal Family, dined at l'irat,
gan House on Tuesday, and left for London sorae
45.1
after nine o'clock, the duchess being then quite WelL the
one o'clock he was sent for, made as much haste asot,
bad state of the roads would permit, and found the be
ter so far advanced that 20 minutes after his erri‘7.fier
had to receive the royal baby. In the meantime 'O5
sengers had been despatched to the Count and Con,
de Paris, the Princess de Joinville, and also t° of
Priestley, the physician-accoucheur, and Mr.
Esher; but, notwithstanding all haste, they only err'
when the happy event had taken place.