Council minutes, vol. 27
Volume of minutes of the Council, including the following selected entries: discussion relating to the planned demolition of the house of
Sir Joshua Reynolds at 47 Leicester Square, London, 17 March 1937 and 12 April 1937; note of the success of repairs to the cartoon of ‘Wellington and Blücher’ by
Daniel Maclise, under the care of HM Office of Works and the decision to make enquiry as to whether the cartoon could be hung in Alexandra Palace, after an earlier proposal to hang the cartoon in the Crystal Palace had been prevented by the destruction of that building in November 1936, 17 March 1937; refusal to loan four sketches by
John Constable to the British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] for use on television, 30 March 1937; refusal of a proposal by British Paramount News to film the 1938 winter exhibition, 17th century Art in Europe, and the resolution that “cinematograph films were not desirable means of publicity for art exhibitions at the Academy”, 26 November 1937; the decision to impress on
Sir Ulick Alexander, Keeper of the Privy Purse, the importance of the attendance of a member of the royal family at the annual dinner, 11 April and 19 April 1938; minutes of a special meeting to discuss proposals for attracting the best available works to the summer exhibition, particularly those of younger artists, 18 October 1938; the decision to allow the BBC to televise scenes at non-members varnishing day, 8 March 1939; list of twenty of the Royal Academy’s most important works, with their insured values, which it had been arranged should go into storage at Melbury House, Dorset, 1 August 1939; note that provision should be made for refugee artists, 1 August 1939; request from the War Office for nominations to act as official war artists, 14 November 1939; entries relating to the readmission to the Royal Academy of
Augustus John, 23 January - 27 February 1940; examination of a special report of the Finance Committee, leading to the acceptance of offers by the President,
Sir Edwin Lutyens, and the Master of the Sculpture School,
William McMillan, to have their salaries reduced, 30 July 1940; note of minor damage to the Schools and galleries caused by a bomb which exploded at the north end of Burlington Arcade, 29 October 1940; the Pilgrim Trust agrees to make grant payments to the Royal Academy, 29 October 1940; the revised valuation of the Secretary,
Sir Walter Lamb, of the contents of the Royal Academy in the event of war damage, 13 May 1941; war damage insurance and arrangements for the storage of works of art, 27 May and 24 June 1941; the resolution to send a message of support to the artists of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] in the wake of the invasion of that country by Germany, 29 October 1941; and the decision to apply strict conditions to the loan of summer exhibition works to the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts, 9 May 1944.