Frank [Cadogan Cowper], c/o Mrs Wade, Fairford, Gloucestershire, to his mother
He has decided to send her an essay on the
Royal Academy.
Whose who run the place down know nothing of art. Every artist tries to show there, and art sells better there than anywhere else. If elected to the body you become a "personage" with a guaranteed income. He claims that this is universally admitted.
However, he does admit that many poorer paintings are hung merely because the crowd enjoy coming to see them, the Academy cannot ignore the shillings of the British public. If the show were weeded none but artists and critics would come.
He talks of the New English Art Club, who are all "hotly anti Academy" and whose work "professes to be ART and nothuing else". However they are short of money. They have had fine members, who are now mostly RAs. The fact that membership is for life will always make the Academy tend towards the old-fashioned.
He believes the Academy to be a very fair institution, since he got to know
Abbey he has been treated even better.