Seated male nude, mid-18th century

Samuel Wale RA (1714 - 1786)

RA Collection: Art

Samuel Wale probably produced this life drawing at the St. Martin's Lane Academy which he attended in the 1730s and later. He subsequently worked as a painter and, more frequently, as a printmaker but was closely involved with early efforts to establish an art academy in London. Edward Edwards wrote that Wale 'possessed a good deal of science in the accessary parts of his art. His best works are the small drawings, which he executed for prints, most of which were drawn in Indian ink...'

In 1768, Wale was among the group of twenty-two artists who petitioned the king to found the Royal Academy. He was shortly afterwards appointed the institution's first Professor of Perspective in 1768 and was given the role of Librarian in 1782. The provenance of this drawing is not known but it is possible that Wale presented it to the Academy himself during this period.