and freely, quite regardless of, and not caring one jot
for, those whose friendship I lost in consequence--no, not even as in
this case, where the very artists who confessed to me, and who appealed
to me to attack the Academy, subsequently avoided me, as "it wouldn't
do, don't you know, to be seen with Furniss, as I am in the running for
the Academy." This was my dedication.

[Illustration: THE SEE-SAW ANTIC.]

The one object in view was to disabuse the public mind of the erroneous
impression that the Royal Academy is an unprejudiced official public
body, that they elect only the best artists, and reject only the
unworthy--in fact, that R.A. should be considered a hall-mark on work,
as too many believe it to be, to the detriment of the majority of
artists. "Most of those artists who write and talk of art may be
considered prejudiced--no one can well say that you are. What is the
Royal Academy to you?" was said to me. I was even encouraged by some of
the Academicians themselves, who had from time to time fruitlessly
attempted to introduce reforms; but notwithstanding the efforts of the
right-minded members of their body, the majority adopt the Fabian policy
of sitting down and doing nothing, or bury their heads, ostrich-like,
till the storm of indignation raised by their unworthy selfishness and
indolence has blown over.

I went thoroughly into the subject. I read Blue-books, criticisms,
sober, solid reviews, Royal Academicians' confessions and defence. I
read everything connected with the history of the Royal Academy from
beginning to end. Then I appeared on the platform and gave lectures on
Art and Artists and the Royal Academy, which drew forth leading articles
from the _Times_ and nearly every paper in the land.

In my researches I found that the Royal Academy has been a narrow-minded
clique from its very initiation. It was procured by the trickery of an
American (its first President), West, from that "dull lad brought up by
narrow-minded people," George the Third, described by Thackeray: "Like
all dull men, the King was all his life suspicious of superior people.
He did not like ... Reynolds.... He loved mediocrities--Benjamin West
was his favourite painter."

"A royal patron on the sly secured,
Which from the first its cheek to shame inured."[A]

[Footnote A: Soden's "Rap at the R.A."]

It was a contemptible pandering to unblushing and self-interested
sycophancy, involving practically the ruin of all t