This is a somewhat delayed posting, but a longer one than usual which we hope will compensate!
We begin with two items of news concerning James Barry (1741-1806), the Irish artist who created the sequence of paintings 'The Progress of Human Knowledge and Culture' for the Great Room of the Society in the late 18th century. The paintings can still be seen there today, and another work we hold by Barry, the self-portrait shown above, will be shown at a major forthcoming exhibition, British Vision: Observation and Imagination in British Art, 1750-1950, to be held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent from 6 October 2007 to 13 January 2008.
We have recently been made aware of a most interesting contemporary source of information about the execution of the paintings in the Great Room. A letter-journal of Susan Burney (1755-1800), daughter of the music historian Charles Burney and sister of the novelist and dramatist Fanny Burney is currently being transcribed for publication as part of The Susan Burney Letters Project and we have been alerted to an account in this, over 1,000 words in length, of a meeting which Burney had with Barry on 26 October 1779, including a trip to see the work on which he was then engaged:
'Thence he carried us to the Great Room belonging to the Society for Encouraging Arts & Sciences in John St Adelphi, where we saw those pieces which he has more finished, tho' no part of his design is yet compleatly executed. The Progress of Society & Cultivation is his subject, which is comprized in 6 distinct pieces. The Room for which it is intended is a very large one, & when it is compleatly finished he designs to exhibit it —― the subject of the first Painting is Orpheus playing on his Lyre, not to attract Beasts, Trees, or stones, as Mr B. is desirous of setting allegory aside as far as it is in his Power, but to humanize the savage Inhabitants of Thrace, who are crowding round him & listening wth the most earnest attention —― Euridice is among these —― but is as yet but faintly sketched —― there is a great deal of Invention & Fancy in this Piece, & indeed in all the others, everything tending to explain & develop his subject'
Burney goes on to describe Barry's thoughts, and her own, about the paintings in some detail, for example:
'...the concluding Piece is however far advanced —― this we saw at His own House —― it represents Elysium —― In a Groupe sit the younger Brutus, Sir Thos More, Cato, the Elder Brutus, Socrates, & Epaminondas —― the idea of introducing Sir Thos More in company wth all these ancients Mr Barry says he borrow’d from some passage in Swift’s works but I know it not —― Locke, Boyle, Shaftesbury & many more compose another groupe —― in a 3d appear 2 angels unveiling an Orrery to Sir Isaac Newton, Copernicus, Bacon, &c —― above are Angels incensing the Creator, who however is invisible —― but the idea seems a little catholic...'
The original letter-journal is held at the British Library (ref. Egerton MS 3691, ff.19-20). We are indebted to Professor Philip Olleson of Nottingham University for bringing the passage to our attention and for kindly granting us permission to reproduce the above extracts from his transcript.
The RSA will as usual be participating in London Open House weekend, on Sunday 16 September, when we will be open from 12pm to 5pm (last admittance 4.30pm). As a result, there will however be no ordinary RSA Open House opening in September.
And last but not least, there will soon be a staff change in the RSA Archive team, as our current Archive and Records Management Trainee, Claire Batley, leaves us on 21 September to undertake an MA in Archives and Records Management at University College London. We shall be sorry to lose Claire, but wish her every success with the MA and her future career as a professional archivist and records manager. Claire's replacement will be Sophie Cawthorne, and we look forward to welcoming Sophie to the RSA on 24 September. As a result of the changeover we will not be able to accommodate researchers in person for the week beginning 24 September, although we can be contacted as usual via letter, e-mail or telephone during this period. Normal service will be resumed from 1 October. For further details about how to arrange appointments and contact us please see the main RSA Archive pages of our website.
