Lawrence, Sir Thomas. (1769-1830) English painter. Famed for his pencil portraits, by the age of 12 he had his own studio in Bath. Patronized by King George III, knighted in 1815, he succeeded Benjamin West as President of the Royal Academy from 1820.
Autograph Letter Signed. Five pages, Octavo, recto/verso, on gray bond, London, November 3, 1826. An interesting letter concerning a design for a Royal medal that the artist has been commissioned to execute for the King. Written at the end of his career, when his sight was failing and Lawrence was finding it difficult to work at night, he writes to the well-known lexicographer Peter Roget apologizing for a delay in finishing his design:
"My dear Sir, I regret most sincerely that the medal cannot be delivered when the award is announced, but I pledge myself to place the design in your hands, with the concurrence of Mr Chartney [?], in sufficient time for its receiving the sanction of the King before the 30th...May I hope that the interval of ten days will enable you to take His Majesty's pleasure respecting it? Should the King suggest any alteration in the design, still the fact of its having been prepared and presented to His Majesty, will I apprehend justify the public award of it by Sir Humphry Davy. My now advanced life necessarily makes me careful of my sight, and I have long given up drawing in the Evenings; which formerly used to be their chief solace. A loose [?] of totally different size to that of the real work, would be very imperfect assistance to the artist, and I shall therefore give the design of exactly the same dimensions. My long neglect of this highest sort of composition, and some natural repugnance to encounter the minute of intense exercise of the Organ of eyes no longer young - have been the chief causes of this delay, and no indifference to so honorable a task...Your Obliged and Devoted Servant Thos. Lawrence."
The Humphry Davy mentioned in the letter is the eminent chemist remembered as the discoverer of nitrous oxide; Peter Roget, to whom the letter is addressed, was of course the compiler of a famous Thesaurus of synonyms and antonyms, and a mutual crony of the two members of the Royal Academy.
Estimated Value $400-600.
