Excerpt from Notes on Some of the Principal Pictures: Exhibited in the Rooms of the Royal Academy; And the Society of Painters in Water Colours It has lately, I observe, in consequence, sought to amuse its readers by some account of my private affairs; of which - if the writer of the article in question is not ashamed of his name - I shall be happy to fur nish him with more accurate details, as well as to recommend him to a school where he may learn what will not in future be disadvantageous to his writi'ngs - a little more astronomy and optics. But, as touching these N otes, of which I hope to continue the series yearly, I trust that the reader will feel that I have given him the best guarantee in my power of their 'sincere purpose, in signing them. If he thinks I always see the brightest colours in the works of my friends, or that it can only be in rooted malice that I point out an error in perspective, I have put it in his power to inquire into these matters, and to ascertain for himself whether indeed it is always a friend's work that I praise, or whether the transgres sor of perspective law is conscious of any personal enmity between himself and me. And truly, it is a sorrowful thing to me, and one bearing witness, very bitterly, to the dishonesty of criticism in general, that people should be so ready to call every kind of faultfinding hostility, the moment they can bring it home to a known person. One would think, to hear them, that there was no right or wrong in art; that every Opinion which men formed of it was dictated by prejudice, and expressed in passion; that all praise was treacherous - all rebuke malignant - and silence itself merely a pause of hesitation between Flattery and Slander. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Notes on Some of the Principal Pictures: Exhibited in the Rooms of the Royal Academy, the Old and New Societies of Painters in Water Colours, the Society of British Artists, and the French Exhibition I hope henceforth to do without preface; for the real state of our schools in any given year cannot be described in few words, and after the most earnest analysis of the causes of advance or decline, the real result will always be inexplicable. Great painters will every now and then appear when no one expects them; or perhaps disappear suddenly through trap doors without any visible reason for their exit; and the critic can only congratulate in simplicity, or lament in amazement. The present Exhibition shows steady advance among the younger students; the more experienced masters, whether Academic or pre-Raphaelite, are either absent or indolent; but I have never seen the Academy walls show so high an average of good work. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.