Note 41 — Chapter III
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Mr. Strange, in his Inquiry into the Rise and Establishment of the Royal Academy of Arts of London, places the causes of this disagreement in a point of view somewhat different from Mr. Hogarth's narrative; but in their account of the consequences the narrators precisely agree:—
"A society, composed of a number of the most respectable persons in this country, commonly known by the name of the 'Dilettanti,' made the first step towards an establishment of this nature. That society having accumulated a considerable fund, and being really promoters of the fine arts, generously offered to appropriate it to support a public academy.
"General Gray, a gentleman distinguished by his public spirit and fine taste, was deputed by that society to treat with the artists. I was present at their meeting. On the part of our intended benefactors, I observed that generosity and benevolence which are peculiar to true greatness; but on the part of the majority of the leading artists, I was sorry to remark motives, apparently limited to their own views and ambition to govern, diametrically opposite to the liberality with which we were treated. After various conferences, the 'Dilettanti' finding that they were to be allowed no share in the government of the academy, or in the appropriating their own fund, the negotiation ended."—Strange's Inquiry, p. 62.