The Moff and I went to see the Waterhouse exhibition at the Royal Academy. It was very good indeed.
On the way out of the RA building I noticed this memorial to the Artists Rifles
I thought it would be interesting to find out something about them. The Artists Rifles were formed in 1859 when Britain feared an attack from France after being linked to an assassination attempt on Napoleon III, as a Territorial Army unit for artists, actors, musicians and other creatives. One of the first commanders was Frederick Leighton and other members included William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris, Edward Burne Jones, John Millais, Algernon Swinburne and John Waterhouse. While I find it hard to imagine that lot in uniform the regiment did serve with distinction in the Boer and First World Wars.
Also on the way out I took this picture of Sir Joshua Reynolds
the first President of the RA who I thought looked very fetching in his garland. Of course the PRB jokingly referred to him as Sloshua because of his paint handling and I don't know what he would have made of the more recent works placed around him which symbolise different forms of carbon.
Just down the road from the RA is the showroom of Iran Air which still has this model of an Iran Air liveried Concorde in the window despite having never operated the plane. (you can see me in reflection.)
curious isn't it?
