Dr Holger Hoock

The King’s Artists: The Royal Academy of Arts and the Politics of British Culture, 1760-1840

(Oxford, 2003; paperback 2005); xviii + 368pp. (Oxford Historical Monographs Series). ISBN-10: 0-19-926626-3

Runner-up for the Whitfield Prize of the Royal Historical Society (2004): ‘impressive in its interdisciplinary scope, The King’s Artists has very important implications for the relationships between cultural patronage, nationalism and the state in a crucial period’.

Summary
This is the first scholarly and accessible history of the Royal Academy of Arts.  Founded in 1768, the Academy is Britain’s oldest national fine arts institution. Based on exhaustive archival research as well as printed and visual sources, The King’s Artists tells the story of the forging of a national British institution. It explores the Academy’s powerful impact on the ways in which British art was taught, practised, exhibited, and written about. The Academy’s practices are related to other cultural institutions – metropolitan, nation-wide, and international – and to patrons and audiences in London and the provinces.  Suggesting a new model for writing the cultural history of institutions, the book repositions the Academy as a pivotal site of political exchange in British culture.  It analyzes key historiographical concepts and practices such as cosmopolitanism, cultural patriotism, and the emergence of a self-professedly patriotic English School.  Finally, it explores the Academy’s contributions to formulating and administering state policy on the arts.

Reviews
‘The importance of the Royal Academy in the cultural life of England has long been recognised, but Hoock’s exemplary volume is the first survey of this in the widest political and institutional context.’ – Apollo Magazine

‘… learned, lucidly-written book … fascinating chapters and case studies really bring Hoock’s argument to life. The King’s Artists allows us to move behind the scenes, and to find out far more about the early Academy itself, and its wider role within late-Georgian culture. ‘ – The Royal Academy Magazine

‘beautifully produced, and the illustrations … are well-chosen and plentiful.’ – English Historical Review

‘This book is a refreshing evaluation of a powerful – and vibrant – arts organization. With great skill and intelligence, Hoock employs rich, previously mostly untapped, archival material, as well as an impressive range of secondary resources.’ – Journal of British Studies

‘Hoock’s detailed examination of the archives at Burlington House, of the papers of individual artists and of official records gives this study an impressive authority.’ – Apollo Magazine

‘The King’s Artists will … be a valuable addition to any library, … supplying the best account that we have of the institutional history of the RA, and of its impact and consequences’  – Reviews in History

‘This … densely argued, well-referenced book … adds substantially to the literature on what it convincingly presents as a central and vital component in the composition of the British imperial establishment.’  The Art Newspaper

‘Underpinned by extensive research, Hoock’s important study will become indispensable for all scholars interested in the early history of the Royal Academy. [It] also stimulates new thinking about the broader relationships between art, politics and bureaucracy, both in the particular historical period it covers, and during the many years since.’ – The Royal Academy Magazine

‘Holger Hoock’s book…really is the synoptic analysis that British art history has been waiting for, and for that reason alone its appearance is an important event.’ – Alex Kidson, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

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