The Munsey Magazine, March 1907

# Munsey's Magazine, March 1907

This issue of Munsey's Magazine (Vol. XXXVI, No. VI) contains a substantial illustrated biography by R. H. Titherington on Sir Thomas Lawrence, the celebrated English portrait painter and third president of the Royal Academy. The article details Lawrence's remarkable career painting the political and artistic luminaries of the Napoleonic era—including three English kings, allied monarchs (Alexander, Francis, Frederick William), military leaders (Wellington, Blücher), diplomats (Metternich, Nesselrode), and literary figures (Scott, Southey, Campbell). Lawrence's early talent emerged in Bath, where he charged three guineas per portrait; he rapidly ascended to unprecedented fees, reaching 500 guineas for full-length portraits by 1817, and 700 guineas by 1829. His continental tours (1818-1820) brought him honors from European academies and royal commissions. The article includes his evolving opinions of Napoleon, initially hostile, later admiring the emperor's achievements in art and science. The issue also contains a short poem, "A Sunset Fantasy" by William H. Hayne.