|
More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
|
Royal Society of Arts
|
|
(Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce, London WC2) Founded in 1754 to fulfil the aims described in its unabbreviated title, the society has continued ever since to agitate and educate for improved standards in areas such as industrial design. This became an increasingly fashionable cause in the mid-19C, when Prince *Albert was president (1843–61), and the society was much involved in planning the *Great Exhibition. Since 1856 it has conducted examinations in the fields of craft and design. The society still occupies the house built for it as part of the *Adelphi; the main room is decorated with murals by James Barry (1741–1806), offering a pleasantly eccentric view of The Progress of Human Culture.
|
|
|
|