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From the Shadows: The Prints of Sydney Lee RA (1866-1949). First ever retrospective exhibition and catalogue of difficult-to-access prints by once influential now forgotten Royal Academician.

Commissioned by the Royal Academy of Arts, Meyrick researched and curated the exhibition From the Shadows: The Prints of Sydney Lee RA and wrote the accompanying publication. Investigating how artistic reputation is constructed and sustained, Meyrick considered the professional and institutional forces that shape and maintain our artistic heritage. The exhibition (62 prints) and book (a record of the exhibition with catalogue raisonné of 171 prints) was the outcome of nearly 20 years research, sourcing and documenting difficult-to-access artworks and archival materials that languished in museum stores or private lofts. Despite his many achievements, Lee did not gain lasting critical acclaim and delving into the shadows proved a significant challenge. Lee had no children to help ensure his legacy. On the death of his widow in 1952, Lee’s Holland Park Road home and studio were sold by pubic auction. No archive appears to have survived: letters, diaries, records and photographs were seemingly discarded. Prints sourced were rarely inscribed with title, date and edition size. There were further complications in that Lee often re-named or radically re-worked his plates; seldom were his titles place-specific. Drawing on resources ranging from 1920’s travel guides to 21st-century technology, it was possible to identify precisely all Lee’s prints for inclusion in the exhibition.

Not since 1945 had there been an exhibition devoted to Lee’s art. While his prints are represented in major museum collections worldwide, they are hardly ever on view. Lee’s prints had never been catalogued and until this exhibition his many, varied contributions to the history of British printmaking had received scant appraisal. Nearly sixty-five years after Lee’s death, the exhibition aimed to redress this neglect. Following its success, the RA has commissioned Meyrick to research and curate a 2015 exhibition with similar accompanying publication devoted to Stanley Anderson RA.

Sydney Lee RA did not achieve lasting critical acclaim. After his death, the contents of his London studio were auctioned, artworks sold piecemeal and archives discarded. In a sustained work of artistic archaeology spanning 20 years, Meyrick sourced, documented and interpreted difficult-to-access artworks that languished in museum stores and family lofts. He interviewed relatives and combed RA, RE, SWE and RWS manuscripts. He curated and designed an RA exhibition and wrote the accompanying book with catalogue raisonné of 171 prints. The standard point of reference on Lee and his legacy, it casts new light on early 20thC British print culture.