PROFESSOR GIOVANNI COSTA
Painted at Lerici, October 1878[ToList]
CHAPTER V[ToC]
LEIGHTON AS PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY
1878-1896
Leighton was at Lerici in the autumn of 1878, visiting his dear old friend Giovanni Costa ("an artist in a hundred—a man in ten thousand," were Leighton's words describing him), when he received a telegram stating that Sir Francis Grant was dead. "The President is dead! Long live the President!" exclaimed Costa. Leighton remained in Italy, sketching landscapes and painting heads—one, the portrait of Costa—till his holiday was over, the end of October. On the 18th of November he was elected President of the Royal Academy. Thirty-five Academicians voted for Leighton, five for Mr. Horsley.