Leng Prize

• Reference:GB 1716 RSA1/9/4/8

• Administrative / Biographical History

  Awarded for three years only in the form of a one-off payment to the winner of £50.00 to enable oversees travel ; a precursor of both the Carnegie and the Kinross Scholarships. The prize was put up by Dundee Bookseller and Publisher John Leng. RSA Annual Report 1881, notice X records the institution of the award; “The Council are glad to report that this year, through the liberality of John Leng Esq, Kinbrae, Newport [-on-Tay], a sum of money has been intrusted to the council for the purpose of assisting a Student to spend part of the year abroad. This sum is to be continued for other two successive years, and given to such Students, chosen by the Council, as are likely to profit by the privilege. The Student selected for this year is Mr George Bathgate, who has been pursuing his studies for the past six months in Rome, Florence, and Venice.” In return, Leng benefitted by being gifted a work by the winner. When the Architects lodged their opposition to the granting of the Academy’s Supplementary Charter in 1891 they erroneously cited this Prize, and its sudden cessation [ignorant to the fact that it was set up for a limited time only and awards were made in each year it was active] as evidence of the Academy’s mismanagement of its financial affairs. The winner in 1882 was J Coutts Michie, and the final recipient was J Michael Brown in 1883, who travelled to the Continent.