ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the fact that the nebulous but highly prized distinction of constituting a National School was bestowed on the profession was also welcome because it provided an idealising gloss on the factionalism. By looking at the formation of the Society of Painters in Water Colours from a rather longer perspective than is normally the case clear signs can be seen of a burgeoning sense of professional identity for watercolourists prior to 1805 and that the first found expression in a commitment to mutual improvement. The establishment of watercolour as a progressive practice which reflected well on individual practitioners, on the profession and, ultimately, on the cultural reputation of the nation went through a number of stages. William Henry Pyne's response to Hazlitt's statement that 'genius cannot belong to a profession', would have had two elements: one type of genius is its proud adornment; whereas another aspect is anathema to professional ideals.
