 In 1849 , the Royal Society of Arts decided to organise a retrospective exhibition of Etty 's work , the first since the minor York exhibition of 1836 . Etty agreed only on condition that all nine of his large works were included . The three Joan of Arc paintings were in London and easily accessible , and the Royal Scottish Academy was happy to lend The Combat , Benaiah and the Judith triptych , but the Royal Manchester Institution was deeply reluctant to lend The Sirens and Ulysses in light of concerns that transporting it would damage the fragile paintwork further . They were eventually persuaded to lend the piece after Etty and some of his friends visited Manchester to personally request they release it . The exhibition duly went ahead from 9 June to 25 August 1849 , bringing together 133 Etty paintings for the first time ; Etty hoped that it would raise public awareness of his abilities , writing to his friend Rev. Isaac Spencer " Please God , I will give them a taste of my quality " . The exhibition was well received and well attended ; even Etty 's old adversaries at the Morning Chronicle recommending that readers " lose no time in visiting this collection " . However , it was a financial disaster for the Royal Society of Arts , faced with the cost of transporting large numbers of delicate artworks from around the country . 
