I’ve found a letter….

[Meduse]

Which I think might be from a famous artist in the 19th century.It was amongst some family papers I’ve inherited.My question is who do I contact to verify who it might actually be?The Royal Academy? Any help would be appreciated.

How exciting!

I've done similar identifications, though not of artists. If you tell me a little more about it, I can probably make some suggestions.

Which aspects do you think might help to identify it? Handwriting and signature? Topic of letter? Addresses? Context in a file of family stuff?

You could also contact the auction houses - Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonham's. They are experts in verifying antiques of all types.

Yes, auction houses are a good move.

Maybe Google which major houses have sold works by this artist. Some may have an expert who will be able to access handwriting to compare, or may recognise topics being discussed in the letter. Or you might identify such an expert and chase them down.

There might be an archive which holds papers written by this artist. Again, Google will tell you; so might The National Archives' Discovery database ( https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk ); and so might a deeply researched and well-referenced biography.

I don't know enough about the activities of the Royal Academy, but that sounds a good shout too, especially if the artist might have exhibited there.

If the above fail I can probably come up with more ideas, but those are definitely top of the list.

(Suggestions will vary according to which aspect of the letter is making you think it is from a famous artist. If it is the name and signature, I hope identification would be straightforward.)