Crowned lion dates from 1887. After the Society of British Artists (SBA) was given a Royal Charter in 1887, Whistler designed a royal lion for the notepaper and catalogues of the new RBA. On 13 August 1887 Edward Desiré Mitchell (1849-1913) of the College of Heralds told Whistler that if a lion was on a crown above a rose it was the Royal badge of England but without the rose, the rest could be altered; the final design (Design for a lion for the RBA [M.1136]), was used on the RBA notepaper by December 1887. 1

Crowned lion, Glasgow University Library

It is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1133).