In 1819, Severn was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Academy for his painting "Una and the Red Cross Knight in the Cave of Despair" which was inspired by the epic poem The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser. It was the first time the prize had been awarded in eight years and the painting was exhibited at the Academy in 1820. This award also allowed Severn to apply for a three years' traveling studentship, paid for by the Royal Academy. The painting was purchased by Lord Houghton (Richard Monckton Milnes) the first biographer of Keats, although it was recorded sold by Christie's in June 1963, it has since disappeared from public view and there are no reproductions of it in the public domain.