ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS
Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1.
08709 488484
www.royalacademy.org.uk
Sun-Thurs 10.00-18.00, Fri-Sat 10.00-22.00.

TOP TRAVEL TIP: 94 BUS DIRECT FROM NOTTING HILL GATE, NEAR  THE ABBEY COURT NOTTING HILL TO PICCADILLY CIRCUS. THEN A SHORT WALK TO THE ROYAL ACADEMY !

The RA has a long history as a centre of artistic excellence and is the oldest fine arts institution in Britain.

Summer Exhibition.Until 20 August.Now in its 238th year, this is the world’s largest open contemporary art exhibition featuring paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and architectural models.

Modigliani & His Models.18 July – 15 October.First major exhibition of the sculptor and painter Amedeo Modigliani for over forty years includes nudes, portraits, sculptures and paintings. The Royal Academy was formed to rival the Society of Artists after an unseemly leadership dispute between two leading architects, Sir William Chambers and James Paine. Paine won, but Chambers vowed revenge and used his strong connections with the King to create a new artistic body, the Royal Academy, in 1768. It was formally launched the following year.

The Royal Academy has a long history as a centre of artistic excellence, being the oldest fine arts institution in Britain. We are famous for our summer exhibition and for our many major loan exhibitions, acclaimed both in Britain and overseas. These exhibitions attract more than a million people each year; the most famous in recent years was 'Monet in the 20th century'. We also have a fine permanent collection and the oldest fine arts library in Britain.

The Royal Academy of Arts, or as it is often abbreviated, the RA, was founded in 1768 by a group of artists headed by portrait painter Josh The Royal Academy of Arts, or as it is often abbreviated, the RA, was founded in 1768 by a group of artists headed by portrait painter Joshua Reynolds. Under Reynolds, the academy functioned as a school aimed at teaching drawing, painting, and sculpture to young artists.

The Academy had its roots in private English schools of art popular in the early part of the 18th century. Most prominent of these schools was the St. Martin's Lane Academy, headed by William Hogarth. In 1755 a group of wealthy art enthusiasts calling themselves the Dilletanti Society proposed a national school of the arts to the St. Martin's Lane Academy. However, discussions foundered over the thorny question of who would control the school. Under Reynolds, the academy functioned as a school aimed at teaching drawing, painting, and sculpture to young artists.

The Academy had its roots in private English schools of art popular in the early part of the 18th century. Most prominent of these schools was the St. Martin's Lane Academy, headed by William Hogarth. In 1755 a group of wealthy art enthusiasts calling themselves the Dilletanti Society proposed a national school of the arts to the St. Martin's Lane Academy. However, discussions foundered over the thorny question of who would control the school.

Its forty founder members, all admitted on 10 December 1768, included a father/daughter combination (George Michael Moser and Mary Moser) and two sets of brothers (George Dance the Younger and Nathaniel Dance-Holland, and Paul and Thomas Sandby). Sir Joshua Reynolds was its first president, and Benjamin West its second.  

send to a friend