Charles Saumarez Smith: St Paul’s Cathedral
Critic's Choice: London's most important building
1 February 2010
At the Geological Society, Piccadilly
Charles Saumarez Smith Photo © Alexander McIntyre
This new series invites critics to propose and make a case for what they believe to be London’s most significant and important building. A panel of respondents will debate and discuss the chosen building, and encourage the audience to share their own views.
Dr Charles Saumarez Smith, who is Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy and was previously Director of the National Gallery, was trained as an architectural historian at King’s College, Cambridge and wrote his PhD thesis at the Warburg Institute on the subject of Castle Howard, published as The Building of Castle Howard (1990). His most recent book The National Gallery: A Short History, was published in 2009.
Charles Saumarez Smith has selected St Paul’s for its emblematic significance as the great monument to the reconstruction of London after the Great Fire, towering above the City of London, and representing the triumph of late seventeenth-century classicism.
The panel of respondents includes Peter Wynne Rees, planner with the City of London, Eric Parry RA, architect, and The Right Reverend Graeme Paul Knowles, Dean of St Paul’s.
6.30–8pm; £10/£5 reductions* (includes a drink)
Booking options
1. NEW: Click here to book online
2. Telephone 020 7300 5839 (open Monday–Friday, 9.30am–5.30pm)
3. Send a booking form
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By post:
Events and Lectures, Royal Academy of Arts
Burlington House, Piccadilly
London W1J 0BD
By fax: 020 7300 8013
4. Visit the RA Ticket Office (open daily 10am–5.30pm, Fridays until 9.30pm)
*Reductions are available for students, jobseekers and people with disabilities with recognised proof of status.
