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Richard Eurich RA, 'Queen of the Sea 1911' (detail), 1954. Oil on canvas. © Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photo: John Hammond
25 May—12 August 2012
This summer, as Britain celebrates The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the Royal Academy is marking the occasion with a series of displays and events.
Peter Greenham’s Study for a Portrait of Her Majesty The Queen (1964) is on show in the entrance hall, while displays in the John Madejski Fine Rooms celebrate the long-standing connection between the monarchy and the Academy from its foundation in 1768 to the present day.
In the John Madejski Fine Rooms
Supported by the Royal Mint Museum
This display includes paintings by Royal Academicians such as Frederick Gore, L. S. Lowry and Ruskin Spear, who were all elected during the early years of the Queen’s reign. Subjects range from Richard Eurich’s fanciful reminiscence of a summer spent in Whitby in 1911 to Carel Weight’s depiction of people observing the two minute silence on Remembrance Sunday.
A fascinating selection of sculptures, paintings and drawings prepared by Royal Academicians for the nation’s coinage and royal seals, on loan from the Royal Mint Museum, is on show in the Saloon. Portraits of the Queen by Edward Bawden and Sir Charles Wheeler, never before shown in public, are exhibited alongside designs by current Royal Academicians James Butler, Tom Phillips and Christopher Le Brun PRA. Sir Anthony Caro’s new coin design for the London 2012 Games is also on show.
In the Tennant Gallery
Supported by Lowell Libson Ltd
'The King’s Artists' brings to light George III's instrumental role in the foundation of the Royal Academy in 1768. Included in the exhibition is a newly discovered pencil study by Sir Joshua Reynolds for his grand portrait of the monarch, which is shown for the first time alongside the finished oil painting. The display continues until 21 October.
Opening hours for the John Madejski Fine Rooms
Tuesday–Friday, 1–4.30pm
Saturday and Sunday, 10am–6pm
Closed Monday
Admission with a valid Royal Academy Exhibition ticket or £3 General Admission ticket.
Friends visit free.
Find out more about The King’s Artists: George III's Academy
30-minute talks at 3.30pm on the first Tuesday of every month by curators of the Royal Academy’s Collection; free with an exhibition ticket.
The King’s Artists: George III’s Academy
Tuesday 12 June and Tuesday 4 September
Meet in the Tennant Gallery
The Queen’s Artists
Tuesday 3 July
Meet in the Reynolds Room
To mark The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the Royal Academy of Arts presents a series of salons exploring representations of the Queen and women in power through film, the visual arts, literature, theatre, fashion, and the press. Participants include Diane Abbott MP, Beatrice Behlen, Rosemary Harden, Amy de la Haye, Chris Levine, Hew Locke, Philip Mansel, Paul Moorhouse, Abi Morgan, Austin Mutti-Mewse, Diana Quick, Thomas Struth and Sue Townsend.
Selected dates between 16 May and 25 May
6–7.15pm; £24/£12 reductions
Find out more about the Jubilee Salons
Find out more about the Royal Academy’s Collections
Find out more about the John Madejski Fine Rooms
