Articles
Opinion
Reviews, comment, features and more, from leading voices in their fields.
Opinion
21 days ago
Covid and the comfort of nature
Psychiatrist Sue Stuart-Smith on how the seasons affect us all
Opinion
2 months ago
Why we need to take child art seriously
We need to change our attitude to children’s art, says the RA’s Head of Access, Families and Schools – as the RA’s Young Artist’s Summer Show prepares to return for its third year after a record number of submissions.
Opinion
“It has never been more important that we play our part in the art community and the recovery ahead”
Covid-19 has pushed arts institutions to their limits. President of the Royal Academy, Rebecca Salter, and our Secretary and Chief Executive, Axel Rüger, reflect on the challenges faced by the RA.
6 months ago
Opinion
1 year ago
Lockdown and luxury: the court of James I
Although his accession to the English throne was marred by plague, the Scottish Stuart brought with him vibrant art and culture, says Clare Jackson.
Opinion
“Lockdown reminded us that we’re all makers – and that could change everything.”
As museums and galleries reopen, Antony Gormley reflects on a revelatory three months in lockdown – and a cultural shift that could change the arts for the better.
1 year ago
Opinion
1 year ago
In the footsteps of Hampstead’s modernists
Hampstead in the 1930s was populated with modernist artists and architects. As Caroline Maclean gives a tour of the area, look out for the reference numbers on our illustrated map below.
Opinion
“There’s a conversation that’s gone wrong, that hasn’t been listened to.”
In 1982 Isaac Julien RA documented the suspicious killing of a black man in a London police station with Who Killed Colin Roach? After the killing of George Floyd in the USA, he questions whether anything has changed.
1 year ago
Opinion
1 year ago
Charles Jones and his vegetable portraiture
A chance find in a market unearthed a bumper crop of early photographs by Charles Jones that are now art-historical treasures. Felix Bazalgette samples the artist-gardener’s rich pickings.
Opinion
“We can’t open our doors just yet – but today we are inviting you inside.”
Jump into the Last Supper, put a masterpiece from our Collection in your own living room or take a virtual tour of our beautiful building on Google Arts & Culture.
1 year ago
Opinion
“After lockdown, there are decisions to be made. Are the arts essential, or a nice luxury?”
The latest in our ‘Artists in Isolation’ series, Turner Prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid RA shares her experience of grieving in lockdown, and explains why, when we come out of it, conversations about the value of art have never been more vital.
1 year ago
Opinion
“For those of us who make a living out of our art, our future may be fragile.”
Artists work in isolation, but they do it under the belief that one day people will experience their work. For Chris Orr, it’s the isolation of everybody else that’s frightening…
> 1 year ago
Opinion
“I’m hoping that lockdown will force a rethink of state expenditure on the public realm.”
Our latest ‘Artist in Isolation’ column comes to you from Berlin, where architect Louisa Hutton RA lives with her husband and business partner, Matthias Sauerbruch. She shares the experience of running a practice in lockdown, and, despite it all, hopes for the fundamental good that could emerge from this crisis.
> 1 year ago
Opinion
“We have to stay strong. We have to believe art always wins.”
From isolation, artist and activist Ai Weiwei shares a message of hope for the Royal Academy’s Friends, visitors and followers around the world.
> 1 year ago
Opinion
> 1 year ago
Quilting from the Deep South: a lesson in creativity your way
Rooted in folk traditions, quilts from the Alabama hamlet of Gee’s Bend have long been prized by museums in the States. Now, their unbounded creativity has arrived in the UK.
Opinion
“We listen to the air-raid sirens sounding the start of curfew, as the sun disappears into Palestine.”
As part of our ‘Artists in Isolation’ series, Stephen Farthing RA describes life in locked-down Jordan – how he hopes to finish his next painting before lockdown ends, and how the local call to prayer has been louder since COVID-19.
> 1 year ago
Opinion
> 1 year ago
Debate: is there such a thing as artistic genius?
You have it or you don’t have it, right? Well, maybe. Our writers weigh up whether genius is innate or nonsense – but the final word lies with you. Cast your vote below.
Opinion
“Who knows how many new talents will pick up a pencil, brush or iPad in isolation?”
These are difficult times for everyone – but art thrives in a crisis, says Rebecca Salter PRA, as we launch a new series of artists and architects documenting their creativity in isolation.
> 1 year ago
Opinion
“While our front doors will close, we plan to stay open to you”
A message from President of the Royal Academy, Rebecca Salter, and our Secretary and Chief Executive, Axel Rüger, as we temporarily close the Royal Academy of Arts until further notice.
> 1 year ago
Opinion
> 1 year ago
“It’s about acceptance” – the drive to make architecture more inclusive
The founder and director of Built By Us, a social enterprise that champions inclusion in architecture and the construction sector, is convinced that diversity is about far more than recruitment. Lois Innes reports.
Opinion
> 1 year ago
Dora Maar: more than a muse
A Tate Modern survey show of the Surrealist Dora Maar reveals the artist’s questing imagination, writes Professor Dawn Adès.
Opinion
> 1 year ago
The many faces of Helen of Troy
As the British Museum launch a new exhibition on the ancient city of Troy, classicist Natalie Haynes reveals the tensions and contradictions at the heart of literature’s most intriguing siren.
Opinion
“Amid this climate crisis, I have five reasons for hope.”
In the build up to ‘Eco-Visionaries’, our new exhibition exploring artistic and architectural responses to climate change, one of the world’s leading environmentalists, Jane Goodall, lays down five reasons we should remain hopeful about the future.
> 1 year ago
Opinion
“Schools are failing our children. The solution lies in art education.”
As art-making is ebbed out of schools across the country, we overlook the skills it delivers – strengths that should be the envy of “proper” academic education, says Michael Craig-Martin.
2 years ago
Opinion
> 2 years ago
Debate: can you teach art?
Eliza Bonham Carter, Curator and Head of the RA Schools, and RA Schools student Ewan Macfarlane share their thoughts. Cast your vote below.
Opinion
> 2 years ago
What are the building blocks of a liveable (and loveable) city?
As part of RA Architecture Studio’s Invisible Landscapes series, urbanist Rachel Fisher weighs up the myriad ways that social technology can help us build human-centred cities.
Opinion
> 2 years ago
Being a sitter for Egon Schiele
With their direct eye contact and powerful stances, Egon Schiele’s drawings of women were some of the first to recognise female autonomy. But who were the artist’s models and how did their relationships with Schiele play out on paper?
Opinion
> 2 years ago
“Cultural leaders are made, not born” – a manifesto for arts education
The director of the RA’s new Master in Cultural Leadership programme argues for a new approach in postgraduate education.
Opinion
< 3 years ago
Eight mind-blowing graphic novels for beginners
As Observer journalist and critic Rachel Cooke champions the art of the graphic novel at the RA’s Festival of Ideas, she tells us why we’re in a golden age for the comic – and offers up eight greats to get you started.
Opinion
“We’re suspicious of new technology because we’re suspicious of capitalism”
Is “smart” technology in the home a good thing? What was once about reducing labour and increasing entertainment is radically reframed in the face of 21st-century capitalism, says architect and writer Jack Self.
< 3 years ago
Opinion
> 3 years ago
Body of evidence: a fresh look at Freud and Bacon’s early careers
The two figurative artists are at the centre of Tate Britain’s ‘All Too Human’ exhibition, but they haven’t always been so favoured. Here we look back to a time when a young Bacon and Freud were much ignored.
Opinion
“Architecture impacts everyone. We need to inspire greater visual and spatial literacy for all”
Architecture is part of our culture and society, and the conversation about it should be accessible to everyone. That’s why the RA pledged to champion architecture 250 years ago, and why we’re renewing that commitment now, says Head of Architecture Kate Goodwin.
4 years ago
Opinion
4 years ago
Six ways to tackle the London studio crisis
The artist’s studio faces extinction in the capital if the property market continues to price artists out. But change might be afoot, reports architectural critic Hugh Pearman, as he explores six possible solutions.
Opinion
“Brutalism is back – but its fetishisation comes at a cost”
Post-war concrete architecture is finding its way into magazines, blogs and Instagram feeds – but its commodified comeback is completely at odds with Brutalism’s social agenda, argues architectural critic Catherine Slessor.
4 years ago
Opinion
4 years ago
Debate: should artists unionise?
Is an artists’ union necessary? Bob and Roberta Smith RA and David Mach RA share their thoughts. Cast your vote below.
Opinion
> 4 years ago
Debate: is colour purely subjective?
Can we consider colours as purely subjective forces? Kassia St Clair and Emyr Williams go head to head. Vote on the winner below.
Opinion
“The 21st century is proving pretty nasty. Let’s reflect on art’s relationship with our times.”
A hundred years on from the Russian Revolution and the Great Depression, should artists get involved in politics like the Constructivists? Or should they remain distant like Thomas Hart Benton? Having the choice is fortune indeed, says artist Bob and Roberta Smith.
> 4 years ago
Opinion
> 4 years ago
Debate: are utopian ideas good for architecture?
Can utopian ideals help architects to build better futures? Or are these efforts doomed to be too rigid, over-simplified and suppressive? Ian Ritchie RA and Hugh Pearman go head to head. Vote on the winner below.
Opinion
< 5 years ago
“History of Art has never been more relevant than in 2016”
With art gallery attendance at record levels and global events putting pressure on cross-cultural understanding, History of Art is a more vital subject than ever. The decision to axe its A Level may be a sad sign of things to come, says guest columnist Professor Michael White.
Opinion
< 5 years ago
The art of contemplation: mindfulness in galleries
Mindfulness techniques can aid an authentic encounter with an artwork, especially those of the Abstract Expressionists, suggests Gill Crabbe.
Opinion
< 5 years ago
Debate: Is originality in art overrated?
Should artists bow to tradition, or should they break all the rules? Martin Gayford and Richard Cork go head to head. Vote on the winner below.
Opinion
5 years ago
Brexit, London housing and building diverse communities
In the headline debate for the London Festival of Architecture, our panellists and audience discuss how architecture can be used to bring people together at a time when Britain’s relationship to Europe and the rest of the world is the subject of intense discussion.
Opinion
5 years ago
Why EBacc must not exclude the arts
The English Baccalaureate currently excludes arts subjects from compulsory study. As plans go ahead for a parliamentary debate on 4 July, our artists and architects ask for your support in keeping creative subjects at the heart of education.
Opinion
5 years ago
Hidden from history: the Royal Academy’s female founders
While the past decade has seen more female artists becoming Academicians, they have been a rare sight for much of the RA’s existence, and were even excluded from Zoffany’s famed painting of the Academy’s founders. Historian Amanda Vickery delves into the archives to discover the pioneering women who wielded the brush.
Opinion
5 years ago
13 artists on why we should stay in Europe
As the EU referendum nears, 13 artists have joined the “In” campaign – each explaining with a new artwork why they believe we shouldn’t Brexit. Do you agree? Tell us what you think below or on Twitter.
Opinion
5 years ago
Debate: Should critics ever savage the work of artists?
Without the contrast to harsh judgements, does praise have any meaning? Or is the role of the critic to simply inform and encourage readers to go and see for themselves? Jonathan Jones and Simon Wilson go head to head. Vote on the winner below.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Why TV-am was Britain’s most maverick building
Home to ITV’s famous breakfast show, Terry Farrell’s postmodern studio was a burst of energy that shifted views of what architecture could be, says the artist and designer, Adam Nathaniel Furman.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Podcast: Women in focus
Does being a female artist influence how a work is created and perceived? Our panel discuss.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
The month in architecture
Six top architecture news stories this month – from a very sad loss, to new projects and prizes.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Watch these spaces: the future of art schools
As Britain’s art schools experience an era of radical change, what do students stand to gain and lose? Anna Coatman explores the past, present and future of art education.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
10 inspirational women in the arts
To mark International Women’s Day, we asked some of the great women in the UK art world, from artists to editors, where things stand when it comes to equality. Here’s what they said.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Debate: should we care about attribution?
If we can’t tell by looking at a work, does it matter who painted it? Or does knowing the authorship increase our understanding? An artist and an art historian go head to head. Pick your side and vote below.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Re-viewing the past: three new shows of video art
RA Magazine takes a look at three shows of video art that reinvent the documentary form.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
The month in architecture
Five things you need to know this month – the top architecture news stories, the most exciting new projects and the latest prizes.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
12 of the most iconic public spaces
Every day, public places around the world are used by ordinary people to exercise their rights. We look at four general “spaces of freedom” and their most famous examples.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
The month in architecture
The top five architecture news stories, the most exciting new projects and the latest prizes – rounded up into one handy post each month.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
10 of our most-loved blogs from 2015
From a note from Diebenkorn’s diary that went viral to a peep inside our latest show, these were some of the features our readers loved most this year.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Podcast: Tony Fretton and Ellis Woodman discuss the work of James Gowan
Tony Fretton and Ellis Woodman discuss the powerful, yet often overlooked contribution of James Gowan to twentieth-century British architecture.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
The rise of the Middle Eastern mega-museum
In recent years there has been rapid growth of major museums in the Middle East. Anthony Downey investigates the social, political and ethical challenges that face these new institutions.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
The pleasure principle: Dutch Golden Age art at the Royal Collection
The Royal Collection’s show of Dutch Golden Age genre painting is not only visually compelling but also delightfully seductive in subject matter, despite moralising intent.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
The month in architecture
The biggest architecture news, the weirdest new projects and the latest prizes – rounded up into one handy post each month.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Art books to give this Christmas
Make it a cultural festive season with the best art books for friends and family.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Podcast: Niall McLaughlin and Kim Wilkie in conversation
Architect Niall McLaughlin and landscape architect Kim Wilkie talk about their plans for the entrance grounds of the Natural History Museum.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
What meetings are like inside the RA
In the latest in his blog series, our Head of Collections invites you to come along to some of his meetings around the Academy – from formal proceedings in the grand Fine Rooms, to a chat in the staff kitchen.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
The state of British art in 2015
With British Art Show 8 and the Turner Prize 2015 both showcasing the cutting edge of British art, Anna Coatman outlines five trends of a generation – from a digital backlash to the idea of Britishness itself.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Debate: Should artists have final say on conservation?
Is how an artist’s work is conserved part of their remit as its creator, or is it a decision for those caring for and interpreting the work for the public? An artist and an art historian go head to head.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Grand masters: Hawksmoor vs Wren
From a contemporary perspective, does Nicholas Hawksmoor outshine his master, Christopher Wren? Owen Hopkins reassesses two geniuses of British Baroque architecture.
Opinion
> 5 years ago
Chantal Joffe RA delights in the photographs of Julia Margaret Cameron
As two new shows celebrate the 200th anniversary of Julia Margaret Cameron, painter Chantal Joffe RA explains why her photographs interest and inspire her.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
The month in architecture
The biggest architecture news, the weirdest new projects and the latest prizes – rounded up into one handy post each month.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
What is the future of housing?
The RA’s Future of Housing season in Spring 2015 tackled issues surrounding the housing crisis. Here, we look at some of the most salient points from the debates.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
RA Recommends: this autumn in Yorkshire
From the Yorkshire Sculpture Park to the newly opened Centre of Ceramic Art, the county hosts some outstanding shows this autumn.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Ai Weiwei at Helsinki Art Museum
RA Magazine’s Gill Crabbe pays a visit to Ai Weiwei’s new wood-themed exhibition in Helsinki.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Author Ma Jian on Ai Weiwei and freedom of expression in China
Ma Jian is renowned for his novels exploring subjects censored in China, where his books are banned, and he has been barred from entering the Chinese mainland. Ahead of Ai Weiwei’s RA retrospective, we asked the writer about his admiration for the artist, and about the limits of free expression in China.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
The month in architecture
The biggest architecture news, the weirdest new projects and the latest prizes – rounded up into one handy post each month.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
In two minds: Eddie Peake and Prem Sahib
Ahead of their solo shows this autumn, RA Schools alumni and artistic collaborators Eddie Peake and Prem Sahib describe the thought and themes behind each other’s works.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Ai Weiwei’s alternative vision for Beijing’s buildings
With a display on Beijing’s Caochangdi in our Architecture Space, our curator discusses the Ai Weiwei-designed buildings of this artists’ region, and their place in a rapidly developing city.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Architecture and Freedom: a changing connection
With architectural production becoming ever more beholden to the needs of capital and the building industry, the role of the architect is changing, says our curator. Owen Hopkins introduces the critical issues informing our new season of events.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
More than meets the eye: Julian Barnes on art
In his new book of essays, Julian Barnes offers insightful lessons in how to look at – and read about – art.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Hard-won images: Frank Auerbach and Alberto Giacometti
The intensely wrought paintings of Frank Auerbach find their match in Giacometti’s sculptures, as two shows reveal, says Simon Wilson.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Is it essential to see a painting in the flesh?
Does our perception of a painting rely on the electricity of human encounter? This week’s writers battle it out. Read both sides then vote below…
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Podcast: Cultivating creative cities
As part of the London Festival of Architecture, we debated how creativity can be nurtured and sustained in a global city like London.
Opinion
< 6 years ago
Podcast: A journey from Rainham to the Thames
Urban landscape architect Peter Beard discusses his latest project for opening Rainham Marsh to the public, with a walkway to the River Thames.
Opinion
6 years ago
Podcast: Eileen Cooper RA in conversation
In this conversation with art writer Anna McNay, Eileen Cooper RA explains the role of drawing in her work and how her engagement with materials provides a direct channel to her imagination.
Opinion
6 years ago
Urban Jigsaw: filling in London’s missing pieces
As we launch an architectural ideas competition, our curator looks at the untapped potential of London’s underused land – and why the solution is not as simple as it seems.
Opinion
6 years ago
Podcast: Frank Auerbach in conversation with Tim Marlow
Coinciding with the publication of Catherine Lampert’s ‘Frank Auerbach: Speaking and Painting’, Tim Marlow talks to the painter Frank Auerbach
Opinion
6 years ago
Podcast: new realities of ownership
Since the housing crisis, the concept of home ownership has changed beyond recognition. Our panel of experts addresses the issue.
Opinion
6 years ago
Podcast: city, country, suburb?
With a panel including a surveyor, an academic, an urban design expert and the head of a charity, this talk tackles the issue of where to build new housing.
Opinion
6 years ago
Podcast: the upsides of good housing
In this event, a range of speakers examine the characteristics of places where people enjoy living and communities thrive, and discuss whether these can be applied in the future.
Opinion
6 years ago
Podcast: Bernard Tschumi and Jacques Gubler discuss Jean Tschumi
Part of our Forgotten Masters series, and in association with Docomomo, this talk addresses the life of architect Jean Tschumi.
Opinion
6 years ago
Podcast: the psychology of home
Continuing with our Future of Housing season, a panel of experts discuss how we might design homes that are appropriate and beneficial places to live.
Opinion
6 years ago
Podcast: Bob and Roberta Smith RA on printmaking and art education
Famous for his letter to Michael Gove, the artist Bob and Roberta Smith RA talks about the value of art in the school curriculum and the importance of visual communication since the beginning of civilisation.
Opinion
6 years ago
Podcast: Winy Maas on the future of housing
A talk by Winy Mass, the founder of MVRDV, one of world’s most innovative architectural practices.
Opinion
6 years ago
Jackson Pollock: pouring his art out
Leading abstract painter Frank Bowling RA welcomes a major show that reassesses Jackson Pollock’s black pourings.
Opinion
6 years ago
Are we building too many museums?
Would building more museums help to improve society or be a wasteful luxury? Theatre-maker Stella Duffy and curator Kieran Long go head to head. Read both sides then vote in the poll below.
Opinion
6 years ago
Paolozzi’s threatened Tottenham Court Road mosaics
As parts of Eduardo Paolozzi RA’s mosaics are removed from Tottenham Court Road tube station ahead of Crossrail, Richard Cork hopes that Transport for London will honour its promises.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
The month in architecture
The biggest architecture news, the latest prizes and the wackiest new projects – rounded up into one handy post each month.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
The precarious future of public art
As the local government funding gap grows, councils will cash in on their art collections, warns Louisa Buck
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Hanging in the corridors of power: when art and politics collide
With Britain’s General Election looming, Tom Jeffreys takes a look at the relationship between art and power – in government art collections and on the campaign trail.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Three ways art could change Britain
Visual art can shape approaches across public policy. Here are three unlikely areas where art and artists can make a difference.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Podcast: Women in today’s art world
At an event celebrating International Women’s Day, a panel of female Academicians and students discuss their experience as 21st-century artists.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Podcast: When modern art meets religious iconography
How has modern and contemporary art responded to the visual narratives of Christianity? The former Bishop of Oxford speaks to Tim Marlow.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Podcast: Counting the costs of the housing crisis
In the first event in our Future of Housing season, a panel of speakers considers the effects and implications of the UK’s housing crisis.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
10 game-changing art manifestos
We’ve heard the party manifestos – now let’s take a look at the ones that shook up the art world, from Sir Joshua Reynolds to the Guerilla Girls.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Podcast: Dialogues: Movement and Space
In this podcast, a choreographer, an architect and an historian explore how our perception and comprehension of the world is shaped by the body and movement.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Podcast: David Crystal on his new book ‘Words in Time and Place’
How would Rubens have described the weather? Is the language of Downton Abbey accurate?
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Podcast: Tatiana Bilbao
Mexican architect, Tatiana Bilbao, discusses her recent projects and the relationship between people and place throughout her work.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Podcast: David Hills and Edmund de Waal in conversation
This special event, part of a series exploring the creative spaces of artist’s studios, examines the intersection between art and architecture.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
How to shop the London Original Print Fair
As the fair celebrates its 30th birthday, we give one of our printmaker Academicians an imaginary cheque to spend…
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Drawing on our fears: Timothy Hyman RA on Goya
Timothy Hyman RA ponders the dark and visionary nature of Goya’s drawings, as an entire album of his sheets come together in a rare reunion.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Should art be more political?
Should art have politics at the forefront of its agenda? Artist Bob and Roberta Smith RA and critic Kelly Grovier go head to head.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Jennifer Durrant RA on the richness of Sonia Delaunay’s life and art
As Sonia Delaunay’s paintings, textiles and murals come to London, painter Jennifer Durrant RA explores her vibrant work.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
A visit to the refurbished Musée National Picasso-Paris
Sarah Whitfield visits the newly refurbished château in Paris housing the world’s finest collection of Picasso, a tour de force in the City of Light.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Podcast and video: Rubens and body image in art
Professor Germaine Greer, Dr Tom Shakespeare, Grayson Perry RA and Professor Mary Beard discuss the role art plays in creating and communicating body image.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
‘Francis Bacon and the Art of the Past’ at the Hermitage
Eleanor Mills travelled to St Petersburg to visit the Hermitage museum’s revelatory Francis Bacon show, and happened to come across a well-known river god too.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Bon voyage: Frank Gehry Hon RA’s new building
Behind the billowing sails of Frank Gehry Hon RA’s latest building in Paris lies a shifting cargo of contemporary art, says Hugh Pearman.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Inspirations: RA Schools students on their artistic heroes
As RA Schools students prepare to show their own work midway through their course in ‘Premiums’, some of the students select artists who inspire them.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Turkish treasures: exploring Istanbul with Friends of the RA
The RA’s Courtney Cooke joins one of our Worldwide Art Tours, created specially by our travel partner Cox & Kings for Friends of the RA.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Connecting 20th-century Scottish artists to a golden Russian cigarette case in six steps
Sam Phillips investigates the six degrees of separation between an Edinburgh garden and the influence of Pop art on Communist Russia.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Two books on the modern art of Paris
A family memoir involving art dealers, Nazis and looted treasure is compared to a collection of 10 essays from the 1970s and ’80s reiussed in elegant format.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Podcast: A.S. Byatt discusses the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm
Novelists A. S. Byatt and Lawrence Norfolk venture together into Germany’s dark woods to discover witches, goblins, lost children and treasure.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Art sales at the RA: painting and printmaking
Painting and printmaking often feed into each other, as the first in a series of RA selling shows reveals.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Podcast: Jonathan Yeo discusses Giovanni Battista Moroni
As part of a series of events surrounding the exhibition of works by Giovanni Battista Moroni, contemporary portrait painter Jonathan Yeo talks to the RA’s Tim Marlow about the portraits of the Renaissance artist.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Alan Moore on William Blake’s contempt for Newton
As a major show of the revolutionary William Blake’s work opens in Oxford, Alan Moore, the legendary comic book author, delights in the artist’s subtle satire of Isaac Newton.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
When Morris met Warhol
The Arts and Crafts pioneer and the American Pop artist may seem an unlikely pairing, but artist Jeremy Deller draws out some intriguing links ahead of his show at Modern Art Oxford.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Allen Jones: Pop Art meets Miley Cyrus?
Like many of today’s pop culture icons, Allen Jones’s work has sparked celebration and uproar. Chris Fite-Wassilak introduces an artist who made us blush 40 years before Miley.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Allen Jones’s ‘Chair’: the debate
Ahead of our Provocations in Art Salon, speakers Stacy Boldrick, Lyndsey Morgan and Grace Woodward describe their first reactions to a work that has sparked everything from vandalism to real-life re-creation. What’s your view?
Opinion
> 6 years ago
When paint stripper was thrown over Allen Jones’s ‘Chair’
In 1986 paint stripper was thrown over Allen Jones’s sculpture ‘Chair’ (1969) during a Tate show. Alison Bracker talks to conservator Lyndsey Morgan about her experience restoring the work in the face of controversy.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Guggenheim Bilbao celebrates 20 years
Two decades ago the paperwork for Guggenheim Bilbao was signed and sealed. We review the expansive exhibition that honours this landmark for an iconic institution.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Grace Woodward: can a feminist love Allen Jones?
The presenter, fashion commentator, stylist and feminist explains why she identifies with Allen Jones’s controversial works and picks a few of her favourites.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Is beauty an essential consideration in architecture?
Ron Arad RA and Sam Jacob discuss whether considerations of beauty are valuable in architecture, or whether they detract from more important issues.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
The mythical women of Marlene Dumas Hon RA
Marlene Dumas Hon RA’s paintings elevate women to mythic status. Here we celebrate the vision of a major artist as her powerful Amsterdam show comes to London.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Lord Leighton RA and the Victorian ideal of female beauty
The Mexico-based businessman Juan Antonio Pérez Simón has amassed one of the world’s greatest collections of art. He talks to us about his love of Victorian art as his 19th-century masterpieces visit Leighton House Museum, the home of the former RA President.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Our pick of art books for Christmas
Your essential festive gift guide.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Grayson Perry RA’s portraits of Britain
The Royal Academician’s major exhibition in London turns to us, the people of modern Britain, unveiling 14 new portraits that spotlight the complexities behind our identity.
Opinion
> 6 years ago
Urgent appeal to save William Blake’s cottage
The country has until 28 November to donate, if the Blake Society is to transform his seaside cottage into a permanent home for the artist-poet.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
‘A smorgasboard of delights’: Ideas for Reimagining Mayfair
Planning expert Matthew Carmona, a panellist at the public presentation of our Reimagining Mayfair project, reflects on the intriguing ideas that arose from it.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
Point of view: What it’s like to sit for a portrait
As our exhibition of the great portraitist Giovanni Battista Moroni opens, the RA’s Charles Saumarez Smith reflects on the experience of having his own portrait painted.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
Performance art takes centre stage at Frieze London
Live art – a medium that grew out of opposition to the art market – now takes pride of place at this year’s Frieze London art fair.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
A breath of fresh air: Fred Cuming RA on Constable
Ahead of an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Fred Cuming RA pays tribute to his work, and his lasting influence.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
‘Beyond Limits’ at Chatsworth House
Academicians from Antony Gormley to Bill Woodrow are on display in Sotheby’s annual sculpture show at Chatsworth House.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
New books bring artists and writers together
A quick look at some of the new titles which draw on the connection between art and the written word.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
Painting the mystery
We take a look at the latest work from the President of the RA, whose paintings embrace the transcendent powers of abstraction.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
Connecting the English Romantic tradition with minimalist photography in six steps
Sam Phillips investigates the six degrees of separation between J.M.W. Turner RA and Hilla Becher’s architectural photography.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
Are high prices good for art?
Georgina Adam says that the money has allowed artists and art lovers new opportunities, while J.J. Charlesworth argues that high prices have turned artworks into investments.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
Melvyn Bragg on his love of Rembrandt
As a major show of Rembrandt’s late works opens, Bragg considers the artist’s achievement as a consummate witness of life.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
Egon Schiele: The body electric
Although their erotic and existential angst once fell foul of public taste, Egon Schiele’s nudes have stood the test of time, argues Simon Wilson.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
Gego: rediscovering an extraordinary artist
As a new exhibition of her work opens at the Henry Moore Institute, ‘Radical Geometry’ co-curator Adrian Locke discusses the work of Gertrude Goldschmidt.
Opinion
< 7 years ago
A betrayal of trust? The Warburg Library under threat
One of the the world’s foremost academic resources, London’s Warburg Institute Library, is under threat, 80 years after being saved from the Nazis. Martin Kemp argues vehemently for its survival.
Opinion
7 years ago
Highlights from the Edinburgh Art Festival
With Edinburgh’s galleries and museums playing host to over 45 exhibitions this summer, here are our top picks of what not to miss.
Opinion
7 years ago
‘Ming: The Golden Empire’ opens at National Museums Scotland
As two exhibitions looking at the Ming Empire open in the UK this summer, we look at the wealth of objects in store.
Opinion
7 years ago
What makes a city work?
Imogen Willetts, of the RA’s Architecture Programme, reports on our recent event in which Charles Leadbeater discusses his book ‘The London Recipe: How Systems and Empathy make the City’.
Opinion
7 years ago
Bridget Riley at David Zwirner
An exhibition tracks Bridget Riley’s return to the stripe at key points in her career, writes Chris Fite-Wassilak.
Opinion
7 years ago
Marina Abramovic: Three of the best
As Marina Abramovic Hon RA’s latest performance art piece opens, we spotlight key moments in her career.
Opinion
7 years ago
Connecting 21st-century installation to 18th-century portrait sculpture in six steps
Simon Wilson investigates the six degrees of separation between Phyllida Barlow RA and Roubiliac’s portrait busts.
Opinion
7 years ago
Think pink: Franz West at The Hepworth Wakefield
The multiple meanings of West’s witty sculptures are unravelled at The Hepworth Wakefield this summer.
Opinion
7 years ago
Mondrian squared
Two shows shine a new light on the Dutch modern master’s work.
Opinion
7 years ago
Winner of our #LookingatLondon competition announced
Discover our favourite #LookingatLondon entries and check out the winning image.
Opinion
7 years ago
Four major exhibitions with colour at their core open this summer
Simon Wilson surveys a slew of shows, in London, Liverpool and Margate, that reveal the changing roles colour has played in art history.
Opinion
7 years ago
Inside Story: Bill Viola
The pioneering video artist talks to Laura Gascoigne about mystery, compassion and sacrifice in art, as the first of his two altarpieces commissioned by St Paul’s Cathedral goes on permanent display.
Opinion
7 years ago
Should there be positive discrimination towards female artists?
Eileen Cooper RA and Helena Morrissey discuss whether art institutions need to prioritise women to achieve gender equality or whether positive discrimination is counter-productive.
Opinion
7 years ago
Kenneth Clark: A return to Civilisation
The success of the art historian, particularly as a broadcaster, is more significant than ever, says Christopher Baker.
Opinion
7 years ago
Louis Kahn at the Design Museum
Architect Trevor Dannatt RA pays tribute to Louis Kahn, whose poetic buildings are celebrated at London’s Design Museum.
Opinion
7 years ago
Win tickets to one of our ‘Looking at London’ events
What’s your favourite view of the city? In celebration of our ‘Looking at London’ series, we’re launching a competition for your best photos of the capital.
Opinion
7 years ago
Walter Sickert on stage at the Royal Opera House
Liam Scarlett’s contemporary ballet ‘Sweet Violets’ puts Walter Sickert RA’s fascination with murder centre stage.
Opinion
7 years ago
Geometry at the limit
As the RA prepares for an exhibition of 20th Century geometric abstraction in Latin America, a recent show in Buenos Aires reveals its legacy lives on.
Opinion
7 years ago
Body and Void at The Henry Moore Foundation
A new exhibition juxtaposing the works of Henry Moore with those of Antony Gormley RA, Richard Deacon RA and Anish Kapoor RA, among others, shows the enduring influence of one of Britain’s most iconic sculptors.
Opinion
7 years ago
Colour and commodity at COLLECT
This weekend the object takes centre stage at the Saatchi Gallery, as the annual COLLECT art fair gets underway.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Apichatpong Weerasethakul at Anthony Reynolds Gallery
The Thai director presents a series of video installations in his first solo show at the gallery.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
The forces shaping London’s skyline
In light of the recent launch of the ‘Skyline’ campaign and the publication of the Farrell Review, Owen Hopkins discusses the effects on London of the deficiencies of our current planning system.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Pangaea: New Art from Africa and Latin America
The Saatchi Gallery’s latest exhibition brings together the work of 16 contemporary South American and African artists, connecting the two continents by reminding us of the supercontinent they once comprised over 200 million years ago, before continental drift: Pangaea.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Wandering Words
‘Sensing Spaces’ was a transformative exhibition for the RA in lots of ways and from the beginning we wanted to break new ground in the types of events we organised for it.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Valerie Snobeck at Simon Lee
We visited the Valerie Snobeck exhibition at Simon Lee Gallery, where a new series of the American artist’s ‘peels’ are on display.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Reimagining Mayfair
In partnership with the Architects’ Journal, we are launching an open call for architect-led teams to put forward bold new ideas for reimagining the area of Mayfair directly to the north of our Burlington Gardens building.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Stargazing
Bailey’s latest exhibition, which opened in February at the NPG, has reopened an age-old debate about how what counts as art.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
In the Company of the Courtesan
Beth Schneider, Head of Learning, delves between the pages of ‘In the Company of the Courtesan’ by Sarah Dunant, our RA Book Club novel of the month.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Will there be fewer fine artists in the future?
We put the question to Jennifer Zielinska, part of the RA’s attRAct programme, and Royal Academician and fine artist Cornelia Parker
Opinion
> 7 years ago
RA down under
Charles Saumarez Smith, our Secretary and Chief Executive, was recently in Australia to visit ‘Genius and Ambition’, an exhibition of works from our collection on show at Bendigo Art Gallery.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Trading in splendour
Veronese’s dazzling paintings belied the demise of the Venetian empire.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
The craft that is now art
Novelist Tracy Chevalier, who curates a new exhibition of quilts, argues that this traditional activity should be accepted as a contemporary art medium.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Cool, calm and collected
Why do artists collect art? We posed the question to artist collectors Damien Hirst, Tom Phillips RA, Howard Hodgkin and Georg Baselitz Hon RA, whose chiaroscuro prints are included in the ‘Renaissance Impressions’ show at the Academy.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Icons or eyesores
Owen Hopkins tours the good, the bad and the ugly of City of London architecture.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
How do you make an architecture exhibition?
This is a question that has vexed countless curators over the decades. For an exhibition of art, it’s seemingly obvious. But what does this mean when you’re presenting the work of an architect?
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Out of Ice
Despite endless pronouncements regarding its decline and fall, ice is everywhere – at least in the art world.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Martin Creed: What’s the point of it?
Deafened by a choir of incessant metronomes, almost decapitated by a huge swinging sign shouting ‘mothers’, nearly floored by a leather sofa blocking the entrance – the first three seconds of the Hayward Gallery’s latest show threatens to overwhelm (and injure).
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Making Painting
A new exhibition at Margate’s Turner Contemporary pairs Abstract Expressionist Helen Frankenthaler with JMW Turner
Opinion
> 7 years ago
The hottest tickets for 2014
London plays host to some giants of the art world over the next year. The Chairman of the RA’s Exhibition Committee, Stephen Farthing RA, picks his top five upcoming shows and celebrates innovations born of great skill and maturity.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Lest we forget
Two new exhibitions of war art provide grave testament to the extent of human tragedy in world conflict.
Opinion
> 7 years ago
Dennis Oppenheim and Stephen Cripps
This autumn the Henry Moore Institute combines an exhibition of works by renowned American performance artist Dennis Oppenheim (1938 – 2011) with a display of archival material from lesser-known British artist, Stephen Cripps (1952-82).
Opinion
8 years ago
Archive: RA on set: ‘Summer in February’
If you like ‘Downton Abbey’, you’ll love ‘Summer in February’, starring Dominic Cooper as Alfred Munnings, future President of the Royal Academy.
Opinion
> 8 years ago
Giorgio Morandi at the Estorick Collection
Everyday items become remarkable at the hands of one of the great 20th century still life artists.
Opinion
> 8 years ago
Preview: ‘Light Show’ at the Hayward Gallery
Look forward to an illuminating experience at the UK’s first survey show of light art.
Opinion
> 8 years ago
Preview: Ice Age at the British Museum
An exhibition of Ice Age art at the British Museum reveals the imagination and skills of Europe’s earliest artists.
Opinion
9 years ago
Review & Comment: Books: ‘Turner’s Secret Sketches’ by Ian Warrell
Did Ruskin burn Turner’s clandestine drawings? Simon Wilson acclaims a revelatory new book on the works that seared the great critic’s soul.
Opinion
> 9 years ago
Edmund de Waal discusses his exhibition at Waddesdon
The artist gives RA Magazine an exclusive video tour of highlights from the show.