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Our Collection
> 2 years ago
‘Deeds not words’: Suffragettes and the Summer Exhibition
The Great Spectacle charts 250 years of Summer Exhibitions – including 1914, when Suffragette Mary Wood attacked a John Singer Sargent portrait with a meat cleaver. We delve into the Royal Academy’s archive to find out how the Academy, and the public, reacted.
RA Recommends
< 4 years ago
Five of the best London archives
The RA archive is a treasure trove of stories, memories and recordings about art and artists from the past 250 years. In honour of Explore Your Archive week, we introduce some of its highlights and four more London archives to explore, holding everything from American performance art footage to rare Japanese prints.
Inside the Academy
5 years ago
Meet our new Head of Collections
In the first of a new blog series, our incoming Head of Collections explores his new stomping grounds – the RA’s jewel-like library, print room and archive.
Our Collection
> 5 years ago
On the Reynolds trail in the RA archive
On the eve of a major exhibition in London dedicated to Sir Joshua Reynolds, we delve into the RA’s archive to learn more about the Academy’s founding president.
Inside the Academy
6 years ago
RA exhibitions: reflecting a world at war
As the conflict continued, the Royal Academy adapted its exhibition programme to support the war effort.
Inside the Academy
6 years ago
Consequences of war
The First World War took a heavy toll on the Royal Academy’s artists, staff and students - and left indelible scars on our building.
Inside the Academy
6 years ago
Dazzle ships and the Royal Academy
How the RA played a role in the development of a dazzling new form of camouflage.
Inside the Academy
6 years ago
The Royal Academy joins the war effort
With volunteers drilling in the courtyard and the Red Cross taking over the galleries, the RA soon found itself at the centre of the war effort.
Inside the Academy
6 years ago
4 August 1914: the declaration of war
A snapshot of the Royal Academy on 4 August 1914, with the country poised on the brink of war.
Our Collection
> 6 years ago
James Ward RA’s ‘Defence of the Beard’
A small pamphlet, discovered deep within our archives, shows that the beard as the defining feature of hipster facial fashion has been around longer than you might think.