Articles

Life Drawing

Inside the Academy

2 months ago

The life-drawing class you can take from home

We believe in the vital importance of creativity – for everyone. Join the community of over 50,000 people who have come together online to take the world’s first ever live-streamed life drawing class. Take the free class below.
Thomas Rowlandson, A Life Class at the Royal Academy, Somerset House

RA Exhibitions

2 months ago

Strike a pose: 250 years of life drawing at the RA

As our ‘From Life’ exhibition explores the past, present and future of representing bodies in art, we look back at the Royal Academy’s 250-year tradition of drawing nude models.
Antony Gormley RA, GAZE III

RA Exhibitions

5 months ago

From pencil and paper to virtual reality: working from life today

With our current exhibition exploring the past, present and future of working from life, art critic Ben Luke explores how today’s artists are rethinking this seemingly traditional process in innovative, unexpected ways.
Ai Weiwei presenting his installation Tree in the courtyard at the Royal Academy of Arts, 2015

Opinion

> 2 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.

Life-drawing during RA Friends Week

Inside the Academy

< 3 years ago

Five quick tips to improve your life-drawing

The RA Schools’ Head of Sculpture and Printmaking led a life-drawing masterclass as part of our first Friends week. Here he shares five key pieces of advice.
Russell Westwood, Sir Henry Rushbury R.A. with students in the Life Room in the Royal Academy Schools

Our Collection

3 years ago

Naked truth: the story of female life models at the RA

What does a 230-year-old household bill tell us about life modelling in the 18th-century? Find out in this article exploring the historical role of the female nude life model at the RA.
Strode's College Outreach workshop

Inside the Academy

> 3 years ago

Back to school… a day in the life of an Outreach tutor

Our Outreach programme has been bringing life drawing workshops to schools for over 20 years. Tutor Paul Brandford tells us what’s involved.
Tracey Emin, 'The Last Great Adventure is You', White Cube Bermondsey, London.

Artists

> 3 years ago

Tracey Emin RA: “It’s like being at art school again”

The Royal Academician describes tackling the medium of bronze as her major new exhibition opens in London.
Outreach Workshop

Inside the Academy

< 4 years ago

Strike a pose… What it’s like to be a life model

As part of the RA Outreach programme we give school students across the UK the chance to take part in life drawing workshops to discover the important role that drawing can play in developing creativity. But what’s it like to be a life model and pose for these budding young artists?