Great collections: from private to public
Ten-week art history and theory course
Wednesday 18 January - Wednesday 22 March 2017
The Life Room, Royal Academy Schools
£290 for five weeks / £540 for ten weeks (sold out). Includes light refreshments and a drinks reception at the end of weeks five and ten.
Terms and conditions
A distinguished line-up of academics and art world scholars, including Royal Academy Chief Executive Charles Saumarez Smith, deliver a unique perspective on the origins of the world’s greatest international collections, and the private collectors who contributed to them.
"Even in the case of art created centuries ago, it is essential that somebody loves it enough to buy it and cherish it – otherwise it will be forgotten and disappear."
James Stourton, 2007
The notion that individual works of art exist as part of a greater collection which helps to determine and define them is widely accepted in the context of museums, public collections and exhibition spaces. However, many of these have important links to earlier private collections and individual collectors who painstakingly built them.
This course will consider a number of key questions: where did some of the world’s great public collections come from? Who created them and why? What impact did individual collectors have on the public domain and the way we understand and view art and our cultural heritage?
This course provides a unique opportunity to learn about the origins of a number of great international art collections, as well as the role and impact of collecting art, and the process through which private collections become public. The course will provide a historic perspective on the practice and process of collecting, which is relevant as much for institutions as for individual collectors today. Understanding how great collections start and evolve – how work is acquired, retained, displayed and eventually shared – is also critical for understanding individual works, artists and art movements which have gained prominence in the historical narrative.
Individual sessions are taught by leading scholars, art-world practitioners and professionals from both the private and public sphere. There will be a focus on specific collections and cases; as well as the individuals behind them. The course will be broadly chronological in order and include discussion of some of the greatest collections in the united kingdom as well as international examples.
Speakers include:
Maurice Davies, Anna M. Dempster, Philip Dodd, Ann Dumas, Philip Rylands, James Stourton, Charles Saumarez Smith and Jeremy Warren.
This course takes place on consecutive Wednesday evenings from 6 - 8pm.
The full ten-week and the first five-week block for this course have now sold out. Places are still available for the second five-week block (22 February - 22 March)
Our courses and classes programme
Our programme of short courses and classes offers the opportunity to explore a range of subjects, led by expert tutors and practising artists.
Book your place
About the course
This course provides a unique opportunity to learn about the origins of great international art collections, the impact of collecting art, and the process through which private collections become public. The course will also provide an historic perspective on the practice and process of collecting, which is relevant for both institutions and individual art collectors, as well as understanding our artistic and cultural heritage today.
About the tutors
This course is comprised of a range of expert guest speakers from academic and art scholarship backgrounds, as well as leading speakers from the museums and commercial art world.
Guest speakers
Speakers include: Maurice Davies, Anna M. Dempster, Philip Dodd, Ann Dumas, Philip Rylands, James Stourton,Charles Saumarez Smith and Jeremy Warren.
This course takes place on consecutive Wednesday evenings from 6 - 8pm
Please note that the full ten-week course and first five weeks have now sold out. Tickets are still available for the second five weeks.
Price for five weeks: £290
Price for 10 weeks: £540 (sold out)
Registration from 5.45pm
Refreshments from 6.00pm
6.00pm - 8.00pm per session
This course provides:
• A rich combination of lectures, discussion and the opportunity for expert-led answers from a range of art world speakers
• An exploration of the history of exhibitions and how art is viewed and understood
• Skills and knowledge relevant to those with art historical, curatorial and arts management interests
• The opportunity to learn from art world experts and discuss the process of making of world class collections
• The opportunity to socialise and network with peers in a friendly environment
• Access to the Royal Academy’s historic Life Room at the heart of the RA schools
• A certificate of participation upon course completion – for individuals attending the full ten-week course only
• A course pack and extended reading lists
• Light refreshments at the beginning of each session
• A drinks reception at the end of weeks five and ten
This course is suitable for all levels of experience and for people with a willingness to be open-minded and who enjoy a challenging mix of art-historical and professional practical knowledge and learning.
This course is for you if:
• You have a general interest in the history of art and collecting, and would like a novel way to understand cultural and historical change
• You are interested in gaining knowledge about collections history and individual collectors, from both a historic and practical perspective
• You have a personal or professional interest in how art can be collected, displayed, viewed and interpreted by different audiences
• You currently work, or aspire to work, in the arts and cultural industry and want to understand the collecting and collections process, and be exposed to art world professionals and leading scholars
Minimum age 18
The course will be delivered in part through a lecture format but will include an opportunity for questions and discussion between speakers and participants.
The course is designed to enable an historical overview for those new to the field, but is relevant for those with prior art world knowledge experience keen to learn from experts.
The art of collecting
This two-day course, led by the Royal Academy’s Director of Development Charlotte Appleyard, provides a practical overview of collecting. It covers techniques and approaches to collecting employed by art world experts, exploring how to build and maintain a collection. The course takes into account different types of collectors, collections and different motivations, each of which includes specific risks and opportunities, drivers and outcomes.
About the space
The Life Room
The Course is taught in the Academy’s historic Life Room, nestled in the heart of the RA Schools and not often open to the public. This unique and important space was designed in the 1860's when the galleries and art school moved to Burlington Gardens. The semi-circular seating arrangement is based on an ancient design and can trace its British history back to the 1730's and Hogarth’s Academy in St Martin’s Lane. The directional light is used, then as now, to help to delineate the human figure enabling life drawing, which has been practised in this room by generations of Royal Academy artists and students.