Our Collection
7 days ago
7 life drawing shorts to do at home
In 2018, we hosted the world’s first-ever livestreamed life drawing class from the Royal Academy’s famous Life Room, #LifeDrawingLive. We’ll be releasing a pose from the class every fortnight, so grab a pencil and have a crack at one.
Artists
8 days ago
Author Tessa Hadley on how we carry art around in our mind
While in lockdown Tessa Hadley pays a visit to her inner National Gallery, contemplating recollections of one of her favourite Renaissance altarpieces, Jacopo Di Cioni’s ‘Coronation of the Virgin’.
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.
13 days ago
Our Collection
14 days ago
How to read it: Meredith Frampton’s Still Life
This meticulous and mysterious work by Meredith Frampton is full of contrasting symbolism. Our Collections team guide you through it in this three-minute read.
RA Recommends
19 days ago
10 novels about art you won’t put down
Every artwork tells a story. Make a cup of tea, take a seat and settle into the ten best novels inspired by art and artists, picked by us.
RA Recommends
20 days ago
Quiz: the great women artists
Do you know your Kauffman from your Emin? Test your knowledge of women artists and the Royal Academy of Arts in the The Great Women Artists quiz.
Artists
“The pandemic is giving us time to think about the kind of life we want afterwards.”
The Covid-19 pandemic may have isolated us, but for Yinka Shonibare RA it’s given him the space he needs to truly become an artist again.
20 days ago
Our Collection
20 days ago
In 60 seconds: Shonibare’s ‘Cheeky Little Astronomer’
Discover how multicultural influences fuse together to create a wider view of global inclusivity in Yinka Shonibare RA’s cheeky sculpture.
RA Exhibitions
21 days ago
Documentary: inside our Manet exhibition
Originally released in cinemas, this ‘Exhibition on Screen’ film takes you back in time to visit the Royal Academy’s 2013 ‘Manet: Portraying Life’ exhibition, one of our most visited shows of all time. Take a trip to 19th-century Paris where the story of this modern master unfolds – and peep behind the scenes at the RA, as the curators prepared to tell his story in this major show.
Our Collection
27 days ago
In 60 seconds: Hogarth’s ‘Gin Lane’ & ‘Beer Street’
Learn how a pair of engravings by satirical artist William Hogarth were used to alter the drinking habits of the British public in the 18th century.
RA Exhibitions
29 days ago
Video: inside the artists’ gardens
Join curator Ann Dumas on a tour through the gardens of Claude Monet, Pierre Bonnard, Emile Nolde, Max Liebermann and Henri Le Sidaner. Filmed ahead of our 2016 exhibition, ‘Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse’, take a moment to escape to the idyllic rural wilderness.
Artists
1 month ago
Video: John Maine RA on the impact of coronavirus on his new sculpture, ‘Turning Point’
In this video from our ‘Artists in Isolation’ series, John Maine RA talks us through the process of making a huge, stone sculpture for Salisbury town centre – and what happens when lockdown lands in the middle of it.
RA Recommends
1 month ago
9 art podcasts to keep you inspired during lockdown
Plug in your headphones, sit back and relax with one of these podcasts, transporting you into the art world from the comfort of your front room.
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 month ago
Artists
1 month ago
Woodwork: how does it work?
The centuries-old techniques of woodcut and wood engraving are alive and well today, holding an enduring appeal for contemporary artists. But what are these processes and what is the difference? Fiona Maddocks investigates.
RA Exhibitions
1 month ago
Documentary: inside ‘Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse’
Originally released in cinemas, this ‘Exhibition on Screen’ film takes us back to our landmark exhibition, ‘Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse’, examining the role gardens played in the evolution of art from the early 1860s through to the 1920s.
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 month ago
Our Collection
1 month ago
How to read it: Frank Cadogan Cowper’s Vanity
Combining allusions to both Renaissance and Pre-Raphaelite painting, Frank Cadogan Cowper’s Vanity celebrates beauty while cautioning against excessive self-regard. Unravel the painting’s influences in this three-minute read.
RA Exhibitions
1 month ago
Mussolini and the Royal Academy: a 90-year-old controversy
In 1930, the greatest works of the Italian Renaissance drew half a million visitors to the Academy. But there was a darker, political undercurrent to this blockbuster show, explains Katherine Jane Alexander…
RA Recommends
2 months ago
9 virtual exhibition tours to watch online
Galleries and museums might be closed but you can still see major exhibitions from around the world, while swapping the crowds for a cuppa. We pick some of the best virtual tours and artworks currently available online.
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.
2 months ago
RA Exhibitions
2 months ago
Documentary: inside two blockbuster Hockney exhibitions
Originally released in cinemas, this ‘Exhibition on Screen’ film takes us back to two of our landmark exhibitions by the iconic British artist, David Hockney RA. Sit back and enjoy, as we revisit 2012’s ‘A Bigger Picture’, and ‘82 Portraits and One Still-Life’ from 2016.
Opinion
2 months 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.
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