Articles
Highlights While We’re Closed
While our building is closed, we’re determined to keep you inspired with the very best of the RA – from new ways to explore our exhibitions to tips for keeping creative, plus articles, podcasts, special features and more. Here are a few recent highlights.
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RA Exhibitions
> 2 years ago
Nine eyebrow-raising moments from the Summer Exhibition
From the time we rejected Banksy to Turner’s “gunshot in the gallery”, the Summer Exhibition has regularly ruffled the feathers of British art in its 254 years. Here are some of our favourite moments!
RA Recommends
> 2 years ago
10 artist movies and docs to watch on Netflix, Amazon Prime and more
When you can’t go to the art, let the art come to you. Here’s our pick of the best artist biopics and documentaries available to stream.
RA Recommends
< 3 years ago
The great art quiz of 2021
Gather round, art lovers – because it’s time for our annual art-related quizzing! Play with the family, test your know-it-all neighbours, or just take the blimmin’ thing right now!
RA Exhibitions
3 years ago
10 expert tips on visiting the Summer Exhibition
Faced with more than a thousand artworks, how can an art lover make the most of their annual pilgrimage to the Summer Exhibition? Veteran critic Mark Hudson draws from his professional experience to offer 10 useful pointers.
RA Exhibitions
3 years ago
Video: painting on Lubugo bark cloth
Artist Michael Armitage paints on a material called Lubugo, which is made by the Baganda people of southern Uganda. Discover how Lubugo’s crafted, and how Armitage incorporates its imperfections into his work.
Artists
> 3 years ago
Saturday Sketch Club: drawing into the abstract
Join Emyr Williams for a workshop in how to create your own abstract drawings
Artists
> 3 years ago
Saturday Sketch Club: experimenting with the figure
Join artist Jake Garfield for this fun and informal life drawing session
Artists
> 3 years ago
Saturday Sketch Club: drawing as exploration
Discover repetition and transformation in this workshop with Elinor Stanley
Artists
> 3 years ago
Saturday Sketch Club: botanical drawing
Join Laxmi Hussain for a guided workshop in drawing botanics
Artists
> 3 years ago
Saturday Sketch Club: anatomy drawing
Learn all about anatomy drawing with our online Saturday Sketch Club
Artists
> 3 years ago
How to: make tempera paint
Have a go at making your own paint with eggs, make-up, spices and chalk.
Artists
> 3 years ago
Saturday Sketch Club: collage
Join us for a class in collage with artist Sahra Hersi – all you need is paper, glue and scissors
Artists
> 3 years ago
Saturday Sketch Club: life drawing
Take a lesson in life drawing from Andy Pankhurst in week two of our online Saturday Sketch Club
RA Exhibitions
> 3 years ago
Introducing three artists in ‘Michael Armitage: Paradise Edict’
Artists Sane Wadu, Elimo Njau and Asaph Ng‘ethe Macua have played an important role in shaping figurative painting in Kenya – they have also had a profound impact on Armitage’s own artistic development. Learn more about these artists in our short video series.
Artists
> 3 years ago
Saturday Sketch Club: still life
Catch up on the first of our online Saturday Sketch Clubs, focusing on still life drawing with Mark Hampson
Our Collection
> 3 years ago
A slow look: Yinka Shonibare’s ‘Cheeky Little Astronomer’
Take ten minutes to meditate as we guide you through a slow, mindful look at Yinka Shonibare RA’s sculpture.
Artists
> 3 years ago
How to: make paper
Learn how to make your own paper from scratch using a photo frame, a pair of old tights and scrap paper.
Our Collection
> 3 years ago
A slow look: Oriana Reinagle’s ‘Study of trees’
Enjoy five blissful minutes of mindfulness and art with this guided meditation.
RA Exhibitions
> 3 years ago
David Hockney: to Normandy via Yorkshire
Edith Devaney, curator of our upcoming David Hockney exhibition, explores how the artist harnessed springtime to explore the drama of nature, the process of grief – and the power of hope.
Our Collection
> 3 years ago
A slow look: John Aldridge’s ‘Artichokes and Cathay Quinces’
Take ten minutes to meditate as we mindfully guide you through John Aldrige’s still life painting ‘Artichokes and Cathay Quinces’.
Our Collection
> 3 years ago
A slow look: Rodney Burn’s ‘Bracklesham Sands’
Spend 10 mindful minutes on a guided meditation through the details of Rodney Burn RA’s ‘Bracklesham Sands’.
Artists
> 3 years ago
“Like a portrait painter with their sitters, I have the feeling of a real relationship with the flowers I paint”
100-year-old artist Diana Armfield RA writes about the joy of painting the flowers in her garden.
RA Recommends
> 3 years ago
Ruth Asawa: the pioneering American sculptor you need to know
This International Women’s Day, we celebrate an artist once dismissed as a “San Francisco Housewife” who refused to see parenthood as an obstacle.
Opinion
< 4 years ago
“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.
Our Collection
< 4 years ago
In 60 seconds: Waterhouse’s ‘A Mermaid’
Spend 60 seconds exploring the dark mythology behind John William Waterhouse RA’s ‘A Mermaid’.
RA Recommends
< 4 years ago
Eight of the best home art activities for kids
We’ve loved seeing you being creative at home with our online activities. If you need more inspiration during lockdown, we’ve picked out some other great resources from the UK’s art galleries and organisations…
RA Recommends
< 4 years ago
The joyful world of children’s art
When we tweeted an artwork in the Young Artists’ Summer Show by Cressida, aged 5, we were flooded by children’s art which will make you marvel, make you laugh and make your day.
Inside the Academy
< 4 years ago
Life drawing with Romeo the pony
Two legs good, four legs better? Grab your pencils and sketch this tiny pony in two short poses from our 2019 event #LifeDrawingLive: the anatomy class.
Artists
< 4 years ago
In the studio with Joy Labinjo
Joy Labinjo is quietly changing the course of art history from a small studio in south London. Writer Fiona Maddocks meets Labinjo to discuss her ambitious paintings, and the next steps in her career.
RA Recommends
< 4 years ago
The great art quiz of 2020
It’s been a challenging and eventful year for everything, let alone art — have you been paying attention, or wrapped under a duvet watching Netflix?
RA Exhibitions
< 4 years ago
Revisiting the exhibition: Antony Gormley
Six tonnes of steel mesh, a gallery flooded with seawater, a body you could walk through and an experience like no other. Relive our 2019 Antony Gormley exhibition with behind-the-scenes videos, inspiration from the man himself and works from the show.
RA Exhibitions
4 years ago
Cristina Iglesias: the artist who transforms public space
Cristina Iglesias, whose sculptures bring out the otherworldliness of the cobbles, stones, bricks and mortar of cities, speaks to Debika Ray about winning the 2020 RA Architecture Prize.
RA Exhibitions
4 years ago
Virtual tour: Summer Exhibition 2020
Explore the first ever winter Summer Exhibition like never before and discover a myriad of works by household names and emerging artists inside this virtual tour.
RA Exhibitions
4 years ago
Munch’s influence on women artists
Art historian Patricia Berman traces Edvard Munch’s surprising influence on women artists, from Tracey Emin RA and Marlene Dumas Hon RA, to Louise Bourgeois and Maria Lassnig.
RA Recommends
4 years ago
How Sunil Gupta captured the hidden experience of gay men in Delhi
As a retrospective of the photographer opens in London, Theo Gordon focuses on a pivotal series that commented on gay experience in 1980s Delhi.
RA Exhibitions
4 years ago
Inside the Summer Exhibition 2020 with Jane and Louise Wilson RA
Join coordinators Jane and Louise Wilson RA as they introduce the 252nd Summer Exhibition and discuss the challenges of putting it all together during a pandemic.
RA Exhibitions
4 years ago
3 young artists on getting into the Young Artists’ Summer Show
Imogen West-Knights catches up with three young creatives as they prepare to exhibit in this year’s Young Artists’ Summer Show.
RA Exhibitions
4 years ago
The enduring appeal of Impressionism
In bustling Parisian street scenes, windswept seascapes and shimmering portraits, the Impressionists sought immediacy in their art. Writer Deborah Levy finds their approach as radical today as ever, in the masterpieces on show from the Ordrupgaard Collection.
RA Exhibitions
4 years ago
Meet the winners of the 2020 Young Artists’ Summer Show
Discover who won the People’s Choice award, as well as the most inspiring artworks in each key stage chosen by our President, Rebecca Salter.
Our Collection
4 years 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. Grab a pencil and have a crack at each pose by life model Andrew Crayford.
RA Exhibitions
4 years ago
Inside the first-ever socially distanced Summer Exhibition
For the first time in its 252-year history, the Summer Exhibition will fall in winter. Amy Sherlock speaks to this year’s co-ordinators, film and photography duo Jane and Louise Wilson RA, who are steering the show into new waters.
Artists
4 years ago
Family how to: chalk printing
Try these two simple techniques and experiment with using chalk to make colourful abstract prints.
RA Exhibitions
4 years ago
Virtual tour: ‘Gauguin and the Impressionists: Masterpieces of the Ordrupgaard Collection’
Step into our galleries to experience ‘Gauguin and the Impressionists: Masterpieces from the Ordrupgaard Collection’, including 60 works – many of which have never been seen in the UK.
RA Exhibitions
4 years ago
10 young artists who will restore your faith in art
The Young Artists’ Summer Show is our free, open submission exhibition for young people aged 5–19. Their art will inspire you, challenge you and, most importantly, make you smile.
Artists
> 4 years ago
Anne Desmet RA: engraving angels
Artist Anne Desmet RA documents the weekly progress of her latest wood engraving – inspired by her mother, the resilience of the human spirit, and Florence Nightingale.
Opinion
> 4 years ago
“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.
Opinion
> 4 years ago
“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.
RA Exhibitions
> 4 years 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.
RA Recommends
> 4 years 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.
Artists
> 4 years 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 Exhibitions
> 4 years 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.
RA Recommends
> 4 years 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.
RA Exhibitions
> 4 years ago
Picasso and Paper: virtual exhibition tour
Experience our ‘Picasso and Paper’ exhibition from home in this video tour of the galleries.
RA Exhibitions
> 4 years ago
In 60 seconds: Gauguin and the Impressionists
On 29 March 2020, we were due to open our new exhibition ‘Gauguin and the Impressionists: Masterpieces from the Ordrupgaard Collection’. Since you can’t come to us, we thought we would bring a taste of it to you. In this video series, see a bite-sized biography of Gauguin, and take a deep dive into Renoir’s ‘Le Moulin de la Galette’ and Manet’s ‘Woman with a Jug’.
Opinion
> 4 years ago
“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.
RA Exhibitions
> 4 years ago
Video: ‘Léon Spilliaert’ - virtual exhibition tour
While the RA doors are temporarily closed, you can still experience our exhibition on Belgian artist Léon Spilliaert in this video tour of the galleries.
Artists
6 years ago
Family how-to: make a stop-frame animation
Become a film director for the day and create your very own cartoon animation inspired by artworks from the RA Collection.