David Hockney RA, Celia Birtwell, 31st August, 1st, 2nd September (detail)

Talk

Sandy Nairne on Contemporary Portraiture

Free talk

Monday 11 July 2016 1 - 2pm

The Reynolds Room, Burlington House, Royal Academy of Arts

Free, booking required.

Sold out

David Hockney RA: 82 Portraits and 1 Still-life

Go to the exhibition

Writer and curator Sandy Nairne, former director of the National Portrait Gallery, explores developments in contemporary portraiture, and examines how this well-established genre within Western art has been used by artists such as Hockney to innovate.

While many contemporary portraits demonstrate a respect for the traditions of portraiture, others are places for experimentation and play, employing various media and different approaches to depiction. In this talk Sandy Nairne examines recent developments in portrait-making and compares Hockney’s portraits with those of other artists, including Lucian Freud and Marlene Dumas.

Sandy Nairne was director of the National Portrait Gallery for twelve years, overseeing such exhibitions as David Hockney Portraits in 2006 and Lucian Freud Portraits in 2012. He is a writer and curator and his publications include Art Theft and the Case of the Stolen Turners, (2011) and for the National Portrait Gallery, The Portrait Now, (2006), A Guide to Contemporary Portraits, (2009) and 500 Portraits: 25 Years of the BP Portrait Award (2015).

This event will be sign language interpreted.

Doors open at 12.30pm. Unclaimed seats will be released to those waiting for returns at 12.55pm. No admittance will be granted after 1pm.

Free, booking required.

Sold out