The Royal Academy has seen a flurry of sleek refurbishments in the last decade, and it’s now announcing yet another. The 2018 redesign saw the already prestigious institution vie for centre stage among London’s top galleries. For the first time, the Royal Academy’s collection was presented to the public via a new crossing passing through the vaults, linking 6 Burlington Gardens with Burlington House, which now displays a plethora of plaster casts of Roman and Greek statues. The new Collections Gallery, which opened to exhibit paintings, boasts works by Michelangelo, Gainsborough, and Constable, as well as an impressive 16th-century copy of The Last Supper. However, the Collections Gallery has always been rather hidden and little known by the public. Slightly awkwardly squirrelled away, upstairs at Burlington Gardens, in a room beside the José Pizarro restaurant.
Thankfully, the RA have announced plans to expand their free offering by expanding the Collection’s Gallery. The redesign will feature a mezzanine, creating a double-height viewing space that allows for the display of a greater selection of works from the RA’s collection. The redesign will be completed by David Chipperfield Architects, the firm behind the 2018 refurb linking the two buildings and the more recent restoration of the RA Schools at Burlington Gardens, completed in 2024.
Burlington Gardens is often overshadowed by Burlington House, originally designed for the University of London by Sir James Pennethorne, it is in the Italianate style, in Portland and pink sandstone and commands a distinguished position looking North in the direction of New Bond Street, with a projecting collonaded portico topped by free-standing classical style sculptures; it has to be among London’s most spectacular Victorian buildings. Furthering their restoration of the RA schools' studios, Chipperfield will restore the Collections Gallery (through a modern interpretation) to its original design by Pennethorne, reinstating the room as a double-height examination hall.
The redesign will not only restore another part of the building, better evoking Pennethorne’s original plan, but will also allow for greater freedom in how the gallery can be used, opening up the opportunity to present new narratives from the RA’s Collection, while creating a more inviting space to welcome visitors that meets the high calibre of the rest of the RA site.
The amount of art kept in storage by our museums and galleries is lamentable; only about 1% of the British Museum’s collection is on display, which is why initiatives like the V&A’s new Storehouse at V&A East are so welcome. When the Royal Academy was founded in December 1768, there was no collection of Old Masters or British artists' work which could be freely studied by students and inform the public. At the opening of the Royal Academy, its first President, Joshua Reynolds, announced: “The principal advantage of an academy is, that, besides furnishing able men to direct the student, it will be a repository for the great examples of the art. These are the materials on which genius is to work, and without which the strongest intellect may be fruitlessly or deviously employed.”
The RA’s founding document decreed that no one was to be regarded as a member of the Academy until they had “deposited in the Royal Academy, to remain there, a Picture, Bas relief or other Specimen of [their] Abilities”. These donations, known as ‘Diploma Works’, form the core of the Academy’s Collection. This sets the collection apart from almost all other national collections in that, for almost three hundred years, it has been selected by artists themselves rather than curators. The Collection also includes other donations such as paraphernalia from the private lives of artists, donated by the artist or their family, for example, JMW Turner’s fishing rod or Queen Victoria’s satchel of art equipment.
The Collection continues to grow, reflecting the range and diversity of art made in Britain, forming a unique group of paintings, sculptures, models, drawings, prints and, more recently, time-based media presented by artists and architects upon their election. It is a contemporary, living collection which is always growing.
In addition to the donated ‘Diploma Works’, the Collection was also based on the Academy’s role as an institution teaching the fine arts and fostering future generations of British artists. Fine examples of classical and Renaissance art were gradually collected for study and emulation. The most notable example being Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, which is the only carving by the artist in the UK. The Collection contains over 40,000 works, spanning over five centuries of art and architecture, and showcasing the history of the Academy and the evolution of a distinctive British School of artists from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 2011, it was awarded Designation status by Arts Council England, recognising its importance as a vital record which represents Britain’s cultural heritage and the development of British artistic practice. The continued donation of works by its members has fashioned an alternative lineage to that of the established art historical narrative, which the RA will be able to explore after the opening of the new gallery early next year.
The current Collection Gallery will close to the public from October 10th, with the entire 6 Burlington Gardens complex closing to the public from October 27th. Burlington Gardens and the new gallery will then reopen in early 2027. Burlington House, accessible from Piccadilly, will remain open as usual.
The Royal Academy has seen a flurry of sleek refurbishments in the last decade, and it’s now announcing yet another. The 2018 redesign saw the already prestigious institution vie for centre stage among London’s top galleries. For the first time, the Royal Academy’s collection was presented to the public via a new crossing passing through the vaults, linking 6 Burlington Gardens with Burlington House, which now displays a plethora of plaster casts of Roman and Greek statues. The new Collections Gallery, which opened to exhibit paintings, boasts works by Michelangelo, Gainsborough, and Constable, as well as an impressive 16th-century copy of The Last Supper. However, the Collections Gallery has always been rather hidden and little known by the public. Slightly awkwardly squirrelled away, upstairs at Burlington Gardens, in a room beside the José Pizarro restaurant.
Thankfully, the RA have announced plans to expand their free offering by expanding the Collection’s Gallery. The redesign will feature a mezzanine, creating a double-height viewing space that allows for the display of a greater selection of works from the RA’s collection. The redesign will be completed by David Chipperfield Architects, the firm behind the 2018 refurb linking the two buildings and the more recent restoration of the RA Schools at Burlington Gardens, completed in 2024.
Burlington Gardens is often overshadowed by Burlington House, originally designed for the University of London by Sir James Pennethorne, it is in the Italianate style, in Portland and pink sandstone and commands a distinguished position looking North in the direction of New Bond Street, with a projecting collonaded portico topped by free-standing classical style sculptures; it has to be among London’s most spectacular Victorian buildings. Furthering their restoration of the RA schools' studios, Chipperfield will restore the Collections Gallery (through a modern interpretation) to its original design by Pennethorne, reinstating the room as a double-height examination hall.
The redesign will not only restore another part of the building, better evoking Pennethorne’s original plan, but will also allow for greater freedom in how the gallery can be used, opening up the opportunity to present new narratives from the RA’s Collection, while creating a more inviting space to welcome visitors that meets the high calibre of the rest of the RA site.
The amount of art kept in storage by our museums and galleries is lamentable; only about 1% of the British Museum’s collection is on display, which is why initiatives like the V&A’s new Storehouse at V&A East are so welcome. When the Royal Academy was founded in December 1768, there was no collection of Old Masters or British artists' work which could be freely studied by students and inform the public. At the opening of the Royal Academy, its first President, Joshua Reynolds, announced: “The principal advantage of an academy is, that, besides furnishing able men to direct the student, it will be a repository for the great examples of the art. These are the materials on which genius is to work, and without which the strongest intellect may be fruitlessly or deviously employed.”
The RA’s founding document decreed that no one was to be regarded as a member of the Academy until they had “deposited in the Royal Academy, to remain there, a Picture, Bas relief or other Specimen of [their] Abilities”. These donations, known as ‘Diploma Works’, form the core of the Academy’s Collection. This sets the collection apart from almost all other national collections in that, for almost three hundred years, it has been selected by artists themselves rather than curators. The Collection also includes other donations such as paraphernalia from the private lives of artists, donated by the artist or their family, for example, JMW Turner’s fishing rod or Queen Victoria’s satchel of art equipment.
The Collection continues to grow, reflecting the range and diversity of art made in Britain, forming a unique group of paintings, sculptures, models, drawings, prints and, more recently, time-based media presented by artists and architects upon their election. It is a contemporary, living collection which is always growing.
In addition to the donated ‘Diploma Works’, the Collection was also based on the Academy’s role as an institution teaching the fine arts and fostering future generations of British artists. Fine examples of classical and Renaissance art were gradually collected for study and emulation. The most notable example being Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, which is the only carving by the artist in the UK. The Collection contains over 40,000 works, spanning over five centuries of art and architecture, and showcasing the history of the Academy and the evolution of a distinctive British School of artists from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 2011, it was awarded Designation status by Arts Council England, recognising its importance as a vital record which represents Britain’s cultural heritage and the development of British artistic practice. The continued donation of works by its members has fashioned an alternative lineage to that of the established art historical narrative, which the RA will be able to explore after the opening of the new gallery early next year.
The current Collection Gallery will close to the public from October 10th, with the entire 6 Burlington Gardens complex closing to the public from October 27th. Burlington Gardens and the new gallery will then reopen in early 2027. Burlington House, accessible from Piccadilly, will remain open as usual.
The Royal Academy has seen a flurry of sleek refurbishments in the last decade, and it’s now announcing yet another. The 2018 redesign saw the already prestigious institution vie for centre stage among London’s top galleries. For the first time, the Royal Academy’s collection was presented to the public via a new crossing passing through the vaults, linking 6 Burlington Gardens with Burlington House, which now displays a plethora of plaster casts of Roman and Greek statues. The new Collections Gallery, which opened to exhibit paintings, boasts works by Michelangelo, Gainsborough, and Constable, as well as an impressive 16th-century copy of The Last Supper. However, the Collections Gallery has always been rather hidden and little known by the public. Slightly awkwardly squirrelled away, upstairs at Burlington Gardens, in a room beside the José Pizarro restaurant.
Thankfully, the RA have announced plans to expand their free offering by expanding the Collection’s Gallery. The redesign will feature a mezzanine, creating a double-height viewing space that allows for the display of a greater selection of works from the RA’s collection. The redesign will be completed by David Chipperfield Architects, the firm behind the 2018 refurb linking the two buildings and the more recent restoration of the RA Schools at Burlington Gardens, completed in 2024.
Burlington Gardens is often overshadowed by Burlington House, originally designed for the University of London by Sir James Pennethorne, it is in the Italianate style, in Portland and pink sandstone and commands a distinguished position looking North in the direction of New Bond Street, with a projecting collonaded portico topped by free-standing classical style sculptures; it has to be among London’s most spectacular Victorian buildings. Furthering their restoration of the RA schools' studios, Chipperfield will restore the Collections Gallery (through a modern interpretation) to its original design by Pennethorne, reinstating the room as a double-height examination hall.
The redesign will not only restore another part of the building, better evoking Pennethorne’s original plan, but will also allow for greater freedom in how the gallery can be used, opening up the opportunity to present new narratives from the RA’s Collection, while creating a more inviting space to welcome visitors that meets the high calibre of the rest of the RA site.
The amount of art kept in storage by our museums and galleries is lamentable; only about 1% of the British Museum’s collection is on display, which is why initiatives like the V&A’s new Storehouse at V&A East are so welcome. When the Royal Academy was founded in December 1768, there was no collection of Old Masters or British artists' work which could be freely studied by students and inform the public. At the opening of the Royal Academy, its first President, Joshua Reynolds, announced: “The principal advantage of an academy is, that, besides furnishing able men to direct the student, it will be a repository for the great examples of the art. These are the materials on which genius is to work, and without which the strongest intellect may be fruitlessly or deviously employed.”
The RA’s founding document decreed that no one was to be regarded as a member of the Academy until they had “deposited in the Royal Academy, to remain there, a Picture, Bas relief or other Specimen of [their] Abilities”. These donations, known as ‘Diploma Works’, form the core of the Academy’s Collection. This sets the collection apart from almost all other national collections in that, for almost three hundred years, it has been selected by artists themselves rather than curators. The Collection also includes other donations such as paraphernalia from the private lives of artists, donated by the artist or their family, for example, JMW Turner’s fishing rod or Queen Victoria’s satchel of art equipment.
The Collection continues to grow, reflecting the range and diversity of art made in Britain, forming a unique group of paintings, sculptures, models, drawings, prints and, more recently, time-based media presented by artists and architects upon their election. It is a contemporary, living collection which is always growing.
In addition to the donated ‘Diploma Works’, the Collection was also based on the Academy’s role as an institution teaching the fine arts and fostering future generations of British artists. Fine examples of classical and Renaissance art were gradually collected for study and emulation. The most notable example being Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, which is the only carving by the artist in the UK. The Collection contains over 40,000 works, spanning over five centuries of art and architecture, and showcasing the history of the Academy and the evolution of a distinctive British School of artists from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 2011, it was awarded Designation status by Arts Council England, recognising its importance as a vital record which represents Britain’s cultural heritage and the development of British artistic practice. The continued donation of works by its members has fashioned an alternative lineage to that of the established art historical narrative, which the RA will be able to explore after the opening of the new gallery early next year.
The current Collection Gallery will close to the public from October 10th, with the entire 6 Burlington Gardens complex closing to the public from October 27th. Burlington Gardens and the new gallery will then reopen in early 2027. Burlington House, accessible from Piccadilly, will remain open as usual.
The Royal Academy has seen a flurry of sleek refurbishments in the last decade, and it’s now announcing yet another. The 2018 redesign saw the already prestigious institution vie for centre stage among London’s top galleries. For the first time, the Royal Academy’s collection was presented to the public via a new crossing passing through the vaults, linking 6 Burlington Gardens with Burlington House, which now displays a plethora of plaster casts of Roman and Greek statues. The new Collections Gallery, which opened to exhibit paintings, boasts works by Michelangelo, Gainsborough, and Constable, as well as an impressive 16th-century copy of The Last Supper. However, the Collections Gallery has always been rather hidden and little known by the public. Slightly awkwardly squirrelled away, upstairs at Burlington Gardens, in a room beside the José Pizarro restaurant.
Thankfully, the RA have announced plans to expand their free offering by expanding the Collection’s Gallery. The redesign will feature a mezzanine, creating a double-height viewing space that allows for the display of a greater selection of works from the RA’s collection. The redesign will be completed by David Chipperfield Architects, the firm behind the 2018 refurb linking the two buildings and the more recent restoration of the RA Schools at Burlington Gardens, completed in 2024.
Burlington Gardens is often overshadowed by Burlington House, originally designed for the University of London by Sir James Pennethorne, it is in the Italianate style, in Portland and pink sandstone and commands a distinguished position looking North in the direction of New Bond Street, with a projecting collonaded portico topped by free-standing classical style sculptures; it has to be among London’s most spectacular Victorian buildings. Furthering their restoration of the RA schools' studios, Chipperfield will restore the Collections Gallery (through a modern interpretation) to its original design by Pennethorne, reinstating the room as a double-height examination hall.
The redesign will not only restore another part of the building, better evoking Pennethorne’s original plan, but will also allow for greater freedom in how the gallery can be used, opening up the opportunity to present new narratives from the RA’s Collection, while creating a more inviting space to welcome visitors that meets the high calibre of the rest of the RA site.
The amount of art kept in storage by our museums and galleries is lamentable; only about 1% of the British Museum’s collection is on display, which is why initiatives like the V&A’s new Storehouse at V&A East are so welcome. When the Royal Academy was founded in December 1768, there was no collection of Old Masters or British artists' work which could be freely studied by students and inform the public. At the opening of the Royal Academy, its first President, Joshua Reynolds, announced: “The principal advantage of an academy is, that, besides furnishing able men to direct the student, it will be a repository for the great examples of the art. These are the materials on which genius is to work, and without which the strongest intellect may be fruitlessly or deviously employed.”
The RA’s founding document decreed that no one was to be regarded as a member of the Academy until they had “deposited in the Royal Academy, to remain there, a Picture, Bas relief or other Specimen of [their] Abilities”. These donations, known as ‘Diploma Works’, form the core of the Academy’s Collection. This sets the collection apart from almost all other national collections in that, for almost three hundred years, it has been selected by artists themselves rather than curators. The Collection also includes other donations such as paraphernalia from the private lives of artists, donated by the artist or their family, for example, JMW Turner’s fishing rod or Queen Victoria’s satchel of art equipment.
The Collection continues to grow, reflecting the range and diversity of art made in Britain, forming a unique group of paintings, sculptures, models, drawings, prints and, more recently, time-based media presented by artists and architects upon their election. It is a contemporary, living collection which is always growing.
In addition to the donated ‘Diploma Works’, the Collection was also based on the Academy’s role as an institution teaching the fine arts and fostering future generations of British artists. Fine examples of classical and Renaissance art were gradually collected for study and emulation. The most notable example being Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, which is the only carving by the artist in the UK. The Collection contains over 40,000 works, spanning over five centuries of art and architecture, and showcasing the history of the Academy and the evolution of a distinctive British School of artists from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 2011, it was awarded Designation status by Arts Council England, recognising its importance as a vital record which represents Britain’s cultural heritage and the development of British artistic practice. The continued donation of works by its members has fashioned an alternative lineage to that of the established art historical narrative, which the RA will be able to explore after the opening of the new gallery early next year.
The current Collection Gallery will close to the public from October 10th, with the entire 6 Burlington Gardens complex closing to the public from October 27th. Burlington Gardens and the new gallery will then reopen in early 2027. Burlington House, accessible from Piccadilly, will remain open as usual.
The Royal Academy has seen a flurry of sleek refurbishments in the last decade, and it’s now announcing yet another. The 2018 redesign saw the already prestigious institution vie for centre stage among London’s top galleries. For the first time, the Royal Academy’s collection was presented to the public via a new crossing passing through the vaults, linking 6 Burlington Gardens with Burlington House, which now displays a plethora of plaster casts of Roman and Greek statues. The new Collections Gallery, which opened to exhibit paintings, boasts works by Michelangelo, Gainsborough, and Constable, as well as an impressive 16th-century copy of The Last Supper. However, the Collections Gallery has always been rather hidden and little known by the public. Slightly awkwardly squirrelled away, upstairs at Burlington Gardens, in a room beside the José Pizarro restaurant.
Thankfully, the RA have announced plans to expand their free offering by expanding the Collection’s Gallery. The redesign will feature a mezzanine, creating a double-height viewing space that allows for the display of a greater selection of works from the RA’s collection. The redesign will be completed by David Chipperfield Architects, the firm behind the 2018 refurb linking the two buildings and the more recent restoration of the RA Schools at Burlington Gardens, completed in 2024.
Burlington Gardens is often overshadowed by Burlington House, originally designed for the University of London by Sir James Pennethorne, it is in the Italianate style, in Portland and pink sandstone and commands a distinguished position looking North in the direction of New Bond Street, with a projecting collonaded portico topped by free-standing classical style sculptures; it has to be among London’s most spectacular Victorian buildings. Furthering their restoration of the RA schools' studios, Chipperfield will restore the Collections Gallery (through a modern interpretation) to its original design by Pennethorne, reinstating the room as a double-height examination hall.
The redesign will not only restore another part of the building, better evoking Pennethorne’s original plan, but will also allow for greater freedom in how the gallery can be used, opening up the opportunity to present new narratives from the RA’s Collection, while creating a more inviting space to welcome visitors that meets the high calibre of the rest of the RA site.
The amount of art kept in storage by our museums and galleries is lamentable; only about 1% of the British Museum’s collection is on display, which is why initiatives like the V&A’s new Storehouse at V&A East are so welcome. When the Royal Academy was founded in December 1768, there was no collection of Old Masters or British artists' work which could be freely studied by students and inform the public. At the opening of the Royal Academy, its first President, Joshua Reynolds, announced: “The principal advantage of an academy is, that, besides furnishing able men to direct the student, it will be a repository for the great examples of the art. These are the materials on which genius is to work, and without which the strongest intellect may be fruitlessly or deviously employed.”
The RA’s founding document decreed that no one was to be regarded as a member of the Academy until they had “deposited in the Royal Academy, to remain there, a Picture, Bas relief or other Specimen of [their] Abilities”. These donations, known as ‘Diploma Works’, form the core of the Academy’s Collection. This sets the collection apart from almost all other national collections in that, for almost three hundred years, it has been selected by artists themselves rather than curators. The Collection also includes other donations such as paraphernalia from the private lives of artists, donated by the artist or their family, for example, JMW Turner’s fishing rod or Queen Victoria’s satchel of art equipment.
The Collection continues to grow, reflecting the range and diversity of art made in Britain, forming a unique group of paintings, sculptures, models, drawings, prints and, more recently, time-based media presented by artists and architects upon their election. It is a contemporary, living collection which is always growing.
In addition to the donated ‘Diploma Works’, the Collection was also based on the Academy’s role as an institution teaching the fine arts and fostering future generations of British artists. Fine examples of classical and Renaissance art were gradually collected for study and emulation. The most notable example being Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, which is the only carving by the artist in the UK. The Collection contains over 40,000 works, spanning over five centuries of art and architecture, and showcasing the history of the Academy and the evolution of a distinctive British School of artists from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 2011, it was awarded Designation status by Arts Council England, recognising its importance as a vital record which represents Britain’s cultural heritage and the development of British artistic practice. The continued donation of works by its members has fashioned an alternative lineage to that of the established art historical narrative, which the RA will be able to explore after the opening of the new gallery early next year.
The current Collection Gallery will close to the public from October 10th, with the entire 6 Burlington Gardens complex closing to the public from October 27th. Burlington Gardens and the new gallery will then reopen in early 2027. Burlington House, accessible from Piccadilly, will remain open as usual.
The Royal Academy has seen a flurry of sleek refurbishments in the last decade, and it’s now announcing yet another. The 2018 redesign saw the already prestigious institution vie for centre stage among London’s top galleries. For the first time, the Royal Academy’s collection was presented to the public via a new crossing passing through the vaults, linking 6 Burlington Gardens with Burlington House, which now displays a plethora of plaster casts of Roman and Greek statues. The new Collections Gallery, which opened to exhibit paintings, boasts works by Michelangelo, Gainsborough, and Constable, as well as an impressive 16th-century copy of The Last Supper. However, the Collections Gallery has always been rather hidden and little known by the public. Slightly awkwardly squirrelled away, upstairs at Burlington Gardens, in a room beside the José Pizarro restaurant.
Thankfully, the RA have announced plans to expand their free offering by expanding the Collection’s Gallery. The redesign will feature a mezzanine, creating a double-height viewing space that allows for the display of a greater selection of works from the RA’s collection. The redesign will be completed by David Chipperfield Architects, the firm behind the 2018 refurb linking the two buildings and the more recent restoration of the RA Schools at Burlington Gardens, completed in 2024.
Burlington Gardens is often overshadowed by Burlington House, originally designed for the University of London by Sir James Pennethorne, it is in the Italianate style, in Portland and pink sandstone and commands a distinguished position looking North in the direction of New Bond Street, with a projecting collonaded portico topped by free-standing classical style sculptures; it has to be among London’s most spectacular Victorian buildings. Furthering their restoration of the RA schools' studios, Chipperfield will restore the Collections Gallery (through a modern interpretation) to its original design by Pennethorne, reinstating the room as a double-height examination hall.
The redesign will not only restore another part of the building, better evoking Pennethorne’s original plan, but will also allow for greater freedom in how the gallery can be used, opening up the opportunity to present new narratives from the RA’s Collection, while creating a more inviting space to welcome visitors that meets the high calibre of the rest of the RA site.
The amount of art kept in storage by our museums and galleries is lamentable; only about 1% of the British Museum’s collection is on display, which is why initiatives like the V&A’s new Storehouse at V&A East are so welcome. When the Royal Academy was founded in December 1768, there was no collection of Old Masters or British artists' work which could be freely studied by students and inform the public. At the opening of the Royal Academy, its first President, Joshua Reynolds, announced: “The principal advantage of an academy is, that, besides furnishing able men to direct the student, it will be a repository for the great examples of the art. These are the materials on which genius is to work, and without which the strongest intellect may be fruitlessly or deviously employed.”
The RA’s founding document decreed that no one was to be regarded as a member of the Academy until they had “deposited in the Royal Academy, to remain there, a Picture, Bas relief or other Specimen of [their] Abilities”. These donations, known as ‘Diploma Works’, form the core of the Academy’s Collection. This sets the collection apart from almost all other national collections in that, for almost three hundred years, it has been selected by artists themselves rather than curators. The Collection also includes other donations such as paraphernalia from the private lives of artists, donated by the artist or their family, for example, JMW Turner’s fishing rod or Queen Victoria’s satchel of art equipment.
The Collection continues to grow, reflecting the range and diversity of art made in Britain, forming a unique group of paintings, sculptures, models, drawings, prints and, more recently, time-based media presented by artists and architects upon their election. It is a contemporary, living collection which is always growing.
In addition to the donated ‘Diploma Works’, the Collection was also based on the Academy’s role as an institution teaching the fine arts and fostering future generations of British artists. Fine examples of classical and Renaissance art were gradually collected for study and emulation. The most notable example being Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, which is the only carving by the artist in the UK. The Collection contains over 40,000 works, spanning over five centuries of art and architecture, and showcasing the history of the Academy and the evolution of a distinctive British School of artists from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 2011, it was awarded Designation status by Arts Council England, recognising its importance as a vital record which represents Britain’s cultural heritage and the development of British artistic practice. The continued donation of works by its members has fashioned an alternative lineage to that of the established art historical narrative, which the RA will be able to explore after the opening of the new gallery early next year.
The current Collection Gallery will close to the public from October 10th, with the entire 6 Burlington Gardens complex closing to the public from October 27th. Burlington Gardens and the new gallery will then reopen in early 2027. Burlington House, accessible from Piccadilly, will remain open as usual.
The Royal Academy has seen a flurry of sleek refurbishments in the last decade, and it’s now announcing yet another. The 2018 redesign saw the already prestigious institution vie for centre stage among London’s top galleries. For the first time, the Royal Academy’s collection was presented to the public via a new crossing passing through the vaults, linking 6 Burlington Gardens with Burlington House, which now displays a plethora of plaster casts of Roman and Greek statues. The new Collections Gallery, which opened to exhibit paintings, boasts works by Michelangelo, Gainsborough, and Constable, as well as an impressive 16th-century copy of The Last Supper. However, the Collections Gallery has always been rather hidden and little known by the public. Slightly awkwardly squirrelled away, upstairs at Burlington Gardens, in a room beside the José Pizarro restaurant.
Thankfully, the RA have announced plans to expand their free offering by expanding the Collection’s Gallery. The redesign will feature a mezzanine, creating a double-height viewing space that allows for the display of a greater selection of works from the RA’s collection. The redesign will be completed by David Chipperfield Architects, the firm behind the 2018 refurb linking the two buildings and the more recent restoration of the RA Schools at Burlington Gardens, completed in 2024.
Burlington Gardens is often overshadowed by Burlington House, originally designed for the University of London by Sir James Pennethorne, it is in the Italianate style, in Portland and pink sandstone and commands a distinguished position looking North in the direction of New Bond Street, with a projecting collonaded portico topped by free-standing classical style sculptures; it has to be among London’s most spectacular Victorian buildings. Furthering their restoration of the RA schools' studios, Chipperfield will restore the Collections Gallery (through a modern interpretation) to its original design by Pennethorne, reinstating the room as a double-height examination hall.
The redesign will not only restore another part of the building, better evoking Pennethorne’s original plan, but will also allow for greater freedom in how the gallery can be used, opening up the opportunity to present new narratives from the RA’s Collection, while creating a more inviting space to welcome visitors that meets the high calibre of the rest of the RA site.
The amount of art kept in storage by our museums and galleries is lamentable; only about 1% of the British Museum’s collection is on display, which is why initiatives like the V&A’s new Storehouse at V&A East are so welcome. When the Royal Academy was founded in December 1768, there was no collection of Old Masters or British artists' work which could be freely studied by students and inform the public. At the opening of the Royal Academy, its first President, Joshua Reynolds, announced: “The principal advantage of an academy is, that, besides furnishing able men to direct the student, it will be a repository for the great examples of the art. These are the materials on which genius is to work, and without which the strongest intellect may be fruitlessly or deviously employed.”
The RA’s founding document decreed that no one was to be regarded as a member of the Academy until they had “deposited in the Royal Academy, to remain there, a Picture, Bas relief or other Specimen of [their] Abilities”. These donations, known as ‘Diploma Works’, form the core of the Academy’s Collection. This sets the collection apart from almost all other national collections in that, for almost three hundred years, it has been selected by artists themselves rather than curators. The Collection also includes other donations such as paraphernalia from the private lives of artists, donated by the artist or their family, for example, JMW Turner’s fishing rod or Queen Victoria’s satchel of art equipment.
The Collection continues to grow, reflecting the range and diversity of art made in Britain, forming a unique group of paintings, sculptures, models, drawings, prints and, more recently, time-based media presented by artists and architects upon their election. It is a contemporary, living collection which is always growing.
In addition to the donated ‘Diploma Works’, the Collection was also based on the Academy’s role as an institution teaching the fine arts and fostering future generations of British artists. Fine examples of classical and Renaissance art were gradually collected for study and emulation. The most notable example being Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, which is the only carving by the artist in the UK. The Collection contains over 40,000 works, spanning over five centuries of art and architecture, and showcasing the history of the Academy and the evolution of a distinctive British School of artists from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 2011, it was awarded Designation status by Arts Council England, recognising its importance as a vital record which represents Britain’s cultural heritage and the development of British artistic practice. The continued donation of works by its members has fashioned an alternative lineage to that of the established art historical narrative, which the RA will be able to explore after the opening of the new gallery early next year.
The current Collection Gallery will close to the public from October 10th, with the entire 6 Burlington Gardens complex closing to the public from October 27th. Burlington Gardens and the new gallery will then reopen in early 2027. Burlington House, accessible from Piccadilly, will remain open as usual.
The Royal Academy has seen a flurry of sleek refurbishments in the last decade, and it’s now announcing yet another. The 2018 redesign saw the already prestigious institution vie for centre stage among London’s top galleries. For the first time, the Royal Academy’s collection was presented to the public via a new crossing passing through the vaults, linking 6 Burlington Gardens with Burlington House, which now displays a plethora of plaster casts of Roman and Greek statues. The new Collections Gallery, which opened to exhibit paintings, boasts works by Michelangelo, Gainsborough, and Constable, as well as an impressive 16th-century copy of The Last Supper. However, the Collections Gallery has always been rather hidden and little known by the public. Slightly awkwardly squirrelled away, upstairs at Burlington Gardens, in a room beside the José Pizarro restaurant.
Thankfully, the RA have announced plans to expand their free offering by expanding the Collection’s Gallery. The redesign will feature a mezzanine, creating a double-height viewing space that allows for the display of a greater selection of works from the RA’s collection. The redesign will be completed by David Chipperfield Architects, the firm behind the 2018 refurb linking the two buildings and the more recent restoration of the RA Schools at Burlington Gardens, completed in 2024.
Burlington Gardens is often overshadowed by Burlington House, originally designed for the University of London by Sir James Pennethorne, it is in the Italianate style, in Portland and pink sandstone and commands a distinguished position looking North in the direction of New Bond Street, with a projecting collonaded portico topped by free-standing classical style sculptures; it has to be among London’s most spectacular Victorian buildings. Furthering their restoration of the RA schools' studios, Chipperfield will restore the Collections Gallery (through a modern interpretation) to its original design by Pennethorne, reinstating the room as a double-height examination hall.
The redesign will not only restore another part of the building, better evoking Pennethorne’s original plan, but will also allow for greater freedom in how the gallery can be used, opening up the opportunity to present new narratives from the RA’s Collection, while creating a more inviting space to welcome visitors that meets the high calibre of the rest of the RA site.
The amount of art kept in storage by our museums and galleries is lamentable; only about 1% of the British Museum’s collection is on display, which is why initiatives like the V&A’s new Storehouse at V&A East are so welcome. When the Royal Academy was founded in December 1768, there was no collection of Old Masters or British artists' work which could be freely studied by students and inform the public. At the opening of the Royal Academy, its first President, Joshua Reynolds, announced: “The principal advantage of an academy is, that, besides furnishing able men to direct the student, it will be a repository for the great examples of the art. These are the materials on which genius is to work, and without which the strongest intellect may be fruitlessly or deviously employed.”
The RA’s founding document decreed that no one was to be regarded as a member of the Academy until they had “deposited in the Royal Academy, to remain there, a Picture, Bas relief or other Specimen of [their] Abilities”. These donations, known as ‘Diploma Works’, form the core of the Academy’s Collection. This sets the collection apart from almost all other national collections in that, for almost three hundred years, it has been selected by artists themselves rather than curators. The Collection also includes other donations such as paraphernalia from the private lives of artists, donated by the artist or their family, for example, JMW Turner’s fishing rod or Queen Victoria’s satchel of art equipment.
The Collection continues to grow, reflecting the range and diversity of art made in Britain, forming a unique group of paintings, sculptures, models, drawings, prints and, more recently, time-based media presented by artists and architects upon their election. It is a contemporary, living collection which is always growing.
In addition to the donated ‘Diploma Works’, the Collection was also based on the Academy’s role as an institution teaching the fine arts and fostering future generations of British artists. Fine examples of classical and Renaissance art were gradually collected for study and emulation. The most notable example being Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, which is the only carving by the artist in the UK. The Collection contains over 40,000 works, spanning over five centuries of art and architecture, and showcasing the history of the Academy and the evolution of a distinctive British School of artists from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 2011, it was awarded Designation status by Arts Council England, recognising its importance as a vital record which represents Britain’s cultural heritage and the development of British artistic practice. The continued donation of works by its members has fashioned an alternative lineage to that of the established art historical narrative, which the RA will be able to explore after the opening of the new gallery early next year.
The current Collection Gallery will close to the public from October 10th, with the entire 6 Burlington Gardens complex closing to the public from October 27th. Burlington Gardens and the new gallery will then reopen in early 2027. Burlington House, accessible from Piccadilly, will remain open as usual.
The Royal Academy has seen a flurry of sleek refurbishments in the last decade, and it’s now announcing yet another. The 2018 redesign saw the already prestigious institution vie for centre stage among London’s top galleries. For the first time, the Royal Academy’s collection was presented to the public via a new crossing passing through the vaults, linking 6 Burlington Gardens with Burlington House, which now displays a plethora of plaster casts of Roman and Greek statues. The new Collections Gallery, which opened to exhibit paintings, boasts works by Michelangelo, Gainsborough, and Constable, as well as an impressive 16th-century copy of The Last Supper. However, the Collections Gallery has always been rather hidden and little known by the public. Slightly awkwardly squirrelled away, upstairs at Burlington Gardens, in a room beside the José Pizarro restaurant.
Thankfully, the RA have announced plans to expand their free offering by expanding the Collection’s Gallery. The redesign will feature a mezzanine, creating a double-height viewing space that allows for the display of a greater selection of works from the RA’s collection. The redesign will be completed by David Chipperfield Architects, the firm behind the 2018 refurb linking the two buildings and the more recent restoration of the RA Schools at Burlington Gardens, completed in 2024.
Burlington Gardens is often overshadowed by Burlington House, originally designed for the University of London by Sir James Pennethorne, it is in the Italianate style, in Portland and pink sandstone and commands a distinguished position looking North in the direction of New Bond Street, with a projecting collonaded portico topped by free-standing classical style sculptures; it has to be among London’s most spectacular Victorian buildings. Furthering their restoration of the RA schools' studios, Chipperfield will restore the Collections Gallery (through a modern interpretation) to its original design by Pennethorne, reinstating the room as a double-height examination hall.
The redesign will not only restore another part of the building, better evoking Pennethorne’s original plan, but will also allow for greater freedom in how the gallery can be used, opening up the opportunity to present new narratives from the RA’s Collection, while creating a more inviting space to welcome visitors that meets the high calibre of the rest of the RA site.
The amount of art kept in storage by our museums and galleries is lamentable; only about 1% of the British Museum’s collection is on display, which is why initiatives like the V&A’s new Storehouse at V&A East are so welcome. When the Royal Academy was founded in December 1768, there was no collection of Old Masters or British artists' work which could be freely studied by students and inform the public. At the opening of the Royal Academy, its first President, Joshua Reynolds, announced: “The principal advantage of an academy is, that, besides furnishing able men to direct the student, it will be a repository for the great examples of the art. These are the materials on which genius is to work, and without which the strongest intellect may be fruitlessly or deviously employed.”
The RA’s founding document decreed that no one was to be regarded as a member of the Academy until they had “deposited in the Royal Academy, to remain there, a Picture, Bas relief or other Specimen of [their] Abilities”. These donations, known as ‘Diploma Works’, form the core of the Academy’s Collection. This sets the collection apart from almost all other national collections in that, for almost three hundred years, it has been selected by artists themselves rather than curators. The Collection also includes other donations such as paraphernalia from the private lives of artists, donated by the artist or their family, for example, JMW Turner’s fishing rod or Queen Victoria’s satchel of art equipment.
The Collection continues to grow, reflecting the range and diversity of art made in Britain, forming a unique group of paintings, sculptures, models, drawings, prints and, more recently, time-based media presented by artists and architects upon their election. It is a contemporary, living collection which is always growing.
In addition to the donated ‘Diploma Works’, the Collection was also based on the Academy’s role as an institution teaching the fine arts and fostering future generations of British artists. Fine examples of classical and Renaissance art were gradually collected for study and emulation. The most notable example being Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, which is the only carving by the artist in the UK. The Collection contains over 40,000 works, spanning over five centuries of art and architecture, and showcasing the history of the Academy and the evolution of a distinctive British School of artists from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 2011, it was awarded Designation status by Arts Council England, recognising its importance as a vital record which represents Britain’s cultural heritage and the development of British artistic practice. The continued donation of works by its members has fashioned an alternative lineage to that of the established art historical narrative, which the RA will be able to explore after the opening of the new gallery early next year.
The current Collection Gallery will close to the public from October 10th, with the entire 6 Burlington Gardens complex closing to the public from October 27th. Burlington Gardens and the new gallery will then reopen in early 2027. Burlington House, accessible from Piccadilly, will remain open as usual.
The Royal Academy has seen a flurry of sleek refurbishments in the last decade, and it’s now announcing yet another. The 2018 redesign saw the already prestigious institution vie for centre stage among London’s top galleries. For the first time, the Royal Academy’s collection was presented to the public via a new crossing passing through the vaults, linking 6 Burlington Gardens with Burlington House, which now displays a plethora of plaster casts of Roman and Greek statues. The new Collections Gallery, which opened to exhibit paintings, boasts works by Michelangelo, Gainsborough, and Constable, as well as an impressive 16th-century copy of The Last Supper. However, the Collections Gallery has always been rather hidden and little known by the public. Slightly awkwardly squirrelled away, upstairs at Burlington Gardens, in a room beside the José Pizarro restaurant.
Thankfully, the RA have announced plans to expand their free offering by expanding the Collection’s Gallery. The redesign will feature a mezzanine, creating a double-height viewing space that allows for the display of a greater selection of works from the RA’s collection. The redesign will be completed by David Chipperfield Architects, the firm behind the 2018 refurb linking the two buildings and the more recent restoration of the RA Schools at Burlington Gardens, completed in 2024.
Burlington Gardens is often overshadowed by Burlington House, originally designed for the University of London by Sir James Pennethorne, it is in the Italianate style, in Portland and pink sandstone and commands a distinguished position looking North in the direction of New Bond Street, with a projecting collonaded portico topped by free-standing classical style sculptures; it has to be among London’s most spectacular Victorian buildings. Furthering their restoration of the RA schools' studios, Chipperfield will restore the Collections Gallery (through a modern interpretation) to its original design by Pennethorne, reinstating the room as a double-height examination hall.
The redesign will not only restore another part of the building, better evoking Pennethorne’s original plan, but will also allow for greater freedom in how the gallery can be used, opening up the opportunity to present new narratives from the RA’s Collection, while creating a more inviting space to welcome visitors that meets the high calibre of the rest of the RA site.
The amount of art kept in storage by our museums and galleries is lamentable; only about 1% of the British Museum’s collection is on display, which is why initiatives like the V&A’s new Storehouse at V&A East are so welcome. When the Royal Academy was founded in December 1768, there was no collection of Old Masters or British artists' work which could be freely studied by students and inform the public. At the opening of the Royal Academy, its first President, Joshua Reynolds, announced: “The principal advantage of an academy is, that, besides furnishing able men to direct the student, it will be a repository for the great examples of the art. These are the materials on which genius is to work, and without which the strongest intellect may be fruitlessly or deviously employed.”
The RA’s founding document decreed that no one was to be regarded as a member of the Academy until they had “deposited in the Royal Academy, to remain there, a Picture, Bas relief or other Specimen of [their] Abilities”. These donations, known as ‘Diploma Works’, form the core of the Academy’s Collection. This sets the collection apart from almost all other national collections in that, for almost three hundred years, it has been selected by artists themselves rather than curators. The Collection also includes other donations such as paraphernalia from the private lives of artists, donated by the artist or their family, for example, JMW Turner’s fishing rod or Queen Victoria’s satchel of art equipment.
The Collection continues to grow, reflecting the range and diversity of art made in Britain, forming a unique group of paintings, sculptures, models, drawings, prints and, more recently, time-based media presented by artists and architects upon their election. It is a contemporary, living collection which is always growing.
In addition to the donated ‘Diploma Works’, the Collection was also based on the Academy’s role as an institution teaching the fine arts and fostering future generations of British artists. Fine examples of classical and Renaissance art were gradually collected for study and emulation. The most notable example being Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, which is the only carving by the artist in the UK. The Collection contains over 40,000 works, spanning over five centuries of art and architecture, and showcasing the history of the Academy and the evolution of a distinctive British School of artists from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 2011, it was awarded Designation status by Arts Council England, recognising its importance as a vital record which represents Britain’s cultural heritage and the development of British artistic practice. The continued donation of works by its members has fashioned an alternative lineage to that of the established art historical narrative, which the RA will be able to explore after the opening of the new gallery early next year.
The current Collection Gallery will close to the public from October 10th, with the entire 6 Burlington Gardens complex closing to the public from October 27th. Burlington Gardens and the new gallery will then reopen in early 2027. Burlington House, accessible from Piccadilly, will remain open as usual.
The Royal Academy has seen a flurry of sleek refurbishments in the last decade, and it’s now announcing yet another. The 2018 redesign saw the already prestigious institution vie for centre stage among London’s top galleries. For the first time, the Royal Academy’s collection was presented to the public via a new crossing passing through the vaults, linking 6 Burlington Gardens with Burlington House, which now displays a plethora of plaster casts of Roman and Greek statues. The new Collections Gallery, which opened to exhibit paintings, boasts works by Michelangelo, Gainsborough, and Constable, as well as an impressive 16th-century copy of The Last Supper. However, the Collections Gallery has always been rather hidden and little known by the public. Slightly awkwardly squirrelled away, upstairs at Burlington Gardens, in a room beside the José Pizarro restaurant.
Thankfully, the RA have announced plans to expand their free offering by expanding the Collection’s Gallery. The redesign will feature a mezzanine, creating a double-height viewing space that allows for the display of a greater selection of works from the RA’s collection. The redesign will be completed by David Chipperfield Architects, the firm behind the 2018 refurb linking the two buildings and the more recent restoration of the RA Schools at Burlington Gardens, completed in 2024.
Burlington Gardens is often overshadowed by Burlington House, originally designed for the University of London by Sir James Pennethorne, it is in the Italianate style, in Portland and pink sandstone and commands a distinguished position looking North in the direction of New Bond Street, with a projecting collonaded portico topped by free-standing classical style sculptures; it has to be among London’s most spectacular Victorian buildings. Furthering their restoration of the RA schools' studios, Chipperfield will restore the Collections Gallery (through a modern interpretation) to its original design by Pennethorne, reinstating the room as a double-height examination hall.
The redesign will not only restore another part of the building, better evoking Pennethorne’s original plan, but will also allow for greater freedom in how the gallery can be used, opening up the opportunity to present new narratives from the RA’s Collection, while creating a more inviting space to welcome visitors that meets the high calibre of the rest of the RA site.
The amount of art kept in storage by our museums and galleries is lamentable; only about 1% of the British Museum’s collection is on display, which is why initiatives like the V&A’s new Storehouse at V&A East are so welcome. When the Royal Academy was founded in December 1768, there was no collection of Old Masters or British artists' work which could be freely studied by students and inform the public. At the opening of the Royal Academy, its first President, Joshua Reynolds, announced: “The principal advantage of an academy is, that, besides furnishing able men to direct the student, it will be a repository for the great examples of the art. These are the materials on which genius is to work, and without which the strongest intellect may be fruitlessly or deviously employed.”
The RA’s founding document decreed that no one was to be regarded as a member of the Academy until they had “deposited in the Royal Academy, to remain there, a Picture, Bas relief or other Specimen of [their] Abilities”. These donations, known as ‘Diploma Works’, form the core of the Academy’s Collection. This sets the collection apart from almost all other national collections in that, for almost three hundred years, it has been selected by artists themselves rather than curators. The Collection also includes other donations such as paraphernalia from the private lives of artists, donated by the artist or their family, for example, JMW Turner’s fishing rod or Queen Victoria’s satchel of art equipment.
The Collection continues to grow, reflecting the range and diversity of art made in Britain, forming a unique group of paintings, sculptures, models, drawings, prints and, more recently, time-based media presented by artists and architects upon their election. It is a contemporary, living collection which is always growing.
In addition to the donated ‘Diploma Works’, the Collection was also based on the Academy’s role as an institution teaching the fine arts and fostering future generations of British artists. Fine examples of classical and Renaissance art were gradually collected for study and emulation. The most notable example being Michelangelo’s Taddei Tondo, which is the only carving by the artist in the UK. The Collection contains over 40,000 works, spanning over five centuries of art and architecture, and showcasing the history of the Academy and the evolution of a distinctive British School of artists from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 2011, it was awarded Designation status by Arts Council England, recognising its importance as a vital record which represents Britain’s cultural heritage and the development of British artistic practice. The continued donation of works by its members has fashioned an alternative lineage to that of the established art historical narrative, which the RA will be able to explore after the opening of the new gallery early next year.
The current Collection Gallery will close to the public from October 10th, with the entire 6 Burlington Gardens complex closing to the public from October 27th. Burlington Gardens and the new gallery will then reopen in early 2027. Burlington House, accessible from Piccadilly, will remain open as usual.
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