Open House Festival

Burlington House: Royal Academy of Arts

gallery

Various architects, 1660

Piccadilly, W1J 0BD

Explore unseen spaces not usually open to the public, including the RA Schools and our historic Fine Rooms.

Getting there

Tube

Green Park, Piccadilly Circus

Bus

14, 19, 38, 6, 9

Access

Facilities

About

The Royal Academy

The Royal Academy of Arts is a place where art is made, exhibited and debated. Along with temporary art exhibitions, it houses a working art school, free displays of objects from the RA Collection, and shops, cafés and private member spaces.

Burlington House is the last surviving palace of four, which once lined Piccadilly in the 1660s. Originally owned by the Earls of Burlington, it was purchased by the government in 1854, and it served as the headquarters of various learned societies. In 1867, the Royal Academy was granted a 999-year lease. It then erected its top-lit Main Galleries, art school and a third floor, all designed by architect Sidney Smirke RA.

In 2001, the Royal Academy purchased 6 Burlington Gardens, located directly north of Burlington House. With Heritage Lottery Funding, a new, central route between the sites united the two-acre campus in 2018, the product of a transformational redevelopment by Sir David Chipperfield RA. The final stage of this project was the restoration and modernisation of the Royal Academy Schools, which was completed in May 2024.

Fine Rooms

The Fine Rooms have been described as some of the finest early eighteenth-century interiors in England, with decoration designed by William Kent. Now used as private entertainment spaces, they also include changing art hangs from the RA Collection.

Royal Academy Schools

A key part of the Royal Academy since its foundation in 1768, the RA Schools is the longest established school of fine art in the UK. This year, celebrate the RA Schools reopening after a restoration project to preserve the historic spaces. Explore the newly unveiled RA Schools library, wander through the historic Cast Corridor, and discover the Life Room where generations of students mastered life drawing. Throughout the day, a member of the RA Schools team will be hosting free, 10-minute drop-in talks in the Life Drawing Room.

Please note that space for these talks is limited, so we may need to manage group sizes during busy periods.

Online presence

www.royalacademy.org.uk

www.instagram.com/royalacademyarts

Nearby

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