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Everyday Life :
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RA. A British artist dreamed of having that all important acronym following his or her name. It meant they had been accepted to the Royal Academy. Only eighty Academians or RAs may become full members of the Academy at one time and they must be 'professionally' active in Great Britain. |
From All Walks of Life
Genre paintings from the Royal Academy Collection
Royal Academy of Arts
London, England
through December 7, 2008
The majority of the current members of the Royal Academy at any one time are painters. There is a requirement that there must be 14 sculptors, 12 architects, and 8 printmakers; the rest (46) are painters. From time to time the Royal Academy puts on exhibits both of current and former students. Currently on display is From All Walks of Life which explores Genre paintings in the RA's Collection.
Everyday life today is quite different from those images created from some earlier artists such as Sir Henry Raeburn and Stanhope Forbes.
Sir Henry Raeburn, R.A.
Sir Henry Raeburn was a Scottish Romantic Painter. His early life was difficult. Orphaned while a child his elder brother sent him to George Heriot's School, in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Perhaps there was a connection George Heriot was the Royal Goldsmith. Early in his career Henry Raeburn was apprenticed in the same field; as a goldsmith. He worked on portrait miniatures and became a self-taught painter impressing his teacher who helped him meet people that would help him develop this talent.
Sir Joshua Reynolds was a strong influence. Thanks to his wife's income Raeburn was able to study in Italy for two years. One of the ways he had honed his talent was to create master copies. This gave him the chance to study the works of the Italian masters like Michelangelo.
Raeburn was a noted portraitist whose sitters included his wife and family and important Scots such as novelist and poets Sir Walter Scott and Henry Mackenzie, author Hugh Blair, historian William Robertson, poet John Home, Judge and Historian Lord Woodhouselee (Alexander Fraser Tytler), poet Robert Fergusson, and philosopher Dugald Stewart.
Stanhope Forbes, RA
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Dublin, Ireland native Stanhope Forbes was the son of a railway worker. He studied at the Royal Academy and later in Paris where he met the artists embracing painting outdoors or en plein air. |
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From Paris to Cornwall: Forbes had found his niche and needed a place with like-minded artists. He found it in Newlyn, Cornwall. This fishing village was where he would spend the rest of his life.
Raeburn and Forbes are just two of the impressive artists who have achieved membership in the prestigious Royal Academy of Arts.
From All Walks of Life
Genre paintings from the Royal Academy Collection
Royal Academy of Arts:
through December 7, 2008