Work in Progress

Interesting small exhibition at the Royal Academy looking at the processes to create a work of art.

Using items from the Academy’s own collection it  looked at art from the sketching of the first ideas, use of drawings to build compositions and  though the materials used.

There was a nice case of sketchbooks including a contemporary one from Eileen Cooper and it was interesting to see a traveling watercolour box used by Turner and a palette set up by Reynolds for a pupil.

I was fascinated by a set of tracings from a book of costume designs but Millet with he used as models for some of his paintings.

My favourite piece was a preparatory lithograph for Dame Laura Knight’s poster for the 1937 summer exhibition.

Closes 31 December 2024


 

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