The Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. Original house designed by Sir John Denham, 1664-5; remodelled at various times by James Gibbs; Colen Campbell; R. R. Banks and E. M. Barry; second storey added by Sydney Smirke, 1872-1874, generally altering the appearance; further alterations and additions, largely between the new galleries and the rest of the house, R. Norman Shaw, 1883-5 (see Weinreb et al. 705).
Two views of the entrance arch from across Piccadilly. [Click on these images to enlarge them.]
Smirke's work on the building, which lies behind the Piccadilly frontage of Burlington House, is often criticized. His additions "have had an unfortunate effect on Campbell's Palladian front, for although what Smirke did was generally right in principle, the manner was wrong" — mainly, it seems, because "his Corinthian order is raised on a high plinth, and the frieze of his entablature is much deeper than that of Campbell's Ionic order below," leading to an "apparent disproportion" (Sheppard).
Top photograph by George P. Landow. Two photographs below by Robert Freidus Commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee, 2009. [You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographers and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Other Views and Related Material
- Detail: statues along the upper storey of the Royal Academy
- Statue of Sir Joshua Reynolds in forecourt
- Burlington House, Piccadilly façade with arched entrance to the RA forecourt
- Painting, Antiquarian Knowledge, and other other allegorical figures on archway to Picadilly
- 6, Burlington Gardens at the back of the RA, now a part of it
- The Royal Academy of Arts (essay)
References
Sheppard, F. H. W. (Gen. Ed), "Burlington House."Survey of England, Vols. 31 and 32: St James, Westminster, Part 2 (1983): 390-429. Viewed 26 May 2009. Available offsite here
Weinreb, Ben, et al, eds. The London Encyclopaedia. 3rd ed. London: Macmillan, 2008.
Last modified 5 September 2009