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Libraries, museums and bookstores: Royal Academy of Arts

Opening Hours

Tuesday–Sunday: 10am – 6pm

Closed on Monday

How to get there?

Burlington House,
Piccadilly,
London, W1J 0BD

The closest stations are:

  • Piccadilly Circus
  • Green park
  • Oxford Circus
  • Bond Street

About the Royal Academy

In 1768, 36 artists and architects signed a petition to “establish a society for promoting the Arts of Design” and proposed and an annual exhibition. When it was presented to the king, George III, he said yes. That is how the Royal Academy of Arts and the Summer Exhibitions were born.

The first home of the Royal Academy of Arts was Somerset House, designed by Sir William Chambers and which houses today, the Courtauld Gallery. It moved to Trafalgar Square in the 1830s with the National Gallery before moving to its final home in 1867, in Burlington House. 

The collection contains about 935 paintings, 350 sculptures, 700 plaster casts, 25,000 prints and drawings and 5,000 historic photographs. Its central focus is on British art and artists from the 18th century to the present day.

Exhibitions

Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo

21 March - 29 June 2025

Discover the imaginary worlds of Victor Hugo, one of France’s most famous writers, at this exhibition of his rarely-seen works on paper.

This exhibition follows Hugo’s preoccupation with drawing, from his early caricatures and travel drawings to his dramatic landscapes and his experiments with abstraction. It features some of his finest works on paper, which are rarely on public display and were last seen in the UK over 50 years ago.

Exhibition Page