November 2, 2024

Gifted – Contemporary art given to the Queen by the Royal Academy #Gifted

To celebrate her Diamond Jubilee the Royal Academy presented the Queen with seven silk-covered boxes containing works on paper by over 100 Royal Academicians. These works are now on show at the Queen’s Gallery. Artists who have contributed work include Tracey Emin, David Hockney, Anish Kapoor and Cornelia Parker.

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This is the first exhibition of contemporary art at the Queen’s Gallery and is hung in one red-walled room alongside the exhibition of drawings and prints by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione. He was the inventor of the monotype and Tracey Emin’s contribution is a monotype of the queen. Emin says, ‘I think the Queen is incredibly glamorous and has immaculate style…I wanted to show some of this in my drawing of her’. This is that drawing:

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The exhibition includes almost every imaginable technique for working on paper and is a cross-section of British graphic arts today. There are a huge number of styles on display, not just within fine art, but from architectural drawings to photographs. Some artists have contributed works that they created solely for the Queen’s gift, but others haven’t. Tony Bevan has sent a self-portrait, Anthony Eyton an Ayres Rock. Like the RA Summer Show there is no unifying theme, though uniform frames and careful positioning of labels attempt to disguise this.

This show provides a unique opportunity to see and compare works by members of the Royal Academy. The Queen’s view of her gift is not recorded, but she can’t be too attached to any of the images as they will all be on display until 16th March 2014 – unless she’s kept a couple back to hang in her palace.

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