Review - Regal Gild Of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2019

There are 514 artworks inward total inward the 2019 Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists. They comprise paintings, fine fine art prints, drawings, sculpture, ceramics together with other 3D piece of job inward all kinds of media together with but mainly (but non exclusively) a figurative / representative fashion - together with you lot tin ship away regard them at the Mall Galleries until Dominicus 14th July.

This post service covers:
  • About the Exhibition - what you lot postulate to know
  • Exhibition Metrics together with the Open Entry
  • Prizes together with awards
  • Artwork I liked

Strong paintings together with 3D piece of job inward the Threadneedle Space

I turned correct on entering together with encountered a real impressive hang inward the Threadneedle Space. Lots of multifariousness inward terms of style, size together with media - together with some real eye-catching work

A sentiment of the Threadneedle Space

In fact my start reaction to the real start paintings I saw was "Proper paintings - this is going to live on a goodness one" - which is a pretty goodness way of influencing somebody who is going to review a exhibition!

This is an exhibition which has packed inward the artwork - together with some mightiness say that it looks crowded. However I much prefer to regard goodness fine art - the exactly fourth dimension I'll complain almost crowded walls is when some of the artwork should receive got been weeded out!

In full general I liked the hang - except for the terminate wall inward the Main Gallery which to me seemed to lack the type of "look at me" pieces that the wall demands. H5N1 adult woman inward skimpy have on inward front end of a bulls optic does non charge per unit of measurement every bit "look at me" inward my eyes - quite the reverse.

One strange matter I noticed is that it's a chip of a cats together with dogs exhibition - I spied many to a greater extent than cats together with dogs than I ordinarily practice - together with they seem (as I likewise depository fiscal establishment notation at the RA Summer Exhibition - to live on real popular!)

While in that place is a some variation inward character betwixt artworks - alongside some outstanding pieces - the overall criterion of the exhibition is goodness to real good. The RBA continues to keep its improvement inward exhibition standards of recent years

Works on the mezzanine bird (above the stairs) to the correct of the entrance
- made me recollect in that place was to a greater extent than goodness piece of job to regard beyond!

About the exhibition



View of piece of job of the RBS Annual Exhibition 2019 inward the Main Gallery


  • Venue: Mall Galleries - The Mall, St. James's, London SW1, UK (link is to Google Maps)
  • Dates: fourth - Dominicus 14th July (closing 1pm on the final day)
  • Open: Daily, 10am to 5pm during exhibitions (unless otherwise stated)
  • Admission £4, £2.50 concessions, 50% off for National Art Pass holders, Free for Friends of Mall Galleries, RBA Friends together with nether 25 twelvemonth olds
Details of the remaining events during the course of teaching of the exhibition tin ship away live on found on the Mall Galleries website

View images online

If you lot don't see the exhibition you lot tin ship away likewise sentiment images online
What's unlike this twelvemonth is that the annual exhibition is 3 months after than inward 2018.  Maybe this volition live on the RBA's novel annual slot?

Work past times some well-established RBA members together with an invited artist

Exhibition metrics - together with the Open Entry


I've made it a point, for the practice goodness of all artists who come inward opened upwards exhibitions, to comment on the exhibition metrics.

Small together with medium sized piece of job - mainly landscapes - on the mezzanine wall below the bookshop

The exhibition of 514 artworks comprises the Main Exhibition - alongside screens over windows inward the North Galleries to larn them all hung (First fourth dimension I've seen both windows screened) and every chip of ledge infinite used inward the Threadneedle for the minor sculptures!


a lot of minor 3D industrial plant inward the Threadneedle Space - this is emphatically an exhibition for aspiring sculptors

Of the 514 artworks
  • 485 industrial plant are piece of job of the Main Exhibition and 
  • the balance are 
    • works past times the RBA Star Students from schools together with colleges across the province and 
    • works past times invited artists
I've never ever been convinced of the call for or value of:
  • "invited artists" whose piece of job is already good known. If invitations are going to live on offered together with then I'd much prefer to regard the piece of job of artists who practice non exhibit oft and/or practice non ordinarily exhibit inward this country.  How almost developing link-ups alongside other national fine art societies which offering compass for reciprocating the invitation to RBA members to exhibit overseas - which together with then represents a usual together with existent practice goodness for all concerned?
  • inviting artists to decease Honorary Members. I real much prefer fine art societies which brand their reputation on the forcefulness of the character of the artwork past times their "proper" elected members rather than whatever "add-ons" for upshot - or fifty-fifty "a centrepiece" for the exhibition. 

The centrepiece of the exhibition inward the Main Gallery was past times an invited creative mortal
- who was becoming an Honorary member. It felt rather similar an alien had landed.

In the master copy exhibition, the split betwixt members together with opened upwards entries is respectable.
  • 316 industrial plant (65%) are past times Members of the RBA
  • 169 artworks (35%) were selected from the Open Entry - out of c.1800 submissions - which is an increase from the 127 selected inward 2017.  Numbers are going inward the correct direction.
Which way around 9.3% of the artwork submitted via the Open Entry was selected for the Annual Exhibition.

H5N1 interrogation almost this exhibition which remains unanswered - was raised final twelvemonth - is pricing. Since together with then I've been raising the number on a rather to a greater extent than generic bases - hence I'll live on interested to regard how the sales materialise.

    Some striking colourful together with monochrome piece of job on this characteristic wall inward the North Gallery
    More artwork inward the North Gallery - including the display example of silvery 3D objects past times Hilary Frew

    There is a wall inward the exhibition (below) where you lot tin ship away regard artwork past times artists who are candidates for membership of the RBA.


    North Gallery: Work past times Candidates for Members of the RBA. 
    As you lot tin ship away regard some receive got to a greater extent than piece of job selected than others.

    Michael Harrison - 1 of the candidates (he's a regular exhibitor alongside the RBA)
    alongside his paintings Winter Coast (top) and South Downs Way (bottom)

    Prizes together with Awards


    The Mall Galleries has started doing a detailed round-up of those who win prizes together with awards so I'll refer you lot to the relevant page to regard ALL the images of the artworks winning a prize - together with something almost the creative mortal - together with listing below the master copy awards together with prizes - alongside a few pics!

    Sculpture on Portland Stone (back together with right) together with Bronze (Left) by
    Whistler Award Winner Hilary Frew RBA

    The Whistler Award 2018/19 was awarded to Hilary Frew RBA a respected fellow member of the RBA. This prestigious prize is voted for past times boyfriend artists.  I've ever realised actually liked her people sculptures inward Portland Stone or Bronze. What I didn;t realise is that she industrial plant inward silvery together with this twelvemonth she likewise had a display example total of the sterling silvery piece of job - together with this likewise has a ii page display spread inward the catalogue.

    Cash Prizes

    • The de Laszlo Foundation Prize (£1,500) - Yu Fan for Running Whippet Bronze, xxx x 35 x 15cm, £8,500. He apparently is a 34-year-old sculptor living inward Los Angeles but he has the same mention (I think) every bit a Chinese contemporary sculptor who commands high prices living together with working inward Beijing.
    • The Gordon Hulson Memorial Prize (£250) - Sarah Spackman for The Pear Between Oil, 37 x 42cm, £950
    • Hahnemuhle Fine Art United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland Award (£250) - Brett Hudson for Dark Lines Watercolours, seventy x 90cm, £3,600
    • The Stuart Southall Print Prize (£250) - Martin Langford for Puppet Master Etching 87 x 73cm, £460 (£390 unframed)
    • Nathan David Award for Sculpture (£150) - Clive Duncan RBA for Vespasian's Game 2 Stone & Steel, £3,000
    • The Davison Award for Oil Painting (£100) - Henry Jabbour for
    • The Geoffrey Vivis Memorial Award (£100) - Owain Hunt for Painter's Dog Resting Oil ninety x 65cm, £8,500

    Henry Jabbour's ii prizewinning paintings
    - bottom for The Davison Award together with transcend for the Winsor & Newton Painting Award

    Educational Awards


    Tara Versey was Winner of the Rome Scholarship


    • The Arts Society Star Student Award (£100 worth of fine art store vouchers) - Meg Burridge for a triptych of 3 paintings of sunlight on a terrace

    Terrace Sunlight Oil, xxx x 42cm each, NFS past times Meg Burridge


    • The LARA Prize for a Young Artist (Free curt course of teaching at LARA in London) Bethany Whell

    Window Light Graphite Pencil, 31 x 23cm, SOLD past times Bethany Whell

    Art Materials & Other Awards

    • The Michael Harding Award (£500 worth of fine art materials) - Benjamin Hope NEAC PS ARSMA for Southwark Bridge Road Oil, 48 x 37cm, £1,500
    • The Winsor & Newton Painting Award (£500 worth of fine art materials) - Henry Jabbour 
    • Frinton Frames Award (£200 worth of framing) - David Sawyer RBA for Campanile Sant'Ignazio all'Olivella, Palermo Oil, 73 x 38cm, £2,500
    • The Dry Red Press Award (work published every bit a greeting bill of fare + royalties from sales) - Holly Gallant for Bobby
    Awarded for the start fourth dimension to an RBA Rising Star, Holly is studying at Suffolk One Sixth Form College inward Ipswich.
    What's the color combination for getting actually of import things noticed? Black on yellow! Well done Holly for spotting an obvious winning combination!


    Bobby Oil, seventy x 70cm, SOLD by Holly Gallant 


    • The Artist Magazine Award (feature inward the magazine) - Annie Boisseau RBA for
      Red Earth, Sky Blue Oil, 55 x 55cm, £1,475

    Artwork I liked


    Next a few of the artworks I liked.

    I'm a fan of diptychs together with triptychs together with beloved looking at the diverse ways people discovery to split upwards an epitome to practice the desired effect.  The formality of ii bay trees inward classic pots seemed to me to me to live on both slightly anarchic together with at the same fourth dimension the sort of scheme which mightiness live on snapped upwards past times people who receive got bay trees inward pots!  The gradated yellowish background stops it from looking similar a botanical.

    The painter, Carol Griffin, is essentially a nevertheless life painter - who upgraded the size together with dimensions of her nevertheless life!

    She's likewise giving a watercolour workshop on Working inward watercolour on a nevertheless life at the Mall galleries tomorrow.


    "The Unlimited Cannot Be Bound I together with II" Shantananda Saraswati (diptych x 2) by Carole Griffin RBA
    Watercolour, 95 x 69 cm each, £1,490 for each diptych

    I loved the thought of a duet creating an epitome of themselves "creating at home" together with I'm likewise a big fan of anybody who attempts a realistic portrait of to a greater extent than than 1 mortal inward a painting. 

    Peter Layzell's painting is real good executed every bit an fossil oil icon inward terms of design, involvement inside the composition together with icon of both color together with musical note inside a raking low-cal set-up. Clever! The gaze of the duet looking out at me engaged right away away - despite the fact it was hung on the transcend row of a triple row wall. However Peter needs to larn himself a proper website together with halt depending on 3rd political party sites!

    Me together with the Mrs by Peter Layzell
    Oil, 65 x 85 cm, SOLD
    You tin ship away discovery it inward the transcend row on the correct manus wall every bit you lot walk into the North Gallery (but on the left inward the photograph below)

    North Gallery - First Room
    I've looked real difficult at the side past times side 1 twice at nowadays together with I'm hence real tempted to telephone together with reserve a re-create of Mrs Hokusai's hairdo past times Mick Davies, the Vice President of the RBA - EXCEPT I can't because it's non listed on either the RBA or Mall galleries websites!

    I absolutely loves Mick's piece of job which ever demonstrates exemplary draughtsmanship together with humour.

    Mrs Hokusai's hairdo past times Mick Davies VPRBA
    handcoloured etching (edition of 
    I real much liked this landscape - together with having taken a await at his Tim Woodcock-Jones's website I tin ship away regard it's typical of his landscapes of English linguistic communication countryside. There's sure enough a lot to similar inward other landscapes he paints together with he seems to receive got a special perspective on how to capture it.

    Pitstone Hill past times Tim Woodcock-Jones
    fossil oil on canvas, sixteen x 12 inches
    There was lots to similar inward the sculpture - but this 1 inward Jesmonite past times John Williams bounced off my iMac concealment when I looked at my photos of the exhibition. For the uninitiated Jesmonite is non a existent stone - it's a gypsum-based fabric inward an acrylic resin.  You tin ship away see to a greater extent than of his piece of job on his website

    Self Portrait past times John Williams
    White marble Jesmonite, 55 x 28 x 27 cm, £4,769

    Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibitions


    These are my previous reviews of the annual exhibition - PLUS this year's telephone telephone for Entries

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