Statue: Burlington House courtyard - Joshua Reynolds
{On the pedestal, at the front:}
Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1723 - 1792
First President of the Royal Academy
Alfred Drury RA - Sculptor
{On the pedestal, at the back:}
Erected by the Royal Academy of Arts through the Leighton Fund 1931.
The inscription was recarved 2002.
Site: Burlington House (12 memorials)
W1, Piccadilly, Royal Academy
This building is commonly known as the Royal Academy (of Arts). The wings of the building are occupied by a number of learned societies, known collectively as the "Courtyard Societies".
The Reynolds statue is in the centre of the courtyard, the Artists Rifles plaque is to the right of the entrance porch, and the students' plaque to the left. The other 9 memorials are statues ranged high up, along the facade of the building. Left to right: Phinias, da Vinci, Flaxman, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Reynolds, Wren, Wykeham, with the first and last on the inside of the wings of the building.
We had not known the sculptors until the endlessly knowledgeable Ornamental Passions posted this building.
Burlington House was built c.1664 but transformed c.1718 by the 3rd Earl of Burlington into a neo-Palladian mansion. In 1854 it was sold to the government, originally with the plan of demolition and using the site to build the University of London. This plan, however, was abandoned in the face of strong opposition. In 1857 the learned societies moved in, with the Royal Academy arriving in 1867.
See also Burlington House colonnade.
