2001, inkjet pigment print, 72.5 x 110 cm, lent by the artist (© John Goto)

Society  from High Summer, a series by John Goto, 2001

John Goto (b. 1949)

The High Summer series owed its origin to the artist's long-standing interest in 18th century English landscape gardens, notably those at Rousham (Oxon), Stowe (Bucks), and Stourhead (Hants). These had been inspired by the paintings of Claude and Poussin which also provide Goto's inspiration. To these Arcadian gardens, he has added striking and often humorous contemporary scenes.

Goto's mastery of the art of digitally constructed photographs can also be seen in his depiction of the Academy's Vice-Presidents in the Mall Room on the first floor.

c. 1729-31, Oil on canvas, 548.6 x 350.2 cm, lent by the Royal Academy (originally donated to the RA by Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford, 1800; recent conservation costs donated by Mrs Lucy McGrath, through the American Associates of the RA)

Christ's Charge to Peter (after Raphael)

Sir James Thornhill (1675/6-1734)

Raphael was commissioned by Pope Leo X in 1575 to paint cartoons (full-size designs) for ten tapestries destined for the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The original tapestries were woven in Brussels, and in 1623, the future Charles I bought seven of the cartoons for the Mortlake tapestry works. In 1699, William III hung them as autonomous works at Hampton Court where they remained until they were lent to the South Kensington (V&A) Museum in 1865. Raphael combined the 'feed my sheep' episode of John 21:17 with the earlier scene of the delivery of the keys to Peter (Matthew 16:19).

Thornhill, the leading English painter of his time, had decorated the dome of St Paul's Cathedral (1715-17), the first major commission of biblical paintings since the Reformation. From 1729 to 1731 he made various sets of copies of the Raphael Cartoons with the aim of making them available as a model and teaching tool for British artists.

Philip Tennyson Cole, (1862-1939)
1907, oil on canvas, 257.0 x 157.0 cm, lent by the Russell-Cotes Museum and Gallery, Bournemouth (reproduced by permission)

Edward VII (1841-1910)

King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India (1901-1910)

Edward VII was an enthusiastic patron of the arts. As Prince of Wales, he played an important role in the planning of the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal College of Music, he supported the Royal Literary Fund, and was President of the Society of Arts and the 1851 Commissioners. As a Trustee of the British Museum, he supported Sunday opening and the move of the natural history collection to South Kensington. On the eve of his coronation he signed the Charter that brought the British Academy into official being. Shortly after ascending the throne, in an attempt to broaden the character of national reward, he proposed an Order of Merit to mark distinction in the arts, sciences, literature, and the armed forces. John Morley, FBA, was one of the recipients that year.

Tennyson Cole was known for his large-scale portraits of aristocratic sitters. This portrait, of Edward VII, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1908, was presented to the king by the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce.