Burlington House: Home of the Royal Academy of Arts

An insightful study into the architectural history of Burlington House, the home of the Royal Academy of Arts in London since 1868.

By Nicholas Savage, Burlington House: Home of the Royal Academy of Arts is published to coincide with the redevelopment of the Burlington Estate by the internationally celebrated architect, Sir David Chipperfield.

Awarded the William MB Berger Prize for British Art History 2019

Nicholas Savage writes brilliantly, and this book is as entertaining as any novel in its account of what is an archetypal instance of a much-abused London landmark. It is rare indeed to find someone who can distil so much complex material into such limpid prose and with such wit. The book is beautifully produced with a most original sense of design and is a model of lucidity in all respects.“ 

William MB Berger Prize judging panel


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£60.00
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Material Hardback
Dimensions 30 x 24.5cm
EAN/ISBN 9781910350805
No. of Pages 368
SKU 02086851

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Product story

On Charles II’s restoration to the throne in 1660, four of his supporters were provided with plots of land in a leafy suburb of London, on which to build their extravagant town palaces. The only one to survive – built for the poet and courtier Sir John Denham (1615–1669) and now situated in the heart of Piccadilly – became the home of the Royal Academy of Arts, its exhibitions and its Schools.

This significant study charts the history of the estate through its many owners, including the 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694–1753), who gave the house not only its name but also its influential character and distinctive architecture, which remains an unparalleled example of the Palladian style in England.

Nicholas Savage’s thorough research studies 350 years of social and architectural history, as well as revealing the next phase in the life of the estate, with the joining up of Burlington House and James Pennethorne’s nineteenth-century neo-classical building that was constructed in its garden. This link opens up Burlington House as never before in a breath-taking redevelopment led by Sir David Chipperfield to celebrate the institution’s 250th anniversary.

The architectural historian Nicholas Savage is former Head of Collections at the Royal Academy of Arts and co-author of Genius and Ambition: The Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1768–1918 (RA Publications, 2015).

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