The Queen’s Gallery

The Queen’s Gallery, an art gallery I have visited many times over the years, is part of Buckingham Palace and can be visited in conjunction with the State Rooms and the Royal Mews (stables). However you can also choose to visit the Gallery alone. It puts on around three exhibitions a year and is open all year round unlike the State Rooms and the Royal Mews which are open during the summer season only.

If you buy your ticket direct (either online or in person) you can get it stamped at the end of your visit which makes it valid for a whole year. This is great value as it means you can go back to subsequent exhibitions at the Gallery. It’s worth noting that the summer months are very crowded and it might be difficult to visit with your ticket at these times, as timed tickets are normally on sale for this period.

This year-long validation does not apply if you buy your ticket from a third party. This may not matter to you if, for instance, you are coming from a different part of the country on a trip as you may not be able to return within a year. For someone like me, however, who lives in London, this is ideal.

*Location*

The Queen’s Gallery is located on Buckingham Palace Road next to Buckingham Palace itself. If visiting by tube, Green Park station (near Piccadilly Circus) is a short walk away and the route through the park is very scenic. If you are coming from the other direction, Victoria Underground and National Rail station is almost directly south from the Gallery. Tour buses and normal red buses also stop outside. The Gallery is clearly signposted and is next to the Royal Mews.

*Security*

As might be expected, security is very tight here owing to its proximity to Buckingham Palace. You have to undergo a bag search and walk through an airport-style scanner. However all the staff are very friendly and cheerful and didn’t make me feel uncomfortable during this process. The gift shop is right next to the ticket desk so you can visit without paying for admission. After buying your ticket and walking through security you get to the gallery itself. There is a free cloakroom where coats and heavy bags can be left – we took full advantage of this. Toilets are available too and these are clean and smart.

Audio guides are available, but I didn’t bother with one. Photography for non-commercial purposes is permitted, but not flash photography.

*Gift Shop*

The shop is well-stocked and sells the usual Royal memorabilia, some of it tat and some of it in rather better taste. A number of items relating to this particular exhibition were available, ranging from cuddly penguins to a glossy photography book. I bought some postcards, which I rather regret as they were quite expensive – £5.95 for a pack of ten – but then I was very interested in the subject matter and I have a mind to frame them and put them on my wall!

*The First Georgians*

The exhibition I visited on this occasion was The First Georgians: Art and Monarchy 1714-1760, marking 300 years since the accession of George Ludwig, Elector of Hanover in Germany, to the British throne as George I. He was the first constitutional monarch, and began a long-enduring dynasty which lent its name to the Georgian era. The first room of the exhibition puts faces to names with paintings of the key players in the royal family, such as the three Georges and Queen Caroline.

The exhibition goes on to look at some of the things for which the age was noted, such as the art of William Hogarth, china, silverware and trinkets from “toy-shops”, as well as furniture, sculpture and paintings by the Old Masters. There were plenty of architectural designs and plans for royal residences including St James’s Palace, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court, as well as artefacts from less savoury aspects of the age, including military maps and items to do with Culloden and other Jacobite risings.

FACTS

Address: Buckingham Palace, London, SW1A 1AA

Website: royalcollection.org.uk/visit/the-queens-gallery-buckingham-palace

Opening Hours: Approx 10am-5.30pm during exhibitions

Prices: £10 adult, £5.20 child

Horst: Photographer of Style – V&A

Horst P. Horst (1906-99) has been described as “one of the twentieth century’s master photographers”, and the new exhibition at the V&A, Horst: Photographer of Style, explores his life and work. Horst was born in Germany in 1906, but joined Vogue in 1931 and became a US citizen in 1943.

His work encompasses much of the 20th century, ranging from 1930s haute couture, with beautiful, glamorous black and white prints with stunning models and atmospheric shadows, to Dali-inspired surrealism, pictures of nature and travel photographs. It’s an interesting and varied exhibition, a snapshot of a more glamorous time.

Constable: The Making of a Master – V&A

Constable: The Making of a Master is the new exhibition looking at how the great artist created his works. The exhibition, which is held at the V&A, examines his influences, inspirations and work processes. Much of this would, I think, be particularly interesting to those with an art background; however, there is still plenty for the non-expert to appreciate.

The perception of Constable is of a solely “natural painter”, however this interpretation does not stand up in his later paintings which mark more of a retreat from naturalism. The artist had a reverence for the Old Masters and was strongly influenced by them; artists he revered included Raphael, Reubens and Claude Lorrain. He made copies of their paintings, some of which are almost indistinguishable from the originals, and collected prints of other artists’ work throughout his life.

Constable’s most famous works such as The Hay Wain (1821), The Leaping Horse (1825) and my personal favourite Salisbury Cathedral From the Meadows (1831) are displayed, and it is fascinating to see how he worked on and developed these pictures. He would start with small black and white sketches, followed by large, full-size colour sketches, before attempting the finished painting.

Before I saw this exhibition I vaguely thought of John Constable as someone who painted slightly dull, traditional English landscapes. After seeing this exhibition I realise I need to revise my assessment somewhat.

 

Anselm Kiefer – Royal Academy of Arts

At the weekend I attended the Anselm Kiefer exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. The German artist has been described as a “colossus of contemporary art”, and I decided to go and see for myself.

The exhibition really begins before you even enter the RA, with “Velimir Khlebnikov: Fates of Nations: The New Theory of War” on display in the courtyard. It consists of two large glass vitrines containing model submarines. It’s a melancholy, imposing work, inspired by the Russian Futurist figure Khlebnikov, who came to the somewhat bizarre conclusion that a major sea battle took place every 317 years (or multiples thereof).

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Inside, another of Kiefer’s sculptures is on display before you reach the exhibition: “Language of the Birds” (2013) is made up of books, folder chairs and a pair of wings. It looks like it is about to take off. The sculptures (including “Ages of the World” in the exhibition itself) were in fact my favourite thing about the exhibition: they have an impressive looming quality about them.

The rest of the work I wasn’t so sure about. I admired Kiefer’s attempt to confront the reality of Germany’s history; his early work involved painting himself wearing his father’s German army uniform in a series ironically entitled “Heroic symbols”. He aimed to reclaim the idea of the artist from the Nazis, a concept which had been tainted by the emphasis on Hitler as an artist. I also liked a painting which re-enacted a Nazi naval attack inside a standard-issue tin bath, a commentary of the ludicrousness of the war.

Other works included watercolours, books, three-dimensional pictures and installations, using materials as diverse as greenery, lead, diamonds and wood. Paintings made use of myths, symbols, landscapes and architecture. The exhibition was varied in subject, but there was a recognisable style running through all of Kiefer’s work.

Overall I don’t think that this art is really for me, however I feel I learned something from it – I certainly wouldn’t call it a wasted experience.