Rebecca Salter PRA
7 artworks | 6:50 minutes
Rebecca Salter was elected President of the Royal Academy in 2019. She studied traditional Japanese woodblock printing in Japan where she lived for six years, and has since written two books on the subject. Read more from the artist.
John Constable RA
Cloud Study, Hampstead, Tree at Right , 11 September 1821
What's so wonderful about Constable's cloud studies is that they're very modest pieces, but they have this extraordinary power to capture time.
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1. Constable's cloud study
J.M.W. Turner RA
Ships at sea , ca. 1799-1802
One of the wonderful things about pen and ink sketches like Turner's is that you can actually see how the artist is thinking.
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2. Turner's sea sketch
Joseph Hecht
Chiswick , 1938?
Hecht's print has been made with a form of engraving that's very direct – you scratch the plate directly with a sharpened instrument called a burin, so you get a very living, very real line.
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3. Hecht's engraving of Chiswick
Sir Frank Brangwyn RA
Portrait of A. H. Mackmurdo , 1 May 1945
In this drawing by Brangwyn, it's almost as if you're a voyeur in this very intimate and very precious activity of reading.
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4. Brangwyn's drawing
Angelica Kauffman RA
I think there's inherent strength in Kauffman's arms and how she presents herself in this self-portrait. She has a look of tremendous determination.
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5. Kauffman's etching
Sir Hugh Casson PRA
I think Casson's sketch for a book cover gives you an idea of how architects look at space and think about space.
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6. Casson's sketch
Alfred Parsons RA
Japanese mountain landscape , by 1896
In this Japan-inspired drawing, you can see Parsons' thought processes as he's exploring another culture's artistic practices.
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7. Parsons' pen and ink drawing
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Enjoyed this?
Read Rebecca Salter's thoughts on life and art
From artistic dogs to learning Japanese and proving your teachers wrong, the artist shares her tips and wisdom in our As I see it feature.
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