From All Walks of Life

This display explores the rich variety of genre paintings, or subjects of everyday life, from the Royal Academy’s own collection. It starts with a group of so-called ‘fancy pictures’ which were popular in the 18th century. Fine examples of this kind of painting are seen in Sir Thomas Lawrence’s Gipsy Girl and the stunning Boy and Rabbit by Sir Henry Raeburn. The display continues with 19th century scenes of rustic life, including works that reflect a nostalgia for the simplicity of country life, such as paintings by Thomas Faed, Sir George Clausen and Stanhope Forbes. Other paintings, like The Outcast by Richard Redgrave, delve into serious contemporary issues, in this case the plight of unmarried mothers. The later part of the display shows work by artists who recorded daily life in foreign lands, including JF Lewis’s jewel-like The Door of a Café in Cairo and Henry La Thangue’s Violets for Perfume, while many of the 20th century artists celebrate the vibrancy of city life as seen in Bill Jacklin’s The Rink, 3pm.