Spring in her step! Duchess of Cornwall hails David Hockney’s new exhibition as ‘glorious and uplifting’ as she visits the reopened Royal Academy
- She viewing Bradford-born artist’s new works at the Royal Academy in London
- Royal marvelled at 116 new creations on display alongside members of the public
- Art digitally painted on iPad before being printed and sent to UK to be framed
The Duchess of Cornwall has hailed David Hockney’s vibrant new exhibition as ‘glorious and uplifting’ as she visits the reopened gallery wearing an arty face mask.
Camilla, 73, was viewing the Bradford-born artist’s new works at the Royal Academy in London to celebrate its re-opening following the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions.
Alongside members of the public, the royal – wearing an appropriately arty face mask sent to her by a member of the public – marvelled at the 116 new creations on display.
They were digitally painted on an iPad by legendary artist Hockney, before being printed out and sent over to the UK to be framed.
The Duchess of Cornwall has hailed David Hockney’s vibrant new exhibition at the Royal Academy in London as ‘glorious and uplifting’ (pictured centre with RAA President Rebecca Salter, left, and Axel Ruger, chief executive, right)
He worked on the collection during lockdown last year from his Normandy base, producing a stunning new piece every day.
The result, David Hockney: The Arrival of Spring, Normandy 2020 – which runs until August 1 – is now one of the most sought-after tickets in town.
Like all museums, galleries and tourist attractions, The Royal Academy, which gets no government funding, has been forced to shut its doors for months end.
Normally attracting a million visitors a year, it was haemorrhaging money at a rate of around £1 million a month during lockdown and got no emergency funding.
Camilla was viewing the Bradford-born artist’s new works at the Royal Academy in London to celebrate its re-opening following the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions
Rebecca Salter, the first woman president of the academy for 253 years, who accompanied the duchess, said it had been ‘tough’.
‘As soon as you close your doors no-one can come to your exhibitions, nobody can can come and have a cup of tea and piece of cake,’ she said.
She explained that Camilla had been visiting in her role as patron of the Royal Academy Friends, who had proved a lifeline.
‘Frankly our friends have kept us afloat, renewing their membership even though they couldn’t visit,’ she said.
The gallery opened again last week at 25 per cent capacity and asking visitors to book tickets in advance.
‘The [Hockney] exhibition is so joyous and positives and just puts a smile on your face,’ Ms Salter said.
David Hockney: The Arrival of Spring, Normandy 2020 – which runs until August 1 – is now one of the most sought-after tickets in town and Camilla said she ‘couldn’t wait to see it’
As she arrived Camilla said she ‘couldn’t wait to see it’, and talked at length with her hosts about Hockney’s design process – she was told he took inspiration from Van Gough and Monet, among others – and how it was printed out.
She was particularly taken with one picture of cheery blossom, entitled ‘cheery blossom’ with the second ‘e’ struck out with a cross.
‘We need some cheery blossom, don’t we?’ she said. ‘I feel very lucky to have seen these wonderful pictures.’
The duchess also viewed a powerful exhibition by Royal Academy graduate Michael Armitage, Paradise Edict, which draws on contemporary East African art.
Alongside members of the public, the royal – wearing an appropriately arty face mask sent to her my a member of the public – marvelled at the 116 new creations on display
Before she left, Camilla chatted to some of the academy’s staff who are helping to get it back on its feet.
She laughingly discussed things people had been forced to do during lockdown, including video calls.
Told that the academy, which had moved a lot of its activity on the web, had been seen some ‘online fatigue’, she said: ‘We can all think of things we have had to do and don’t want to do again.
‘I think we are all craving human contact. I personally never want to do a zoom call every again!’
As she left she stopped to speak to two ladies enjoying a coffee outside the building in London’s Piccadilly and said the exhibition was just what we need’
‘I just want to see people face to face. It’s lovely to get to meet people again.’
As she left she stopped to speak to two ladies enjoying a coffee outside the building in London’s Piccadilly.
‘It’s glorious and very uplifting – just what we need,’ she said.
When one of the woman remarked on a picture which depicted rain, Camilla joked: ‘Well yes, we’ve seen quite enough of that!’
Source: Read Full Article
