In 2006 a range of exhibitions took RIBA material across the the United Kingdom and to the United States: Bradford, Manchester, London and New York. Items on loan from the collections included models, paintings, drawings and books.
James 'Athenian' Stuart: Neoclassical Pioneer
Bard Graduate Center|, New York
14 November 2006 – 18 February 2007
Victoria and Albert Museum|, London
15 March 2007 – 24 June 2007
The exhibition was the first comprehensive retrospective of Stuart's work. It presented him as an architect, artist and taste-maker, setting his work in the context of 18th century design culture. The RIBA was a major lender to the exhibition, contributing 46 works.
|The Erechtheion on the Acropolis, Athens: showing James 'Athenian' Stuart sketching in the foreground
Artist: James Stuart
Copyright: RIBA Library Drawings and Archives Collections
Elegant Variations: The Architecture of H. T. Cadbury-Brown
Royal Academy of Arts|, London
12 October 2006 – 21 January 2007
This exhibition celebrated the life and work of H. T. Cadbury-Brown, architect of the Royal College of Art and pioneer of British modernism. The RIBA lent two drawings by Ernö Goldfinger to the exhibition.
|Design for the exterior of 1-3 Willow Road, Hampstead, London
Designer: Ernö Goldfinger
Copyright: RIBA Library Drawings and Archives Collections
Concrete Thoughts
Whitworth Art Gallery|, Manchester
7 October -17 December 2006
This exhibition, focusing on concrete tower blocks from the 1950s and 1960s, included contemporary as well as historical material. The RIBA lent four models of 1960s housing schemes.
|Model of Balfron Tower, Rowlett Street, Poplar, London
Designer: Ernö Goldfinger
Copyright: RIBA Library Drawings and Archives Collections
At home in Renaissance Italy
Victoria and Albert Museum|, London
26 September 2006 – 17 January 2007
The exhibition provided an innovative three-dimensional view of the Italian Renaissance home, presented as object-filled spaces that bring the period to life. The RIBA lent a book by Sebastiano Serlio to the exhibition.
|Sebastiano Serlio's 'Regole generali di architetura' (Di Architettura, Book IV)
Artist: Sebastiano Serlio
Copyright: RIBA Library Photographs Collection
Myths and Visions: the art of Ray Harryhausen
National Media Museum|, Bradford
19 May – 24 September 2006
Myths and Visions explored the remarkable career and reputation of Ray Harryhausen with the most comprehensive exhibition of his work for almost 20 years. The exhibition focused on the imagination and research that went into conceiving the fantastic creatures that populate Harryhausen’s films, but also looked at some of the sources of his inspiration. The RIBA lent a painting by Joseph Gandy to the exhibition.
|Design for an imperial palace for the sovereigns of the British Empire, imagined to be in Hyde Park, London
Artist: Joseph Gandy
Copyright: RIBA Library Drawings and Archives Collections