Royal Academy of Arts
/ About
Burlington House has been the Royal Academy's home since 1868, and the private-hire offer is the building itself: fifteen top-lit main galleries hung floor to ceiling each summer, and behind them the John Madejski Fine Rooms, the former state rooms of what was once one of London's great private mansions. Gilded interiors, wooden floors, marble fireplaces, and on the walls works from the RA Collection by Reynolds, Constable, Gainsborough and Hockney. Guests move through the exhibition on a private view and then sit down to dinner among it.
The estate runs from Piccadilly through to 6 Burlington Gardens, reunited in 2018 by David Chipperfield's redevelopment. That end of the campus is the modern half: the Collection Gallery, where a sixteenth-century copy of Leonardo's Last Supper looks over the room, and the double-height Benjamin West Lecture Theatre. In between sits the Annenberg Courtyard, and off the galleries the Keeper's House, the Academicians' Room and the Poster Bar.
The RA is an institution first and a venue second, and it hires accordingly. Events run to published hours rather than into the small ones, catering and production come through an approved supplier list, and the largest rooms are let alongside a private view rather than as empty halls. Approach it for a dinner or a reception of real scale and gravity in the middle of Mayfair, not for a late night.
/ Rooms Available
Main Galleries
Exclusive HireFifteen daylight-filled galleries running the length of Burlington House, top-lit and finished with gilded coffered ceilings and parquet floors. Hired alongside a private view of whatever is hanging, and each June to August they hold the Summer Exhibition, where the walls go floor to ceiling with contemporary work. The largest space the Academy lets.
Gallery 3
PrivateOne of the larger of the main galleries, taken on its own for receptions and seated dinners without committing to the full enfilade.
Burlington Gardens
Exclusive HireThe Academy's second building at 6 Burlington Gardens, reconnected to Burlington House in 2018. Contemporary spaces behind a Victorian facade, taken for standing receptions.
The John Madejski Fine Rooms
Exclusive HireSix adjoining state rooms, the surviving heart of the original Burlington House mansion: gilded interiors, wooden floors, marble fireplaces, painted ceilings, and works from the RA Collection on the walls. Taken as a suite for receptions, or laid for dinner on round tables or a single long table.
Keeper's House
Exclusive HireThe Academy's own house within the courtyard, built as a residence for the Keeper and now given over to entertaining. The only part of the estate with a built-in bar, and it opens onto a garden.
RA Collection Gallery
PrivateA calm, contemporary room in Burlington Gardens holding treasures from the RA Collection, with a sixteenth-century copy of Leonardo's Last Supper along one wall. Used for breakfasts, dinners and evening receptions.
Benjamin West Lecture Theatre
PrivateA double-height, 220-seat theatre opened in 2018 as part of the Burlington Gardens redevelopment, with tiered bespoke seating. Used for talks, conferences and performances.
Reynolds Room
PrivateThe grandest single room of the Fine Rooms, named for the Academy's first president. Hired on its own for dinners on one long table.
General Assembly Room
PrivateThe smallest of the Fine Rooms and the one the Academicians meet in. Suited to a boardroom dinner or a private lunch.
Poster Bar
Semi PrivateA bar hung with the Academy's own exhibition posters, taken for drinks before or after an event in the galleries.
RA Café
Semi PrivateA mural-lined room off the galleries, available for smaller daytime and early-evening gatherings.
Academicians' Room
PrivateA light-filled club room a few steps from the galleries and a favourite of the Royal Academicians. Available for private breakfasts through the week, and for exclusive evening events on Tuesdays.
/ Perfect For
/ Features
Licensing
- – Full Alcohol Licence
Venue Specs
- – Dedicated Events Team
/ Getting Here
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