Royal Academy Annual Dinner 2007
June 8th, 2007
I was invited to the Annual Royal Academy Dinner on Tuesday night which was pretty cool. It coincides with the opening of their Summer Exhibition. I’ve never entered any work in this show because I felt it was always a bit of a lottery as to whether your work was selected or dare I say it even seen by some of the judges with 12,000+ entries. It’s a good showcase because they really get the bums on seats but looking around can’t help thinking that there are always some pretty quirky and eccentric selections made where good work is passed over. Anyway, it was a good turn out from the celebrities. Andrew Marr made the after dinner speach, David Hockney was there with his huge Yorkshire landscape montage. I was going to have a chat to David Attenborough about monkeys and chimps dressing up but I thought better of the idea…..why don’t monkeys turn into humans anymore…..? Robert Winston was there with his fine moustache and I saw Paul Smith chatting to the now elderly Pop Artist Allen Jones. I said hello to Charles Saumarez-Smith – former director of The National Portrait Gallery and now Director of The National Gallery. There is a picture of Melvyn Bragg the bearded man to the right in the background is Anthony Eyton RA. I sat next to him at the dinner and he was such a nice man and so chatty, I could have talked to him all day. I would guess that he is in his late 70’s now because he did National Service around the mid to late 40’s. Not only was he a lovely man but he also looked great too… there’s certainly a painting in Mr Eyton. I had a chat to the artist Humphrey Ocean too who is also an all round nice man. I reminded him that he had just beat me to a commision of a rather significant man who has the poshest house that I have ever seen. Anyway, here are a few photo’s of the night.
Entry Filed under: Art