R is for Richard Dadd, Beyond Bedlam at Royal Academy of Arts

★ ★ ★ ★ *“ethereal, profoundly sad beauty”* (The Guardian) ★ ★ ★ ★ *“intricate and profoundly eccentric”* (The Telegraph) **Join us at the Royal Academy of Arts for the Richard Dadd, Beyond Bedlam exhibition.** The highly original works of Victorian artist Richard Dadd, best known for his fairy paintings, draw upon literature, legend and memory to portray elaborate worlds that radiate imaginative power. The first years of Richard Dadd's life promised the conventional success of a highly talented British artist. The young Dadd was a student of the Royal Academy Schools and founding member of a group of artist-friends known as the Clique. In the early 1840s Dadd was already establishing himself as a painter of Shakespearean fairy scenes when he embarked on an ambitious trip across the Eastern Mediterranean that would inspire him for the rest of his life. On his return to Britain, Dadd began experiencing delusions, which led to him killing his father. Dadd spent the rest of his life as a patient in Bethlem and Broadmoor hospitals, where he was encouraged to continue producing oil paintings and watercolours of extraordinary delicacy and vividness. Despite Dadd's seclusion in the Victorian asylum system, he was able to draw upon his memory, imagination and abiding interest in literature and legends to render fantastical worlds replete with exquisite detail. These paintings and watercolours are among the most original and imaginative works in British art. Dadd's art was all but forgotten until it resurfaced in the 1960s and 70s. In the years since, his work has continued to inspire artists, writers and musicians, including the band Queen, who named a song after one of Dadd's most celebrated paintings, *The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke*. Bringing together more than 100 works, this exhibition tells the story of Dadd's life and art, as radical and imaginative in his time as it is today. This exhibition contains artworks that include historical language and imagery related to mental health and racism. **Read more here:** **[https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/richard-dadd](https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/richard-dadd)** **MEET DETAILS:** **FROM 2PM: MEET AT RA Courtyard Cafe (optional)** Address: Royal Academy, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD Look out for the LoMAZ sign on the cafe table and the host who will be wearing a LoMAZ badge. **2.40PM: ENTER THE MUSEUM/EXHIBITION** Address: Royal Academy, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD **4.45pm-Late: PUB SOCIAL (optional)** We'll head to a local pub for a social chit chat over drinks. *Location tbc 48 hours before event.* **TICKETS:** **You will need to purchase your own ticket for this event.** **Please book here:** **[https://my.royalacademy.org.uk/ex-richard-dadd/51932](https://my.royalacademy.org.uk/ex-richard-dadd/51932)** and **choose the 2.40pm slot** (or thereabouts). Ticket: £15 Ticket with Art Pass: £14 Members: free, no need to book **GETTING THERE:** **[https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/plan-your-visit](https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/plan-your-visit)** **EVENT WHATSAPP GROUP:** Please join the event WhatsApp group to help you find the group on the day. The link will be posted in the Event Comments 48 hours before the event. *NB* *Joining this WhatsApp group will make your phone number visible to other members in the group.* **PLEASE READ:** LoMAZ events are run by volunteers. This event has an attendee limit as we prefer a smaller, friendlier group. If you RSVP but can no longer attend, please change your RSVP as soon as possible, otherwise you will be marked as a 'no show'. Please see the **[About Us section](https://www.meetup.com/london-museums-a-z-for-30s-40s/)** for more information about the group and how it works. **Thank you for your interest in the group & being part of LoMAZ.** 📸 Follow LoMAZ on **[Instagram.](https://www.instagram.com/londonmuseumsatoz/)** Image credit: Richard Dadd, Titania Sleeping, 1841, oil on canvas. 64.8