The Royal Drawing School has unveiled The Power of Drawing, a special free exhibition to mark the School’s 25th anniversary. The exhibition opens from Tuesday 1 July and runs until Saturday 26 July 2025.
The Royal Drawing School has unveiled The Power of Drawing, a special free exhibition to mark the School’s 25th anniversary. The exhibition opens from Tuesday 1 July and runs until Saturday 26 July 2025.
The anniversary programme will also include a series of free livestreamed talks and an online drawing masterclass, inviting the public to engage with drawing as a powerful and accessible form of expression.
The Power of Drawing: Marking 25 Years of the Royal Drawing School brings together an extraordinary range of contributors from diverse creative disciplines, showcasing drawings and personal reflections on the importance of drawing in their lives and practice. They are Quentin Blake, Frank Bowling, Tim Burton, Tracey Emin, Tacita Dean, Es Devlin, Denzil Forrester, Norman Foster, Catherine Goodman, Antony Gormley, Thomas Heatherwick, David Hockney, Eileen Hogan, Jony Ive, Chantal Joffe, Rachel Jones, Bharti Kher, Christopher Le Brun, Charlie Mackesy, Ishbel Myerscough, Humphrey Ocean, Alice Oswald, Cornelia Parker and Rufus Wainwright. The Royal Founding Patron, His Majesty The King, has also contributed a drawing to the exhibition.
The exhibition will also highlight the breadth of talent nurtured by the School over the past 25 years, with works by alumni including: Jamiu Agboke, Frith Olwyn Angel, Sara Anstis, Alicja Biała, Daniel Blumberg, William Brickel, Somaya Critchlow, Clara Drummond, Charlotte Edey, Ned Elliott, Douglas Farthing, Laura Footes, Jake Garfield, Jake Grewal, Richard Ayodeji Ikhide, Olivia Kemp, Christina Kimeze, Oliver Macdonald Oulds, Jessie Makinson, Kathryn Maple, Francesca Mollett, Louis Pohl Koseda, Fraser Scarfe, Lindsay Sekulowicz and Alice Shirley.
Throughout the run of the exhibition free drawing materials will be available to all visitors, regardless of age or experience, to draw directly from works in the space. The School’s alumni from the Royal Drawing School’s flagship postgraduate programme, The Drawing Year, will be on hand to offer drawing tips, conversation, and encouragement.
The anniversary events are:
Tuesday 1 July 2025, 6.30–8.30pm
Digital Studio: The Power of Drawing
This special online life drawing session streamed live from The Power of Drawing, the School’s landmark 25th anniversary exhibition will be guided by two experienced tutors. Working from a live model, participants will take inspiration from works by 25 leading artists and creatives including David Hockney, Tracey Emin, Tim Burton and Rachel Jones.
Wednesday 8 October 2025, 7pm
Chantal Joffe RA, Ishbel Myerscough and Ali Smith
Celebrated painters Chantal Joffe RA and Ishbel Myerscough are joined by award-winning novelist Ali Smith for a conversation about portraiture, observation and the emotional truths revealed through drawing.
Wednesday 26 November 2025, 7pm
Grayson Perry
Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry discusses the power of drawing in identity, storytelling and satire, and what it means to keep creating by hand in a digital world.
Wednesday 21 January 2026, 7pm
Es Devlin and Merlin Sheldrake
Visionary stage designer and artist Es Devlin meets biologist and author Merlin Sheldrake (Entangled Life) to discuss drawing, ecology and perception. The conversation begins with Devlin’s observational drawings of 243 of London’s most endangered species, and how the act of drawing became a profound meditation on interconnection and the natural world.
Catherine Goodman, Founding Artistic Director of the Royal Drawing School, said: “Drawing is a primary language intrinsic to human expression, fundamental to learning and creativity from childhood onwards. It remains a critical tool for innovation across disciplines, from fine art and fashion to animation and engineering. Our mission is to ensure high-quality drawing tuition remains accessible to artists, students, and the wider public, addressing the steady decline of observational drawing in formal education.”
In the foreword of the catalogue accompanying the exhibition, His Majesty The King states: “Drawing is one of the most direct ways of engaging with the world and provides a foundational route to human creativity. The School remains one of the few institutions worldwide dedicated to high quality, observational drawing. I am immensely proud of its significant contribution to making drawing accessible to all, regardless of background and circumstance.”
The Power of Drawing: Marking 25 Years of the Royal Drawing School
1 – 26 July 2025
The Royal Drawing School
19-22 Charlotte Road, London EC2A 3SG
Free entry, booking required. More info here.
Founded in 2000 by His Majesty King Charles III and artist, Catherine Goodman CBE LVO, the Royal Drawing School has made a significant contribution to art education, championing drawing as a fundamental skill for artists. As an independent, not-for-profit institution, it remains one of the few schools worldwide dedicated to high-quality observational drawing tuition.
The School is committed to making drawing accessible to all, regardless of background or circumstance, offering over 350 in-person and online courses annually. Over 2400 students across 22 countries engage with the programme, much of which is subsidised. The School’s full-scholarship postgraduate-level course, The Drawing Year, has played a vital role in nurturing emerging talent in the art world.
