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The Jillian and Arthur M. Sackler Galleries, Royal Academy. 25th July to 25th October 2026.
The work of a largely forgotten and unusual Victorian artist is on show at the Royal Academy. Richard Dadd (1817-1886), a product of the Academy, was held in very high regard at the start of his career and then suffered a major psychotic episode (in which he killed his father) and spent the remaining forty-three years of his life in mental institutions. This is the first exhibition of his work in fifty years.
Arranged chronologically, the show first examines the initial phase of Dadd’s career (whilst still a student) where he displays an obsession with the works of Shakespeare, in particular any scene in which he can paint fairies. The remarkable Titania Sleeping from 1841, a breakthrough work, combines a highly imaginative and striking design, dramatic lighting and fabulous attention to detail.
Richard Dadd, Titania Sleeping, 1841. Oil on canvas, 64.8 x 77.5 cm. Paris, Musée du Louvre.
Also displayed are a similarly dramatic rendition of Puck and a scene from Hamlet.
Dadd was promptly invited on a grand tour of the Middle East, under the patronage of Sir Thomas Phillips, and visited Turkey, Syria, Jerusalem and Egypt, dashing off watercolour portraits (including two of his mentor) and cityscapes.
Richard Dadd. Jerusalem from the House of Herod 1842-43 watercolour on paper.
It was on this journey, however, that Dadd started to suffer his mental illness, culminating, on his return to England, in the horror for which he was arrested. Confined for a year in France, there then followed twenty years in Bethlem and a further twenty-two in Broadmoor.
The authorities allowed him to continue painting, even offering portrait commissions, and so Dadd, now relying on original sketches and his extraordinary powers of memory, revisited his travels and many of his earlier obsessions. Thus we have the Caravanserai at Mylasa, painted in 1845, and the fantastical Contradiction Oberon and Titania from 1854 to 58. Here the two protagonists are centrally placed in an oval and surrounded by a myriad of other beings – human, goblin, elf, flora and fauna. The level of detail is astonishing, the over-crowdedness a reflection, perhaps, of the artist’s heightened and solitary imagination.
Richard Dadd. Contradiction Oberon and Titania 1854-58. Oil on canvas 61 x 75.5 cm. Private Collection.
Similarly over-crowded and fantastical is The Fairy Feller’s Masterstroke painted between 1855 and 1864. One can stand in front of it for long minutes pondering the very many magical beings intricately depicted (some of Mendelssohn’s music might be an ideal accompaniment at this point), but my personal opinion is that the colour palette is too dull to give real pleasure. A certain respite comes with a charming little watercolour showing the artist’s view from Broadmoor. Here Dadd’s confinement was much less restrictive, indeed he was provided with more structured, therapeutic care.
Richard Dadd. Landscape with Cottages, Broadmoor 1873 watercolour, gouache and pencil on paper.
In summary, here is an opportunity to experience the work of a little-known artist who possessed great imaginative powers and fabulous technical skill. The exhibition is arranged in three galleries with additional support materials in floor cases supplementing the paintings.
The large picture is The Flight out of Egypt, 1849-50.
Richard Dadd: Beyond Bedlam.
The Jillian and Arthur M. Sackler Galleries, Royal Academy. 25th July to 25th October 2026.
The work of a largely forgotten and unusual Victorian artist is on show at the Royal Academy. Richard Dadd (1817-1886), a product of the Academy, was held in very high regard at the start of his career and then suffered a major psychotic episode (in which he killed his father) and spent the remaining forty-three years of his life in mental institutions. This is the first exhibition of his work in fifty years.
Arranged chronologically, the show first examines the initial phase of Dadd’s career (whilst still a student) where he displays an obsession with the works of Shakespeare, in particular any scene in which he can paint fairies. The remarkable Titania Sleeping from 1841, a breakthrough work, combines a highly imaginative and striking design, dramatic lighting and fabulous attention to detail.
Also displayed are a similarly dramatic rendition of Puck and a scene from Hamlet.
Dadd was promptly invited on a grand tour of the Middle East, under the patronage of Sir Thomas Phillips, and visited Turkey, Syria, Jerusalem and Egypt, dashing off watercolour portraits (including two of his mentor) and cityscapes.
It was on this journey, however, that Dadd started to suffer his mental illness, culminating, on his return to England, in the horror for which he was arrested. Confined for a year in France, there then followed twenty years in Bethlem and a further twenty-two in Broadmoor.
The authorities allowed him to continue painting, even offering portrait commissions, and so Dadd, now relying on original sketches and his extraordinary powers of memory, revisited his travels and many of his earlier obsessions. Thus we have the Caravanserai at Mylasa, painted in 1845, and the fantastical Contradiction Oberon and Titania from 1854 to 58. Here the two protagonists are centrally placed in an oval and surrounded by a myriad of other beings – human, goblin, elf, flora and fauna. The level of detail is astonishing, the over-crowdedness a reflection, perhaps, of the artist’s heightened and solitary imagination.
Similarly over-crowded and fantastical is The Fairy Feller’s Masterstroke painted between 1855 and 1864. One can stand in front of it for long minutes pondering the very many magical beings intricately depicted (some of Mendelssohn’s music might be an ideal accompaniment at this point), but my personal opinion is that the colour palette is too dull to give real pleasure. A certain respite comes with a charming little watercolour showing the artist’s view from Broadmoor. Here Dadd’s confinement was much less restrictive, indeed he was provided with more structured, therapeutic care.
In summary, here is an opportunity to experience the work of a little-known artist who possessed great imaginative powers and fabulous technical skill. The exhibition is arranged in three galleries with additional support materials in floor cases supplementing the paintings.
© Graham Buchan 2026.
By Graham Buchan • added recently on London Grip, art, exhibitions, painting • Tags: art, exhibitions, Graham Buchan, painting