© Royal Academy
Rose Wylie: The Picture Comes First
28 February 2026 — 19 April 2026
On NowThe RA's biggest-ever Rose Wylie exhibition brings together iconic works and new paintings — her cast of queens, movie stars and athletes rendered in her unmistakable large-scale style, alive with wit, cultural memory and personal history.
From Royal Academy
This exhibition brings together Rose Wylie’s most iconic artworks with brand-new and previously unseen paintings, in the biggest exhibition of the artist’s work to date. Wylie’s work is alive with references to cinema, celebrities, literature, and ancient civilisations. Her cast of characters—primarily women—includes Elizabeth I, Nicole Kidman, Marilyn Monroe, Serena Williams, and Snow White. These cultural and historical references rub alongside her own experiences,...
Read more at Royal Academy →Critic Reviews
TimeOut
Gary Grimes
"A series of four paintings that depict Nicole Kidman posing on a red carpet steal the show in a room that also features depictions of Peter Crouch, Thierry Henry, and the Duke and Duchess of Argyll (of A Very British Scandal fame). In the next room, you’ll find works from Wylie’s ‘Film Notes’ series, which tracks her fascination with the world of cinema. Works recreating images from Natural Born Killers, Kill Bill, Inglorious Basterds and other films can be seen here (she’s particularly fond of Tarantino)."
Read full review →The Times
Laura Freeman
The 91-year-old whose art goes off with a bang
"When she's on song her works have a larky life of their own. The duds, however, outnumber the triumphs. Often, there's a sense that a Christmas cracker has been pulled. The painting goes off with a bang… then nothing falls out."
Read full review →The Telegraph
Alastair Sooke
There won’t be a more invigorating exhibition all year
"Although the wilful roughness of her approach will still, no doubt, get up many people's noses, there won't be a more invigorating exhibition all year. Wylie's work is irreverent, irrepressible, anarchic – and intensely charismatic. This is a blast."
Read full review →Visit
Mayfair, London·View on artmap
Sunday10am–6pm
MondayClosed
Tuesday10am–6pm
Wednesday10am–6pm
Thursday10am–6pm
Friday10am–9pm
Saturday ·10am–6pm
Related Exhibitions
© Royal Academy
Rose Wylie: The Picture Comes First
28 February 2026 — 19 April 2026
On NowThe RA's biggest-ever Rose Wylie exhibition brings together iconic works and new paintings — her cast of queens, movie stars and athletes rendered in her unmistakable large-scale style, alive with wit, cultural memory and personal history.
From Royal Academy
This exhibition brings together Rose Wylie’s most iconic artworks with brand-new and previously unseen paintings, in the biggest exhibition of the artist’s work to date. Wylie’s work is alive with references to cinema, celebrities, literature, and ancient civilisations. Her cast of characters—primarily women—includes Elizabeth I, Nicole Kidman, Marilyn Monroe, Serena Williams, and Snow White. These cultural and historical references rub alongside her own experiences,...
Read more at Royal Academy →Critic Reviews
TimeOut
Gary Grimes
"A series of four paintings that depict Nicole Kidman posing on a red carpet steal the show in a room that also features depictions of Peter Crouch, Thierry Henry, and the Duke and Duchess of Argyll (of A Very British Scandal fame). In the next room, you’ll find works from Wylie’s ‘Film Notes’ series, which tracks her fascination with the world of cinema. Works recreating images from Natural Born Killers, Kill Bill, Inglorious Basterds and other films can be seen here (she’s particularly fond of Tarantino)."
Read full review →The Times
Laura Freeman
The 91-year-old whose art goes off with a bang
"When she's on song her works have a larky life of their own. The duds, however, outnumber the triumphs. Often, there's a sense that a Christmas cracker has been pulled. The painting goes off with a bang… then nothing falls out."
Read full review →The Telegraph
Alastair Sooke
There won’t be a more invigorating exhibition all year
"Although the wilful roughness of her approach will still, no doubt, get up many people's noses, there won't be a more invigorating exhibition all year. Wylie's work is irreverent, irrepressible, anarchic – and intensely charismatic. This is a blast."
Read full review →Visit
Mayfair, London·View on artmap
Sunday10am–6pm
MondayClosed
Tuesday10am–6pm
Wednesday10am–6pm
Thursday10am–6pm
Friday10am–9pm
Saturday ·10am–6pm