Rose Wylie: Royal Academy 2026

Rose Wylie OBE RA (b. 1934) lives and works in Kent. She paints from memory, frequently taking her imagery from mass media.

Her large works on unstretched, unprimed canvas appear simple at first glance, but close inspection reveals them to be subtle meditations on the nature of visual representation. She regularly brings together apparently disparate images, creating visual rhymes and resonances that coalesce into unified compositions. This new book, the catalogue of a large-scale exhibition at the Royal Academy, brings together leading authorities on Wylie’s work and a host of her unmistakable imagery.