The Royal Academy’s home since 1867 is Burlington House, a
magnificent listed building at the heart of London’s West End. A
brief history of the building In c. 1664 Sir John Denham,
Charles II’s Surveyor of the Ofﬁce of Works, began construction
of an eleven-bay mansion of two and a half storeys in brick with
stone quoins to a design by Hugh May. Set back from the busy
east–west thoroughfare then known as Portugal Street and
commanding extensive views over open ground to the north, the
house was completed in 1668 by its new owners, the 1st Earl and
Countess of Burlington. Johannes Kip after Leonard Knyff,
Burlington House from Britannia Illustrata, 1707. Etching.
Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates In c. 1709 the 2nd Countess,
Lady Juliana, commissioned James Gibbs to improve the entrance
court to the south by providing a semicircular colonnade, and to
reconﬁgure the main staircase. The staircase and entrance hall
were embellished with large-scale decorative schemes by
Sebastiano Ricci and Giovanni Antonio Pell