Artwork
© london transport museum collection
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The barmaid; Royal Academy, by Ruskin Spear, 1987
- Medium: Mixed media
- Commissioned by Art on the Underground
- Dimensions: Width: 570mm, Height: 815mm
- Reference number: 1987/216
- Event: The art of the poster
Art of the poster label
The barmaid: Royal Academy, 1987 :
Ruskin Spear (1911-1990)
Oil and collage
This painting was commissioned in collaboration with The Royal Academy of Arts for the Art on the Underground programme. Spears won critical acclaim for his candid portraiture in the 1940s. Characters from his local pub were among his favourite subjects.
'The Art on the Underground programme has transformed Underground stations into a thriving public art gallery, visited by millions of passengers every day. The programme has enabled the Royal Academy to provide paintings… by leading British artists to an audience far greater and wider than those who presently visit Burlington House..'
Fay Ballard, Royal Academy of Arts Press Officer, 1989

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