Most "Friends of'' organisations deliver a somewhat limited range of benefits to members: the four-page newsletter, 10 per cent reductions in the shop, priority booking for events that don't sell out anyway – and if you're lucky, admittance to a musty break-out room furnished with antiquated armchairs, a hissing gas fire and a stack of outdated magazines.
Not so at the Royal Academy, where for a mere £90 per annum, Friends not only receive an excellent quarterly magazine and free entry to all exhibitions, but also what are in effect the privileges and facilities of a Pall Mall club.
The Keeper's House was built during the 1870s, in the right-hand corner of Burlington House's courtyard, to accommodate the head of the painting school. For a newly completed £6 million redevelopment, Long & Kentish has renovated its exterior, and David Chipperfield its interior. Paintings and sculpture by academicians such as Grayson Perry, Tom Phillips and Michael Craig-Martin provide further adornment.
Friends of the RA have exclusive access to this palatial little West End haven from 10am every day: here they can enjoy a light lunch or exotic cocktails by Peyton and Byrne, chat in a charming garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith, snooze on sofas, access Wi-Fi and recharge in the sumptuous loos. From 4pm until midnight, the unwashed public, boo hiss, is also admitted.
It's all been beautifully appointed, and the only drawback is that it's going to be hugely popular.
