Burlington House : home of the Royal Academy of Arts /Nicholas Savage.

"On Charles II's restoration to the throne in 1660, four of his supporters were provided with plots of land in a leafy suburb of London, on which to build their extravagant town palaces. The only one to survive - built for the poet and courtier Sir John Denham (1615-1669) and now situated in the heart of Piccadilly - became the home of the Royal Academy of Arts, its exhibitions and its Schools. This significant study charts the history of the estate through its many owners, including the 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694-1753), who gave the house not only its name but also its influential character and distinctive architecture, which remains an unparalleled example of the Palladian style in England. Nicholas Savage's thorough research studies 350 years of social and architectural history, as well as revealing the next phase in the life of the estate, with the joining up of Burlington House and James Pennethorne's nineteenth-century neo-classical building that was constructed in its garden. This link opens up Burlington House as never before in a breath-taking redevelopment led by Sir David Chipperfield to celebrate the institution's 250th anniversary."--Provided by the publisher.