Spanning works from over sixty years, Frank Bowling: Driven to Draw - organised by the Royal Drawing School in close collaboration with Sir Frank Bowling OBE RA - brings together preparatory sketches and collages drawn from the artist's archive, alongside completed works on paper and paintings. The show is divided into three main sections: early drawings made during Bowling's years as an art student in the 1950s and 1960s; expanded drawings from Bowling's practice from the mid-1960s onwards; and a series of recent works up to the present day, highlighting drawing as a space for exploration and discovery throughout the artist's later career.
The exhibition inaugurates a new series of annual summer exhibitions at the Royal Drawing School, dedicated to exploring the drawing practice of major artists. As a drawing school, the exhibitions are developed as active spaces for practice as well as viewing. Accompanying each exhibition, the Royal Drawing School will produce a special publication, designed as both a catalogue and sketchbook, including blank pages that invite visitors to engage directly with the act of drawing themselves.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm
Admission: Free (GBP 7.50 donation encouraged)
A gift to the Royal Collection
The exhibition includes Self Made (2020), a work that Bowling will gift to the Royal Collection following the exhibition's close. Ben Bowling and Sacha Bowling, sons of the 92-year-old artist, presented the work to Their Majesties The King and Queen at a reception at St James's Palace on 23 June 2026.
Events
Digital Studio: inspired by Frank Bowling
Monday 29 June, 6.30-8.30pm | GBP 23
A two-hour drawing class streamed from the exhibition, introduced by Bowling's son and grandson - Ben Bowling and Frederik Bowling. Draw in real time, guided by Frank Bowling's work.
Drawing Dialogue: Ben Bowling & Claudia Tobin on Frank Bowling
Wednesday 1 July, 7pm | GBP 6
A live conversation with Bowling's son, Ben Bowling, and exhibition curator, Claudia Tobin, on the role of drawing in Bowling's practice, offering insight into how his work has developed over time.
Sir Frank Bowling OBE RA with his artwork Swan II, 1964, in Frank Bowling: Driven to Draw at the Royal Drawing School, 2026. Photos © David Levene.
His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen are joined by Tim Knox, Director of the Royal Collection, and the artist's sons, Sacha and Ben Bowling, as they view Self Made, 2020, by Sir Frank Bowling OBE RA. The work will be gifted to the Royal Collection following its display at the Royal Drawing School as part of the free exhibition Frank Bowling: Driven to Draw (25 June - 22 August 2026). Photo: Ian Jones.
Black and white photograph of Frank Bowling working on Execution of Mary Queen of Scots taken by Tony Evans, 1963. Photo: Tony Evans © Estate of Tony Evans. Courtesy Frank Bowling Archive.
Black and white photograph of Frank Bowling in the life room at the RCA by unknown photographer, c.1960. Courtesy Frank Bowling Archive.
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