Grayson Perry designs stamp for Royal Academy anniversary

Grayson Perry is one of six artists to create original artworks for a series of stamps issued to mark the Royal Academy of Arts' 250th anniversary.

Norman Ackroyd, Tracey Emin, Fiona Rae, Barbara Rae and Yinka Shonibare have also created works for the series, which will be available from 5 June.

The Royal Mail's Philip Parker said it was "delighted" with the miniature artworks' "range and creativity".

Perry is co-ordinating the RA's summer exhibition, which opens on 12 June.

The exhibition has taken place every year since 1769 and exhibits work from students right up to well-known professionals.

Perry's stamp, entitled Summer Exhibition, depicts the flamboyant Essex-born artist as the inspiration for a number of exhibits on show at the Royal Academy's central London base.

British-Nigerian artist Shonibare also uses the Academy as the inspiration for his piece, called Queuing at the RA.

Ackroyd's St Kilda: The Great Sea Stacs depicts rock formations off the coast of the Hebridean archipelago, while Barbara Rae's Inverleith Allotments and Edinburgh Castle shows another Scottish scene.

In Queen of the Sky, Rae's namesake Fiona conjures an impressionistic vision of birds in flight. Emin's Saying Goodbye, meanwhile, shows two faces close together.

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