Royal Academy opens first major Richard Dadd exhibition in 50 years without medical records

The Royal Academy is presenting "Richard Dadd: Beyond Bedlam," focusing on the 19th-century artist's work rather than his mental illness and crime.

• The exhibition omits Dadd's medical records and references his illness and his 1843 murder of his father only briefly.
• Co-curator Sylvie Broussine said the common before-and-after narrative of Dadd's career is reductive, noting his subjects remained consistent.
• Andrea Mindel, a member of the Bethlem Artist Collective, said underplaying Dadd's illness perpetuates reticence about mental illness.
• The Royal Academy engaged a sensitivity panel from the Bethlem Artist Collective to review gallery texts for the exhibition.