Royal Academy of Arts, London, the national academy of art academies of art, official organizations of established artists. Lorenzo de' Medici's informal circle of great artists and thinkers was modeled on similar groups formed in classical Greece.
..... Click the link for more information. of England, founded in 1768 by George III at the instigation of Sir William Chambers and Benjamin West. Sir Joshua Reynolds Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 1723–92, English portrait painter, b. Devonshire. Long considered historically the most important of England's painters, by his learned example he raised the artist to a position of respect in England.
..... Click the link for more information. was the Academy's first president, holding the office until his death in 1792. His Discourses defined the scope of the Academy. The king himself chose the original 36 Academicians and fixed the number at 40. Until 1867 their successors were elected by the Academicians only and since that date by the Academicians and associates, whose number was increased from 20 to 30 in 1876, together. Since its inception the Academy, a notably conservative body, has maintained biennial exhibitions—one being of the works of masters of the past and one of contemporary art; has maintained a free school (women students have been admitted only since 1861); and has administered funds (partly derived from its exhibitions) for the relief of distressed artists and their families and for prizes and scholarships. In 1867 the academy was given a lease of 999 years on Burlington House and the adjoining gardens, where its galleries and school have since been erected.

Bibliography

See W. R. M. Lamb, The Royal Academy (2d ed. 1952).

Royal Academy of Arts

Britain's national academy of art. It was founded in 1768 by George III. Its first president (1768–92) was Joshua Reynolds. The number of its members, who are selected by members and associates, is fixed at 40; members' names are frequently followed by the initials R.A. (“Royal Academician”). Its galleries contain works by such former members as Thomas Gainsborough and J.M.W. Turner. The academy opened a new wing, the Sackler Galleries, in 1991.