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Royal Academy of Arts
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Joshua Reynolds: self-portrait
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Royal Academy of Arts

art academy, London, United Kingdom
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Article History
Quick Facts
Date:
1768 - present
Headquarters:
City of Westminster
Notable Alumni:
Washington Allston

Royal Academy of Arts, principal society of artists in London. Its headquarters, art museum, and educational facilities are located in Burlington House and the Burlington Gardens building, in the borough of Westminster.

(Read Sister Wendy’s Britannica essay on art appreciation.)

The academy was founded in 1768 by a group of 40 artists and architects and was approved by George III. Its collections and classes were first held in Somerset House (now the site of the Courtauld Institute Galleries), but in 1837 the academy was moved to Trafalgar Square and in 1868 to Burlington House. Its galleries contain works by such former members as Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, Angelica Kauffmann, and J.M.W. Turner. A particularly notable sculpture is Michelangelo’s Taddei tondo, a work in marble depicting the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and St. John the Baptist. In an annual summer exhibition, the works of contemporary artists are shown. The academy opened a new wing, the Sackler Galleries, in 1991, and in 2001 it purchased an adjacent building in Burlington Gardens, where it hosts contemporary exhibitions. British architect David Chipperfield was enlisted in 2008 to renovate and connect the two buildings, and the project was completed 10 years later, in time for the academy’s 250th anniversary.

(Read Glenn Lowry’s Britannica essay on "Art Museums & Their Digital Future.")

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Alicja Zelazko.