Trustees Academy

The Academy based in Edinburgh played a pivotal role in shaping Scotland's cultural landscape. In 1760 the Board of Trustees for Fisheries, Manufacturers and Improvements in Scotland established the Trustees Drawing Academy, the forerunner of Edinburgh College of Art. During its formative years, the Academy attracted a roster of influential artists who served as both instructors and mentors to a new generation of creatives. At its inception, the Academy provided education in drawing and design, with a focus on practical skills that could be applied to various manufacturing sectors. Disciplines encompassed painters, engravers and tradespeople. The Academy's influence resonated throughout Edinburgh and beyond, fostering an appreciation for the visual arts among the public. The 1870's and 1880's were times of great exhibition expansion with the Royal Scottish Academy on occasion showing over a thousand works in its annual exhibition. This explains Edinburgh's place at the centre of visual arts in Scotland and why it was felt that a visual arts festival would bloom in the city.

The Academy rapidly developed into a notable school producing such important Scottish artists as John Brown (1752-1787), Alexander Nasmyth (1758-1840), David Wilkie (1785-1841 Edward Atkinson Hornel and Henry Macbeth-Raeburn to name but a few.

Latterly in 1858, English methods of teaching were forced on the school and this initiated a split. The art school side of the Academy separated in 1892, becoming the School of Applied Art and the Academy solely became a trade and design school. This lasted until 1903 when the Trustees' Academy became the Architecture wing of the School of Applied Art. In 1907, the Scottish Education Department became responsible and founded the new Edinburgh College of Art, again under Scottish direction.