Royal Scottish Academy
The Academy was established in Edinburgh in 1826 as an independent body for the furtherance of art and art education in Scotland. Its main aims were then stated as having an annual exhibition open to all artists of merit, opening an Academy of Fine Arts to instruct students free of expense and providing charitable funds for the benefit of less fortunate artists. The first President was George Watson (1767-1837). The first Annual Exhibition was held in 1827, and as the Academy developed in stature its membership increased in the disciplines of painting, sculpture and architecture. By 1830 the Academy had begun to acquire books and prints for its library and in 1840 opened its Life School which aimed to improve the training of artists in Scotland. From 1858 all the tuition was carried out only by members of the Royal Scottish Academy. The Academy was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria in 1838 and has subsequently been known as the Royal Scottish Academy. Victoria’s husband Albert laid the foundation stone of a new building on The Mound in Edinburgh, which was to house the newly formed National Gallery of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Academy.
The RSA first held its Annual Exhibition in its new galleries on the eastern side of the building in 1855 and these continued here until 1910. During the late 19th Century it became clear that art exhibition and art education provision in the Scottish capital had become complex and muddled. A Government Report of 1903 was followed by a Parliamentary Order of 1910 which transferred the Academy to new premises in an adjacent building, previously called the Royal Institution. In return for being given a new home, the Academy gifted 96 paintings and sculptures and about 2,000 drawings to the National Gallery of Scotland. Renamed the Royal Scottish Academy this building has been the venue for the Academy's Annual Exhibitions since 1911. The teaching of art students was then moved to the newly established Edinburgh College of Art, with the Academy playing a less active part. Today however the RSA assists young student artists through scholarship and awards, and every year it mounts a very popular Annual Students' Exhibition.
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Number of Artists referenced:
2,763