Royal Academy of Arts

The Royal Academy was founded in London in 1768 by a group of 22 painters, sculptors, and architects who petitioned King George III for royal support Sir Joshua Reynolds was the first president. He gave the annual lecture, published as his Discourses. After Reynold's death in 1792, American painter Benjamin West assumed the presidency. The academy's main functions were to instruct students in painting, sculpture, and architecture and to provide a venue for the annual summer exhibition.

Right: Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds. National Gallery of Art, Andrew W. Mellon Collection. 1941.8.21

Left: After Benjamin West, Self-Portrait of Benjamin West, about 1763. National Gallery of Art, Gift of Louise Alida Livingston 1942.8.39