Royal Academy of Arts

The Royal Academy of Arts stands in Burlington House on Piccadilly in the City of Westminster. Built in the 17th century as a private mansion, Burlington House became home to the Academy in 1868 after earlier moves from Pall Mall, Somerset House and Trafalgar Square. The Academy was founded in 1768 by King George III with a royal charter naming 34 founder members including Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. Its first president was Reynolds, who shaped the Academy’s early teaching through his doctrine of the ‘grand manner’. The Academy promotes the creation and enjoyment of fine art through exhibitions, education and debate. Its annual Summer Exhibition has run without interruption since 1769 and once attracted half a million visitors in a single year. The Academy also hosts ambitious loan exhibitions such as the 1997 ‘Sensation’ show of Young British Artists and the 2024 ‘Entangled Pasts’ exhibition examining links between art and Britain’s colonial histories. A £56 million refurbishment completed in 2018 created new galleries, a lecture theatre and a bridge linking Burlington House and Burlington Gardens. Visitors find elegant reception rooms restored as the John Madejski Fine Rooms displaying highlights from the Academy’s collection. Temporary exhibitions occupy modern galleries while the Collections Gallery in Burlington Gardens has been enlarged to double its floor space. The Academy’s lecture theatre hosts public talks and the Friends programme supports its work. Outside, the Burlington House courtyard offers a quiet space in the heart of London’s West End.