The Royal Academy of Arts

The home of one of the worlds greatest art institutions.

Location: Burlington House, Piccadilly

Description: The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts through exhibitions, education and debate.

A personal act of King George III on the 10th December 1768 and the RA was founded, with a mission to establish a school or academy of design for the use of students in the arts with an annual exhibition. The painter Joshua Reynolds was made its first president and Francis Milner Newton its first secretary.

The Royal Academy was initially housed in Pall Mall, with its library and schools moved to Old Somerset House, then a royal palace in 1771.

In 1780 it was installed in purpose-built apartments in the first completed wing of New Somerset House, right on the Strand. In 1837 it moved to Trafalgar Square in the east wing of the recently completed National Gallery. In 1868, 100 years after the Academy's foundation, it moved here to Burlington House.

In 2018, to coincide with its 250th anniversary, a 2 year and 56 million refurbishment including new galleries, a lecture theatre, a public project space for students and a bridge linking the Burlington House and Burlington Gardens sites was completed.