Royal Academy

The Royal Academy of Arts, founded in London in 1768, is an institution promoting the arts through exhibitions, education, and the training of artists. Established by a group of leading artists, including Joshua Reynolds, it became an important centre of British artistic life during the nineteenth century. Its members are elected artists and architects, known as Royal Academicians, who may use the initials RA. The Academy has been based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, since 1868.