Royal Academicians
The Royal Academicians are among the greatest names in contemporary British art. They are the 'Members' or 'RAs' whose work you can view in this section of the site. The RAs govern the Academy and are responsible for its direction. At any one time there are no more than 80 Royal Academicians, all eminent practising artists, along with an unlimited number of Senior Academicians, aged 75 and over.
David Hockney RA, Wheat Field near Fridaythorpe, August 2005
All RAs are artists by profession and fall into one of the following categories of Membership:
- Painters (including Engravers, Printmakers and Draughtsmen)
- Sculptors
- Architects
All must be professionally active, either wholly or partly, in the United Kingdom. Of the 80 RAs, there must always be at least 14 Sculptors, 12 Architects and 8 Printmakers with the balance being drawn from the Painters category. New Royal Academicians are elected by the existing RAs.
All RAs are entitled to exhibit up to six works in the annual Summer Exhibition. They also have the opportunity to exhibit their work in small exhibitions held in the Friends' Room and are occasionally invited to hold major exhibitions in the Sackler Galleries. Many of the RAs are involved in teaching in the Schools and giving lectures as part of the RA Education Programme.
