The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

History

The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fifty. Artists wishing to resign were required to give three months' notice and pay a fine of £100. The RBA's first two exhibitions were held in 1824, with one or two exhibitions held annually thereafter. The RBA currently has 115 elected members who participate in an annual exhibition currently held at the

Mall Galleries Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India * ...

in London. The Society's previous gallery was a building designed by John Nash in Suffolk Street.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

granted the Society the

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

in 1887. It is one of the nine member societies that form the Federation of British Artists which administers the Mall Galleries, next to

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

. Its records from 1823 to 1985 are in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

."Painting and drawing in the archives"
, V&A. Retrieved 16 February 2007

Prominent members

Presidents

References

External links

Royal Society of British Artists
Art schools in London British art 1823 establishments in the United Kingdom Organisations based in London with royal patronage Organizations established in 1823 Arts organizations established in the 1820s {{art-org-stub