The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880.
History
1880 to 1890
The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General of Canada, John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, was its first patron. The painter Lucius O’Brien was its first president.
The objects of the Academy as stated in the 1881 publication of the organization's constitution were three-fold: First - the institution of a National Gallery at the seat of Government; Second - the holding of Exhibitions in the principal cities of the Dominion; Third - the establishment of Schools of Art and Design.
In the same publication, two levels of membership were described: Academicians and Associates. No more than forty individuals could be Academicians at one time, while the number of Associates was not limited. All Academicians were required to give an example of their work to the collection of the National Gallery. They were also permitted to show more pieces in Academy-sponsored exhibitions than Associates.
The inaugural exhibition was held in Ottawa and the first Academicians were inducted, including the first woman Academician, Charlotte Schreiber. Through the next 10 years, the Academy held annual exhibitions, often in cooperation with regional artists' societies. Exhibitions in Toronto were a joint project of the Academy and the Ontario Society of Artists, while those held in Montreal were held in partnership with the Montreal Artists Association. Exhibitions were also held in St. John, New Brunswick, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Additional academicians and associates were added each year until the membership had more than doubled by 1890. Members were drawn from all areas of the country and included anglophones and francophones. Men continued to out-number women and those female members were identified as painters not as designers or architects.
As Academicians joined, they donated an example of their work to the National Gallery of Canada, building the collection of the as-yet unincorporated institution. A temporary home was found for the collection in a building next to the Supreme Court of Canada and the first curator, John W.H. Watts, RCA was appointed to begin organizing exhibitions.
The third objective—to encourage the teaching of art and design in Canada—was found to be more challenging to address with the limited financial resources available to them.
1891 to present
Canadian landscape painter Homer Watson was elected as an associate, became a full member and later became president of the Academy.
The centennial year of the Academy was honoured by a 35 cent, 3 colour postage stamp. The stamp features an image of the original centre block of the Parliament Buildings and the text "Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, 1880–1980", with the name "Thomas Fuller", a member of the Academy and the Dominion Architect of Canada who had designed the original building.
Members
The Academy is composed of members from across Canada representing over twenty visual arts disciplines. This list is not inclusive. See also :Category:Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
1880 to 1890
Academy membership in 1907
Academicians
Associates
Inducted in 1973
Armand Tatossian, painter
Inducted in 1974
John Max, photographer
Inducted in 1976
Richard Gorman, painter
Ruth Gowdy McKinley, first potter elected to Academy
Inducted in 1990
Suezan Aikins, printmaker
Inducted in 1991
Inducted in 1999
Inducted in 2002
Inducted in 2004
Scott Plear, painting
Inducted in 2006
Inducted in 2007
Inducted in 2008
Catherine Farish, printmaking
Susan Collett, ceramics
Inducted in 2009
AA Bronson
Sara Diamond
Marius Dubois
Christian Eckart
Faye Heavyshield
Garry Neill Kennedy
Rita McKeough
Mary Scott
John Will
Justin Wonnacott
Inducted in 2010
Inducted in 2011
Inducted in 2012
Andre Bergeron
Sandra Bromley
Tara Bryan
Ginette Caron
Sean Caulfield
Naomi London
Sarah Maloney
Jean Pierre Morin
Nadia Myre
Anna Torma
Eva Lapka, ceramics
Inducted in 2013
Clarence Dick
Christos Dikeakos, Charles Elliott Lynda Gammon Rusdi Genest Chief Tony Hunt David MacWilliam Les Manning Barbara Paterson Susan G. Scott Andrew Wright