The Royal Cambrian Academy of Art (RCA) is a centre of excellence for

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. Its main gallery is located in

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...

and it has over a hundred members. 240px, Plas Mawr, Conwy

Early history

During the 19th century there were numerous attempts to establish an

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

in Wales comparable to those already in existence in England, Scotland and Ireland.Davies (2008) p. 778 The Royal Cambrian Academy of Art was eventually founded in 1881, by a group of mainly English painters led by Henry Clarence Whaite, many of whom were now based in the

Conwy Valley , name_etymology = , image = Boats in River Conwy.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = Boats in the river estuary at Conwy , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , push ...

. The group of 31 founding members included Bernard Walter Evans. Ever since political unrest had made the

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

hazardous for travellers, the wilds of North Wales became a fashionable alternative for English artists, in particular the area around Betws-y-Coed which attracted the likes of David Cox. The coming of the railways later aided artists from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in transporting their art materials to Wales. These artists arranged to meet a group of like-minded Welsh artists at

Llandudno Junction Llandudno Junction ( cy, Cyffordd Llandudno), once known as Tremarl, is a village in the county borough of Conwy, Wales. It is part of the ancient parish of Llangystennin, and it is located south of Llandudno. It adjoins Deganwy and is to the ...

, and from this meeting a group was formed called the Cambrian Academy of Art. Although they had no permanent gallery, they circulated their prospectus to other artists in Wales and their numbers began to grow. Initially they only exhibited their work in north Wales, but they later extended membership to the south of the country. The Academy's rapid growth was recognised the year after its formation, when in 1882

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 previo ...

commanded that it should be styled the 'Royal' Cambrian Academy of Art. Originally based in Llandudno, where there were already a number of commercial art galleries in the town, catering for the growing tourist trade, the academy later moved its operations to

Plas Mawr Plas Mawr ( en, Great Hall) is an Elizabethan townhouse in Conwy, North Wales, dating from the 16th century. The property was built by Robert Wynn, a member of the local gentry, following his marriage to his first wife, Dorothy Griffith. Plas ...

in Conwy. Plas Mawr, an Elizabethan town house which the Academy shared with a local junior school, was offered to the group under lease by Lord Mostyn. The town house, which at the time was in a state of neglect, was restored by the Academy. Although an impressive historic building, Plas Mawr was not a natural gallery, and in 1896 an annexe was added to house the Victoria Gallery.

Twentieth century

In 1934 the Royal Cambrian Academy gained one of its most notable Presidents, when

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarge ...

accepted the role, holding the title until 1939. In 1994, inspired by the efforts of their then President, Sir Kyffin Williams, the Academy broke its ties with Plas Mawr opening a new gallery close to their old headquarters in Conwy. The Academy's present President is Jeremy Yates and Vice President is Ann Lewis, while its patron is

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

Bibliography

Notes

External links

Royal Cambrian Academy of Art
- official site {{Authority control 1881 establishments in Wales Arts organisations based in the United Kingdom Welsh art Tourist attractions in Conwy County Borough Art museums and galleries in Wales Conwy 1881 in art Art schools in Wales Academies of arts