Royal College of Art

Royal College of Art
Established	1967 - gained University Status by Royal Charter 1896 - Royal College of Art 1837 - Government School of Design
Type	Public
Provost	Sir James Dyson
Rector	Paul Warwick Thompson
Students	920
Postgraduates	920
Location	London, England, U.K.
Campus	Urban
Website	www.rca.ac.uk

The Darwin Building at Kensington Gore

The Royal College of Art (informally the RCA) is a public research university specialising in art and design located in London, United Kingdom. It is a wholly postgraduate institution offering Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). It was founded in 1837 and has had university status since 1967.

History

The RCA was founded in 1837 as the Government School of Design. In 1853, it became the National Art Training School with the Female School of Art in separate buildings; and, in 1896, it received the name Royal College of Art. During the 19th century, it was often referred to as the South Kensington Schools. See Richard Burchett, an early Headmaster, for more details on this period. After 130 years in operation, the Royal College of Art was granted its Royal Charter in 1967, which gave it the status of an independent university with the power to grant its own degrees.

Its Royal Charter specifies that the objects of the College are "to advance learning, knowledge and professional competence particularly in the field of fine arts, in the principles and practice of art and design in their relation to industrial and commercial processes and social developments and other subjects relating thereto through teaching, research and collaboration with industry and commerce".

Campuses

The RCA is based in the South Kensington and Battersea areas of Central London.

The building in Kensington Gore dates from the 1960s and is a Grade II listed building. It was designed by a team of RCA staff members, H. T. Cadbury-Brown, Hugh Casson and Robert Goodden.

Research

The most recent Research Assessment Exercise (December 2008) confirmed the Royal College of Art as a leading specialist art and design institution in the United Kingdom, with 40% of its research output judged to be of quality that is World-Leading in terms of originality, significance, and rigor. A further 25% was considered Internationally Excellent.

Rankings and reputation

The RCA has an international reputation for its teaching in the fields of architecture, automotive design, photography, industrial design, communication design, interaction design, textiles, fashion, ceramics and silversmithing. An M.A. in design history is offered in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, while an M.A. in Innovation Design Engineering is offered jointly with Imperial College London.

According to the latest statistics (2002–07) on all graduate destinations from the RCA, an average of 93% gained work in directly related employment and at the right level. The current enrollment tally measures roughly 900 students, all taking fine art, applied art, design, communication design and humanities courses.

In April 2011, Modern Painters surveyed art world professionals to create a list of the top 10 UK art schools which ranked them: 1. Royal College of Art; 2. Royal Academy Schools; 3. City and Guilds of London Art School; 4. Slade School of Art; and 5. Goldsmiths College, University of London.

The Royal College of Art played a major role in the birth of the modern school of British sculpture in the 1920s and in the development of Pop Art in the 1960s.

Notable alumni

See also: Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Art

19th century

Helen Allingham, painter HRH The Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, Duchess of Argyll Maxwell Ayrton, architect Sir George Clausen, painter Austin Dobson, poet Christopher Dresser, designer Conrad Dressler, sculptor and potter Sir Luke Fildes, painter Kate Greenaway, illustrator William Harbutt, sculptor and inventor of Plasticine

Gertrude Jekyll, garden designer Alfred Garth Jones, illustrator Edwin Lutyens, architect Walter Sykes George, architect Henrietta Montalba, sculptor Mortimer Menpes, artist Edward Poynter, artist Elizabeth Thompson (Lady Butler), painter Sir Hubert von Herkomer painter, composer, film maker Fred Whisstock, illustrator

20th century

Kristian Aadnevik, Fashion Designer M. R. Acharekar, painter, art director David Adjaye, architect Victor Ambrus, illustrator Billy Apple, artist and designer Frank Auerbach, painter Mathias Augustyniak, graphic designer and art director, founder of M/M (Paris) Christopher Bailey, Creative Director for Burberry Tom Barker, technologist, design engineer, and a professor at RCA. Jonathan Barnbrook, typographer and graphic designer, one of the 'Young British Artists' Sebastian Bergne, industrial designer Allen Boothroyd, industrial designer John Bridgeman (sculptor) head of sculpture Brimingham College of Art Cressida Bell, textile designer Henry Bird, muralist Peter Blake, painter Quentin Blake, cartoonist, author and illustrator of Roald Dahl's books Derek Boshier, painter Victor Burgin, 1986 Turner Prize nominee Ian Callum, Design Director (Jaguar cars) Moray Callum, automotive designer (Ford) Gillian Carnegie, 2005 Turner Prize nominee Benedict Carpenter, 2001 Jerwood Sculpture Prize winner Michelle Cartlidge, illustrator Patrick Caulfield, 1987 Turner Prize nominee Jake and Dinos Chapman, 2003 Turner Prize nominees Betty Churcher, Director of the National Gallery of Australia, 1990–1997 John Clappison, ceramic and glass designer Ossie Clark, fashion designer Benjamin Clemens, sculptor Clarice Cliff, ceramic designer, modeller and sculptor Sue Coe, political artist Richard Cook, painter Susie Cooper, ceramic designer Jack Coutu, printmaker and sculptor Tony Cragg, 1988 Turner Prize winner Bill Culbert, painter, sculptor, photographer, 2013 Biennale of Venice Adam Dant, 2002 Jerwood Prize winner Alki David, writer, actor, director, philanthropist, explorer and businessman Robin Day, designer Richard Deacon, sculptor, 1987 Turner Prize winner Roger Dean, artist Len Deighton, historian and author Charles Dillon, designer Jane Dillon (née Young), designer and artist Ian Dury, musician, singer James Dyson, designer Benoit Pierre Emery, silk scarf fashion designer Tracey Emin, artist, 1999 Turner Prize nominee Cathie Felstead, illustrator Alan Fletcher, graphic designer, founder of Pentagram Marion Foale, fashion designer Elizabeth Fritsch, ceramic artist, potter Anton Furst, production designer Mary Gillick, sculptor Goldschmidt John, film director James Henry Govier, painter, etcher, and engraver [R.C.A. etching demonstrator] Raymond Hawkey, designer and author Thomas Heatherwick, designer and sculptor John Hedgecoe, photographer, founder of the photography department at RCA Barbara Hepworth, sculptor Hilda Hewlett, pioneer aviator and aviation entrepreneur David Hockney, painter Eileen Hogan, painter Peter Horbury, automotive designer (Ford) Laurence Housman, playwright Albert Houthuesen, artist Michele Jannuzzi, graphic designer

Chantal Joffe, painter Jasper Joffe, artist Allen Jones, artist R. B. Kitaj, artist Simon Larbalestier, photographer Noel Harry Leaver, painter Dante Leonelli, artist David Mach, 1988 Turner Prize nominee Jeremy Marre, film director Kenneth Martin, sculptor Simon Martin, epigrapher and Mayanist scholar Donald Maxwell, artist and illustrator David Mellor, cutler and industrial designer Sam Messenger, artist John W. Mills, sculptor Henry Moore, sculptor Malcolm Morley, 1984 Turner Prize winner Jasper Morrison, designer Paul Neale, graphic designer Chris Ofili, 1998 Turner Prize winner Marilene Oliver, sculptor M. C. Oliver, calligrapher Vaughan Oliver, designer and graphic designer Chris Orr, English artist Christopher Orr, Scottish artist Jay Osgerby, designer Susan Parkinson (née Sanderson), ceramic artist, teacher, co-founder of Arts Dyslexia Trust Brothers Quay, stop-motion animators Zandra Rhodes, fashion designer Ceri Richards, painter Bridget Riley, artist Sir Ridley Scott, film director (brother of Tony) Asif Kapadia, film director Johnny Rozsa, photographer Tony Scott, film director (brother of Ridley) Uday Shankar, choreographer George Shaw, artist, Turner Prize nominee 2011 Peter Sís, artist and illustrator Graham Smith, photographer Martin Smith, automotive designer (Ford) Richard Smith, graphic designer Alan Sorrell, archaeological reconstruction artist Cecil Stephenson, artist Peter Stevens, automotive designer Stuart Stockdale, fashion designer Linda Sutton (painter), RCA 100 mural prize 1972 Storm Thorgerson, photographer and designer David Tremlett, artist, Turner Prize nominee 1992 John Tunnard, artist Charles Tunnicliffe, painter Gavin Turk, artist Sidney Tushingham, painter and etcher Dirk van Braeckel, Director of design (Bentley Motors) Lee Wagstaff, photographer performance artist Ray Walker, mural artist, 1945–1984 Suling Wang, artist Richard Wentworth, sculptor Alison Wilding, 1992 Turner Prize nominee Christopher Williams (Welsh artist), 1873–1934 Joash Woodrow, painter Jon Wozencroft, graphic designer and cofounder of Touch Music Andrea Wulf, History of Design 1999 Althea Wynne, sculptor Carey Young, artist Mukul Dey, Painter-Engraver David Blackburn (artist), landscape artist

21st century

• Christopher Bailey, creative director at Burberry
• Christine Berrie, illustrator
• Gillian Carnegie
• Guy Hendrix Dyas, designer and feature film production designer, BAFTA winner 2010
• Max Hattler, visual artist, animator
• Idris Khan
• Liz Neal
• Xavier Pick, artist
• Sophy Rickett, visual artist, awarded the Arts Council of England Helen Chadwick Fellowship, and the British School at Rome, Italy
• David Sullivan, contemporary British painter
• Suzie Templeton, director of animated films, winner of Academy Award 2008
• Erdem Moralioğlu, fashion designer

Further reading

• Christopher Frayling, The Royal College of Art: 150 Years of Art & Design (1987)

References

• Dunnet James, 2006, "The Royal College of Art: a Study in Modern Architecture and Urbanism" Architectural Research Quarterley supplement

External links

• Royal College of Art website
• History and architecture of the RCA from the Royal Institute of British Architects