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[1]
Postgraduates	920[1]
Location	London, England
Campus	Urban
Website	www.rca.ac.uk

The Darwin Building at Kensington Gore

The Royal College of Art (the RCA) is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). It has had university status since 1967.

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

Profile

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.

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.

In April 2011, Modern Painters (magazine) 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 5. Goldsmiths College, University of London.^[2]

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.

History

The RCA was founded in 1837, and was known 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".

The RCA building in Kensington Gore is a Grade II listed building and dates from the 1960s. It was designed by staff from the RCA.^[3]

Notable alumni

19th century

Helen Allingham, painter HRH The Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, Duchess of Argyll Maxwell Ayrton, architect George Bonsor, archeologist 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 Adam Ant, singer Frank Auerbach, painter Mathias Augustyniak, graphic designer and art director, founder of M/M (Paris) Christopher Bailey, Creative Director for Burberry Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, furniture and industrial designers, founders of BarberOsgerby 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 John Bridgeman (sculptor), winner of the Otto Beit Medal Cressida Bell, textile designer Henry Bird, muralist Peter Blake, painter Quentin Blake, cartoonist, author and illustrator of Roald Dahl's books Michael Lawrence Cadman, artist Derek Boshier, painter Julian Brown, product designer 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 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 Susie Cooper, ceramic designer Ben Copperwheat, print designer/artist Jack Coutu, printmaker and sculptor Tony Cragg, 1988 Turner Prize winner 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 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 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 Jonathan Hodgson, animator, Bafta winner 2000 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 Mary 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 Christopher Orr, artist Jay Osgerby, designer 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 Paul Rundle, architect Tony Scott, film director (brother of Ridley) Uday Shankar, choreographer Peter Sís, artist and illustrator Graham Smith, photographer Martin Smith, automotive designer (Ford) Richard Smith, graphic designer 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 Carey Young, artist Bettina von Zwehl, photographer

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
• Suzie Templeton, director of animated films, winner of Academy Award 2008

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2006/07" (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). Higher Education Statistics Agency. http://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0607.xls. Retrieved 2008-04-12. 
2. ^ http://www.cityandguildsartschool.ac.uk/news/school_news/modern_painters
3. ^ "Design of the RCA building". Royal Institute of British Architects. http://www.architecture.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Albertopolis/TheStoryOf/RoyalCollegeOfArt/DesignOfTheRCA.aspx. Retrieved 14 December 2010. 

External links

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

Coordinates: 51°30′05″N 0°10′44″W / 51.50139°N 0.17889°W / 51.50139; -0.17889