The Academicians of the Royal Academy 1771–72
by Johan Joseph Zoffany
1771–2
Royal Collection Trust RCIN 400747
The Royal Academy of Arts was founded by George III on 10 December 1768. The original "Instrument of Foundation" named 34 founder members, including Reynolds, who was its first President. The painting is missing portraits of Thomas Gainsborough, George Dance, and Nathaniel Dance, but includes the Cantonese sculptor Tan-Che-Qua who was in London at that time, and William Hunter, the Academy’s first Professor of Anatomy.
The National Portrait Gallery of London identifies all those depicted in the painting.
This image is provided courtesy of The Royal Collection Trust, which permits non-commercial use of images in its collection for academic/scholarly publication.