The Royal Drawing School – formally known as the Prince’s Drawing School – located in London’s Shoreditch area and co-founded by Prince Charles, will be the sixth arts educations institution to bear the title, “royal.” It has been nearly 60 years since an institution has been given the royal name, reports the Independent.
During a visit to the main campus of the school, the prince told the Independent that drawing was “one of the most direct ways of engaging with the world and, like music and dance, needs to be taught and practiced throughout an artist’s life.” He added, ” I am determined that the Royal Drawing School will continue to grow as an educational resource open to all, regardless of background or circumstance.”
Catherine Goodman, who founded the Drawing School with Prince Charles in 2000, said to the paper: “This means we are now established. I hope it means permanence and excellence; we’ve worked hard to get here.” although she did add that it would not make much of difference to the day-to-day running or fundraising at the school.
The first centre of education to be anointed was the Royal Academy in 1768, followed by the Royal College of Music in 1882; the Royal College of Art 14 years later; the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1920; and the Royal Ballet more than three decades later.
The drawing school was founded in 2000 with the support of the current Royal Academy president Christopher Le Brun; and Catherine Goodman, who founded the school with Prince Charles, remarked, “All artists have drawn and will draw. In the nineties it was almost as if it was discouraged at some art schools.”
Permission to use the royal title is granted by the Queen. William Feaver, who sits on the school’s board, told the paper: “The name change gives the school the seal of approval, not just royal but also national. We are pleased, touched and proud.”
Former students include Stuart Pearson Wright, winner of the BP Portrait Award in 2001, Carl Randall and Rachel Cheung. Ms Goodman continued that she was “very proud that we have come so far, I’m more and more persuaded of the need for a drawing school as a permanent part of the UK’s educational resources.”
© Artlyst 2014 photo courtesy of The Independent all rights reserved