Rebecca Salter has been elected the 27th President of the Royal Academy It was announced today that she will succeed Christopher Le Brun PPRA who has stepped down after serving eight years in the role.
The RA is unique, a place shaped by artists and architects and guiding the RA Schools
Salter was elected by her fellow Royal Academicians at a General Assembly meeting. Her appointment has received formal approval from Her Majesty The Queen. Salter is the first female President in the Royal Academy’s 251-year history. Rebecca Salter PRA was elected Royal Academician in 2014 in the category of Printmaker. In 2017 she became Keeper of the Royal Academy with the responsibility of guiding the RA Schools.
Rebecca Salter, President of the Royal Academy, said: “I am so honoured to have been elected President of the Royal Academy. The RA is unique, a place shaped by artists and architects. Its exhibitions are world-class and we teach the artists of the future in the RA Schools. This is a tremendously exciting time to become President following the recent 250th anniversary expansion. I look forward to working with my fellow Academicians, our staff and our many supporters to help the RA to evolve while keeping art, architecture and debate at the heart of what we do.”
Axel Rüger, Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy said: “I am delighted that Rebecca Salter is the new President of the Royal Academy. With a long career as a respected artist, and an in-depth knowledge of the Royal Academy through her position as Keeper, Rebecca will bring a wealth of experience to the role. I look forward to working with her.”
Rebecca Salter studied at Bristol Polytechnic and then at Kyoto City University of the Arts in Japan, where she lived for six years. While living in Kyoto, Salter studied traditional Japanese woodblock printing with Professor Kurosaki Akira and has since written two books on the subject. Her interest in printmaking is combined with her leading practice in painting. Until 2016 she was Associate Lecturer on the MA Printmaking course at Camberwell College of Art, University of the Arts, London. Salter regularly exhibits in London and internationally, and in 2011 she had a significant retrospective into the light of things at Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut. A monograph was published to coincide with the show. An accompanying exhibition at Yale University Art Gallery explored links between Western artists and Japan. She has also been an artist in residence twice (2003 and 2011) at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Connecticut. Salter has undertaken several architectural commissions including 15 Sackville Street, London W1, St George’s Hospital, Tooting and NGS Macmillan Cancer Unit, Chesterfield Royal Hospital. She has work in many private and public collections including Tate, British Museum, Yale Center for British Art and Yale University Art Gallery. Salter was elected as a Royal Academician to the category of Printmaker in December 2014 and, in June 2017, was elected as the Keeper of the Royal Academy.
Past Presidents of the Royal Academy:
Sir Joshua Reynolds 1768–1792 Sir William Llewellyn 1928-1938 Benjamin West 1792–1805 Sir Edwin Lutyens 1938-1944 James Wyatt 1805-1806 Sir Alfred Munnings 1944-1949 Benjamin West 1806-1820 Sir Gerald Kelly 1949-1954 Sir Thomas Lawrence 1820-1830 Sir Albert Richardson 1954-1956 Sir Martin Archer Shee 1830-1850 Sir Charles Wheeler 1956-1966 Sir Charles Lock Eastlake 1850-1865 Sir Thomas Monnington 1966-1976 Sir Francis Grant 1866-1878 Sir Hugh Casson 1976-1984 Lord Leighton 1878-1896 Sir Roger de Grey 1984-1993 Sir John Everett Millais 1896 Sir Philip Dowson 1993-1999 Sir Edward J. Poynter 1896-1918 Professor Phillip King 1999-2004 Sir Aston Webb 1919-1924 Sir Nicholas Grimshaw 2004-2011 Sir Frank Dicksee 1924-1928 Christopher Le Brun 2011-2019