Royal Scottish Academy Building

The RSA building, viewed from the south

Playfair's fine detailing

The Royal Institution, Edinburgh (now the Royal Scottish Academy), by George Meikle Kemp, c. 1840; watercolour and pen, 31.30 x 44.90 cm; National Galleries of Scotland

The Royal Scottish Academy building, the home of the Royal Scottish Academy, is situated on The Mound in the centre of Edinburgh, was built by William Henry Playfair in 1822-6 and extended in 1831-6 for the Board of Manufactures and Fisheries.^[1] Along with the adjacent National Gallery of Scotland, their neo-classical design helped transform Edinburgh into a modern-day Athens of the North.

One of the bodies that proposed the building in 1821 was the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland after which the building was named the Royal Institution from 1826 to 1911. From the completion of the original building, the Royal Institution shared it with the Board of Manufactures (the owners), the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

The building, along with the National Gallery of Scotland was remodelled in 1912 by William Thomas Oldrieve. The statue of Queen Victoria top the building was sculpted by Sir John Steell.

In 2003 railings (lost in World War II) together with a series of traditional lamps, were restored around both the Academy and the National Gallery behind, isolating each building from the public space here.

The building is managed by the National Galleries of Scotland but a 1910 Order grants the RSA permanent administration offices in the building. The building was recently refurbished as part of the Playfair Project.

Exhibition space is shared throughout the year by the RSA with the NGS and other exhibiting societies: the Society of Scottish Artists, Visual Arts Scotland and the Royal Society of Watercolourists.

References

↑ "Site Record for Edinburgh, 77a Princes Street, Royal Scottish Academy". Retrieved 13 February 2012.

Coordinates: 55°57′6.3″N 3°11′47.0″W / 55.951750°N 3.196389°W / 55.951750; -3.196389

Museums and Art Galleries of Scotland

National Museums of Scotland	National Museum of Scotland National Museum of Costume National Museum of Flight National Museum of Rural Life National Museums Collection Centre National War Museum

Other museums	Aberdeen Maritime Museum Alloa Tower Biggar Museum Trust British Golf Museum David Livingstone Centre Dick Institute Discovery Point Dumfries Museum Dundee Museum of Transport Fife Folk Museum Glasgow Museum of Transport Gordon Highlanders Museum Grampian Transport Museum Highland Folk Museum Highland Museum of Childhood Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery Inveraray Jail Inverness Museum and Art Gallery John Knox House Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum King's Museum Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery Marischal Museum McManus Galleries Mills Observatory Museum of Ayrshire Country Life and Costume Museum of Childhood Museum of Edinburgh Museum of Scottish Lighthouses New Lanark Newhaven Heritage Museum North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre People's Palace People's Story Museum Perth Museum and Art Gallery Provand's Lordship Provost Skene's House Scotland Street School Museum Scotland’s Jute Museum @ Verdant Works Scottish Fisheries Museum Scottish Football Museum Scottish Maritime Museum Scottish Railway Museum Signal Tower Museum St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art Stewartry Museum Stirling Smith Museum and Art Gallery Summerlee, Museum of Scottish Industrial Life Surgeons' Hall The Tolbooth St Andrews Museum

National Galleries of Scotland	Dean Gallery Duff House Paxton House Royal Scottish Academy Building Scottish National Gallery Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Other galleries	Aberdeen Art Gallery Burrell Collection Dundee Contemporary Arts Fruitmarket Gallery Gallery of Modern Art McLellan Galleries Pier Arts Centre Queen's Gallery Talbot Rice Gallery Tramway

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