Originally known as the American Associates of the Royal Academy Trust, or AARAT, the organisation has successfully raised the profile of the RA in the United States and provided significant financial support to the RA in London for over 30 years. In 2015, the charity changed its name to Royal Academy America, initiating a new chapter in the organisation’s history.

Since its inception, there has been a strong American presence at the Royal Academy. The 18th-century American painter Benjamin West was both a founder of the Royal Academy and its second president. The Academy’s membership has included American artists such as John Singleton Copley, John Singer Sargent and Edwin Austin Abbey. Today, Honorary Royal Academicians include Frank Gehry, Jasper Johns, Richard Serra, Frank Stella, Cy Twombly, Jeff Koons and Jenny Holzer.

The founding of Royal Academy America in 1983 created a formal role for American interest in the Royal Academy’s work. Since the Royal Academy continues to operate independently without government aid, support in the U.S. has brought new strength and security to the Royal Academy’s mission on behalf of artists, students, scholars and the general public.

Support through Royal Academy America has helped enable the creation of the Annenberg Courtyard, The Jillian and Arthur M. Sackler Wing, the restoration of the largest of the Main Galleries, The Lee and James C. Slaughter Room and The Dame Jillian Sackler Archive Room, to name but a few of the projects funded by American donors. Additionally, through the Starr Fellowship, Royal Academy America helps support American artists by providing funds for a one-year residency at the Royal Academy Schools.

Royal Academy America donors help ensure that the lively exchange of culture and ideas continues and that the historic partnership between the Royal Academy of Arts and Royal Academy America will continue in good health for many years to come.