Archival Papers concerning the Artistic Collections of the Royal Scottish Academy

Reference:GB 1716 RSA2
Dates of Creation:1880s - ongoing
Name of Creator:
Physical Description:

Scope and Content
Archival papers relating to the collections of Scottish and other art curated by the Royal Scottish Academy.
Administrative / Biographical History
The Academy from its inception set out to build a National Collection of primarily Scottish art but augmented by works by the Old Masters acquired as study aids, and of leading modern English artists of whom William Etty RA was the most eagerly sought. The first artworks to enter the collection were three proof impressions of John Martin’s great mezzotinted plates which he presented in 1829 as acknowledgement for his having been elected H[R]SA.
Those elected to full Academician rank were required to submit within a set time of their election an example of their work as their Diploma Collection deposit. The first Diploma Collection deposits were received in 1831 and continue to the present.
Purchases were made following the deaths of Sir David Wilkie RA HRSA (1841), David Scott (1849) and John Phillip RA HRSA (1867). Following the death in 1864 of William Dyce RA HRSA his widow presented several cartoons relating to his Westminster Hall competition submissions.
The 1850s saw the purchase of the J F Lewis RA HRSA’s collection of 64 watercolour studies after the Old Masters as well as commissions being given to RSA School students and overseas artists to produce copies of early Italian paintings.
The Mary Veitch bequest of 1875 brought a large number of Old Master and British oil paintings under the Academy’s care, whilst Professor David Laing HRSA’s bequest of 1878 saw many hundreds of Old Master and British works on paper enter the collection.
In the 20th Century the Sir W G Gillies RSA Bequest of 1973 was the largest single body of work from a single source (Professor Laing’s bequest excepted) ever to come to the Academy, and included a significant archive and body of ephemera in addition to paintings, drawings and sketchbooks.
A further body of Old Master works were acquired in 1997 by the terms of the Borthwick Norton bequest. These pictures were subsequently transferred to the National Gallery of Scotland nearly a century after the Academy gifted a significant part of its collection to the nation under the 1910 Accord.
The 21st century witnessed major studio gifts by William Littlejohn, James Cumming, Keith Rand, David Michie, and Philip Reeves, whilst the deposits by John Kinross Scholars (inaugurated in 1981) continue to come in, now augmented by a raft of similar deposits for other Academy-led Scholarships, Awards and Residencies.
Access Information
Generally open; access to some series are restricted in accordance with legislative restrictions. Please contact the archive to arrange access.
Other Finding Aids
The collection was surveyed by the National Register of Archives for Scotland, and is listed as survey NRAS1464. Note that some sections of the collection have been re-arranged since this survey was conducted. In particular, art works have been transferred to the RSA art collections.