From the eighteenth century to the twenty-first, the Royal Academy of Arts in London has occupied a prominent, occasionally controversial and always individual position in the art world. Its Annual Exhibitions, now known as the Summer Exhibitions, have seen artistic reputations rise and fall, and its enduringly popular international loan exhibitions have helped to shape the public's appreciation of the visual arts.

Packed with illustrations, this brief introduction to the Academy's 250-year story considers how its homes and some of its characters have made it what it is.