Royal Female School of Art

The Royal Female School of Art was a professional institution for the training of women in fine art. It was founded in 1842, as part of the Government School of Design, predecessor of the Royal College of Art. It was initially set up with many non-fee-paying classes for working-class women. However, by the 1870s fee-paying courses attended by middle-class women started to out number the subsidised classes.[1]

Life class at the Royal Female School of Art, 1868

When the RCA moved from Somerset House to South Kensington in 1858, the female branch was physically split away to a different site, though remaining part of the main institution, until 1909 when it was transferred to the control of London County Council, initially via the Central School of Art and Design (now part of the University of the Arts London), with which it was merged from 1914.[2]

It was known by several names and was housed in Queen Square and Gower Street.[3]

The most well known superintendent was English artist Fanny McIan. In the 1860s and 1870s, women trained under Fanny McIan were sent to head up the female branches of government art schools in Edinburgh (Susan Ashworth) and Dublin (Mary Julyan). Art critic John Ruskin praised the work of several alumnae for their skills including a "Miss Jay" and Eliza Turck. Other alumnae would continue their education at the Slade School of Fine Art. The reputation of the artists trained at the Royal Female School of Art was such that their works were sought after by the aristocracy including the Prince of Wales, the Prince of Saxe Weimar, the Prince of Lichtenstein and Queen Victoria.[4] In fact Queen Victoria insisted on buying The Roll Call by Elizabeth Thompson and it is still part of the Royal Collection.