Celebrating the work of female Artist Angelica Kauffman RA

The Royal Academy of Arts was established in December1768, Kauffman was among the group of 36 Founder Members (along with one other woman, the painter Mary Moser). Kauffman was in great demand as a portraitist in London but even though she was excluded from life drawing classes she developed her own brand of history painting which focused on female subjects from classical history and mythology.

In the 'The Academicians of the Royal Academy' by John Sanders in 1173, a watercolour and ink depiction of all the founders of the Royal Academy, the two female artists can only be seen in the background as portraits on the wall.