Situated in a Grade II* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition programme that celebrates the best of historic and contemporary British art.

Its foundation was initiated by the extraordinary Ellen Sharples, who secured funding from benefactors including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Prince Albert, and the building was ultimately financed by a bequest of £2,000 from her will in 1849.

In 1913 King George V granted the academy its Royal title,[4] with the reigning monarch as its Patron,[5] and by 1914 a major extension to the front of the building, including the dome and Walter Crane lunettes, was completed.

[3] This moved to the Bower Ashton campus in 1966, where it was then absorbed by the University of the West of England (School of Visual Studies), now the Department of Creative Industries, UWE, Bristol.

[11] The first floor is in 3 sections, the outer ones articulated by paired Corinthian pilasters flanking large shell head niches with statues of Flaxman and Reynolds.