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The Australian Academy of Art was established in Canberra in 1937 with Robert Menzies (then Attorney-General) as its inaugural chair. Its aims, modelled on those of the British Academy, included organising annual exhibitions and acting as an ‘expert body’ on artistic matters. Efforts to obtain a royal charter were opposed by the Contemporary Art Society and other avant-garde groups. The Academy held its last annual exhibition in 1947.

Sources

‘Academy of Art Formed at Canberra. Royal Charter Sought’, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 June 1937, 10.

McCulloch, Alan. 1994. The Encyclopedia of Australian Art. 3rd revised edition updated by Susan McCulloch. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin.