Hannah Higham, Senior Curator, Royal Academy of Arts

Written into the founding document of the Royal Academy of Arts when it was established  by George III in 1768 is the commitment to build a collection of works of art. Since then each artist elected to be an Academician has had to donate a work. This practice continues  and the collection has grown to approximately 3000 paintings and sculptures, 35,000 works on paper, time-based media works and more.  

Join Dr Hannah Higham as she talks about the history of the collection, recent acquisitions, working with the RA Schools, and the challenges of displaying everything from Turner to Turner prize winners.  

Hannah joined the Royal Academy of Arts as Senior Curator of Collections in April 2023, having previously worked as the Senior Curator of Collections and Research for the Henry Moore Foundation. Formerly, she has worked for Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery and the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham. She holds an MA from the Courtauld Institute in German Art and Cultural Politics 1890-1945 and a PhD from the University of Birmingham.