Scottish Art and the Academy: SSAH conference 2026 for RSA200

This year's Scottish Society for Art History annual conference will be in partnership with the Royal Scottish Academy, presenting a two-day in-person event marking the RSA’s 200th anniversary.

The conference aims to celebrate, explore and interrogate the RSA’s history and showcase new research on artists connected to it. It also aims to cast an enquiring eye over the idea of the Academy and its ‘official’ status, looking at those who may have been excluded from it or reacted against it at different times. We will showcase current research and critical debate into the various relationships between Scottish art and the Academy.

We are delighted to have various Royal Scottish Academicians speaking and to have Sandy Wood, RSA Head of Collections, as our keynote speaker.

The conference takes place in the Hawthornden Lecture Theatre on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 February 2026 and the full programme can be seen at https://sway.cloud.microsoft/oNEmHWQPBa6hEvQZ?ref=Link

Separate tickets are available for each day of the conference so if you wish to attend both days you will need to purchase a ticket for each day. Concessions are available for students, SSAH members, RSA Friends and Academicians.

Refreshments will be provided but attendees will need to arrange their own lunch.