Royal Academy of Arts to that drawn up by Cheere in 1755. It was Sir William Chambers, a prominent architect and head of the British government's architects' department, the Office of Works, who used his connections with George III to gain royal patronage and financial support for the Academy in 1768. The painter Joshua Reynolds was made its first president, and Francis Milner Newton was elected the first secretary, a post he held for two decades until his resignation in 1788. The instrument of foundation, signed by George III on 10 December 1768, named 34 founder members and allowed for a total membership of
Robert Crozier (artist) Robert Crozier (artist) Robert Crozier (1815–1891) was an English portrait artist, based in Manchester. He was a president of the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts which he helped to found. Robert Crozier was born on 17 October 1815 in Blackburn, Lancashire. His father was George Crozier, a saddler and botanist. After a childhood in Blackburn, Bolton and Warrington, he moved to Manchester in 1836 where he attended the Manchester School of Design, and became established as a portrait painter studying under William Bradley (1801–1857). He exhibited at the Royal Manchester Institution in 1841, and the Royal Academy in 1854. After