Shock of the news: Tracey Emin becomes RA professor

TO THE HORROR of traditionalists who see her as a self-aggrandising junk artist, and the delight of those who believe her exhibitionist streak masks genuine skill and dedication, Tracey Emin is to become professor of drawing at the Royal Academy.

The news is broken today by The Times, which claims that while the appointment has yet to be announced, it was secretly approved last week by the General Assembly of Royal Academicians.

As well as putting on blockbuster shows and the populist annual Summer Exhibition, the RA is the oldest art school in Britain. Past pupils include Turner, Constable and William Blake. Two recent alumni are the sculptor Anthony Caro and the painter John Hoyland.

Predictably, Emin’s appointment has split “the notoriously fractious Academicians” as the Times describes the sculptors, architects, printmakers, painters and draughtsmen who make up the current band of Royal Academicians.

Diana Armfield RA, a figurative painter, said Emin had a “great talent for celebrity”. She told the Times she had seen what “I suppose are drawings” by Emin in the Summer Exhibition and “wouldn’t have thought that her talents were that way”.

Others were apparently equally dismissive but preferred not to comment publicly.

However, those who know Emin’s work beyond such headline-grabbing ‘confessional’ installations as the unmade bed, complete with empty bottles and worn knickers, or the tent appliqued with the names of past lovers, will be aware that she does draw and that she doubtless has the passion to help revitalise the skill among her future pupils.

Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate galleries, told the Times: “There will be a lot of people who say, ‘What a lousy idea, she doesn’t stand for classical drawing’, but I think it’s a great appointment. Drawing is the foundation for everything she does and I think it’s the thing for which she is most recognised internationally as well.”

Anthony Green, one of her supporters within the RA, said: “She draws at the speed of thought, which is a very rare ability. Very specialised artists like Picasso, Dali and Raphael could do that. I’m not saying she’s as good as those three, but she’s very talented.” ·