DESIGN In Its 200th Anniversary Year, the National Academy of Design’s Present and Past CollideCourtesy of the National Academy of Design …This year has represented a significant leap for the National Academy of Design. The National Academy is no longer the only artist or architect-led organization in the United States. An organization as old as the National Academy has the power to tell a different story around art and architecture in America. How do the National Academy of Design’s class of academicians work with the Academy to further its mission to advocate for the arts as a tool for education? The National Academy was founded by artists and architects in 1825 with the mission of advancing American art through education and exhibition and Academicians have been leading the Academy ever since.