London’s Royal Academy of Arts has chosen two people as a single artist for the first time in its 248-year history by making Gilbert & George a Royal Academician. Gilbert (born in Italy, 1943) and George (born in Devon, 1942) have just been jointly elected by the Academy’s general assembly; their surnames are Proesch and Passmore respectively. An Academy spokeswoman confirmed that G&G, as they are often known, will have only a single vote at meetings, although it is unclear whether both need to be present to vote.
