The?National Academy of Arts?(Bulgarian:?Национална художествена академия; abbreviated НХА,?NAA) is an institution of?higher education?in?Sofia, the capital of?Bulgaria. It is the oldest and most renowned school of arts in the country. The National Academy of Arts was founded in 1896 by the noted artists and public figures?Ivan Mrkvi?ka,?Anton Mitov?, the Jewish?sculptor Boris Schatz, as well as men of letters Konstantin Velichkov and Ivan Shishmanov. The faculty also included?Jaroslav Vě?ín.