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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Summer Exhibition
The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, architectural designs and models, and is the largest and most popular open exhibition in the United Kingdom. It is also "the longest continuously staged exhibition of contemporary art in the world".

When the Royal Academy was founded in 1768 one of its key objectives was to establish an annual exhibition, open to all artists of merit, which could be visited by the public. The first Summer Exhibition took place in 1769; it has been held every year since without exception.

History

In 1768, a group of artists visited King George III and sought his permission to establish a society for Arts and Design. They proposed the idea of an annual exhibition and a school design. King George III approved of the idea and the first exhibition, in 1769, included 136 works. The name Summer Exhibition dates from 1870.

Selection process

Today, around 1,000 works are selected each year from as many as 32,000 entries representing some 16,000 artists. Any artist (living, known or unknown) may submit up to two works at a fee of £40 per piece for selection by The Summer Exhibition Selection and Hanging Committee. Due to the significant increase in the volume of entries over recent years, the number of entries per artist was reduced to 2 (from 3) and the fee was increased per piece. The committee is formed from the Council of Academicians (the governing body of the RA) and is traditionally chaired by the President of the Royal Academy. In addition to those works selected by the committee, all 80 Academicians are entitled to have six of their own pieces in the exhibition.

For the 2006 exhibition, the academy received a statue and a plinth from David Hensel. By mistake, the two parts were judged independently, with the result that the statue was rejected and the plinth put on display. Some artists apply repeatedly before being selected: in 2024 Alison Aye's accepted piece Shifting to the Moon was her 31st submission.

Exhibition

Participants in the RA Summer Exhibition 2015 at St. James, Piccadilly, on Varnishing Day

The RA Summer Exhibition usually opens to the public in early June, preceded by a series of private viewings. The main event is called "Varnishing Day", the day that, according to popular legend, artists would come to add a final coat of varnish to their paintings (compare: vernissage). Traditionally, artists walk in procession from Burlington House to St James's Church, Piccadilly, where a service is held. At the opening reception the shortlists for various prizes are announced.

Some years have particular themes. The 2005 exhibition theme was "Printmaking and the multiple". In 2006, the theme was "From Life." In 2008, the theme was "Man Made". The theme for 2010 was "Raw". In 2011, the selection committee agreed to have no specific theme.

Almost all exhibited works are for sale; the Academy receives 30% of the purchase price. In 2003, this amounted to a sum of some £2,000,000 for the institution, which receives no financial support from the state or crown.

Coordinators

Awards

Over £70,000 prize money, including the £25,000 Charles Wollaston Award, is awarded each year at the Summer Exhibition. In addition, a £10,000 architectural prize is awarded.

Winners of Charles Wollaston Award

Year Artist Artwork Medium Exhibited View Ref.
1978 Peter Greenham Lady Bonham Carter Oil on canvas Gallery I Tate
1979 Roger de Grey Marennes Oil on canvas Gallery III
1980 Anthony Gross
1981
1982 Robert Buhler
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987 John Bellany
1988
1989
1990
1991 Neil Jeffries
1992 Sandra Blow Whisperings Acrylic Gallery III
1993
1994 Robert Medley Preparation for the Execution Oil on canvas Gallery II Royal Academy
1995 Barry Flanagan The Cricketer Bronze Courtyard Jesus College, Cambridge
1996 Jeffery Camp
1997 R. B. Kitaj Sandra Three Mixed media — view installation Gallery II Centrepiece at Astrup Fearnley Museet
1998 John Hoyland Tree Music 6.3.98 Acrylic on cotton Gallery VI Private Collection
1999 David Hockney A Bigger Grand Canyon Oil on sixty canvases Lecture Room National Gallery of Australia
2000 Gerard Hemsworth Between Heaven and Hell 1998 Acrylic on canvas Gallery IV
2001 Marc Quinn Catherine Long Marble Large Weston Room
2002 Alan Charlton Vertical Painting in 20 Acrylic on canvas Gallery IV
2003 Jake and Dinos Chapman Marriage of Reason and Squalor II Painted Bronze Gallery I
2004
2005
2006 Chantal Joffe Blond Girl - Black Dress Oil on board Gallery III
2007 Gavin Turk Dumb Candle Wood Gallery I
2008 Jeff Koons Cracked Egg (Blue) 1994-2006 High chromium stainless steel with transparent colour coating Central Hall
2009 Richard Wilson
2010 Yinka Shonibare Crash Willy Mannequin, Dutch wax printed cotton textile, leather, fibreglass and metal Wohl Central Hall
2011 Alison Wilding Take a Deep Breath… Painted foam, copper and fibreglass resin Lecture Room
2012 Anselm Kiefer Samson Oil, acrylic, steel, pastel and charcoal Large Weston Room
2013 El Anatsui TSIATSIA – searching for connection Aluminium (bottle tops, printing plates, roofing sheets) and copper wire Courtyard

(facade of the RA)

2014 Wolfgang Tillmans Greifbar 1 Inkjet print Gallery IX
2015 Rose Wylie Herr Rehlinger In White Armour Oil on canvas Gallery III
2016 David Nash Big Black Charred redwood Gallery IV
2017 Isaac Julien Western Union: Small Boats Five screen projection Gallery X
2018 Mike Nelson Untitled (Public sculpture for a redundant space) Sleeping bag, concrete and rubble The Annenberg Courtyard & Staircase Royal Academy
2019 Joe Tilson Finestra Venezia Thirty-six Murano glass works for the Grande Albergo Ausonia and Hungaria Gallery II
2020
2021 Naomi Gakunga Wetereire – Waiting Stainless steel wire, sheet metal and paper Lecture Room
2022 Uta Kögelsberger Cull Video Small Weston Room
2023 Kara Walker The Omicron Variations Ink on paper Gallery III
2024 Tracey Emin Did it Ever Get Any Better Acrylic on canvas Gallery III

Reception

The exhibition has received both admiration and criticism. Jonathan Jones described it in 2019 as the "bloated corpse of a tradition ... [with] a tired, inward looking, end-of-the-road quality".

An exhibition about the history of the Summer Exhibition, The Great Spectacle, was held in 2018.

References

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  24. ^ Finch, James. "1978 The First Wollaston Award". Royal Academy Chronicle. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
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  28. ^ Chanin, Eileen. "1994 Cultivating Design Arts". Royal Academy Chronicle. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
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  30. ^ "Jeffery Camp, veteran figurative painter of unique vision who taught at the Slade – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 13 May 2020. Archived from the original on 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
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Further reading

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