300px|thumb|View of one of the main rooms, June 2015

300px|thumb|[[A Private View at the Royal Academy, 1881 by William Powell Frith, depicting Oscar Wilde and other Victorian worthies at a private view of the 1881 exhibition]]

The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during 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. Some artists apply repeatedly before being selected: in 2024 Alison Aye's accepted piece Shifting to the Moon was her 31st submission.

Exhibition

thumb|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 35% 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

  • 2005 Stephen Farthing and Christopher Orr
  • 2010 Stephen Chambers
  • 2011 Christopher Le Brun
  • 2012 Tess Jaray
  • 2013 Eva Jiřičná and Norman Ackroyd
  • 2014 Hughie O'Donoghue
  • 2015 Michael Craig-Martin
  • 2016 Yinka Shonibare
  • 2017 Eileen Cooper
  • 2018 Grayson Perry
  • 2019 Jock McFadyen
  • 2020 Jane and Louise Wilson
  • 2021 Yinka Shonibare
  • 2022 Alison Wilding
  • 2023 David Remfry
  • 2024 Ann Christopher
  • 2025 Farshid Moussavi

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

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"

|+

!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

|

|

|-

|2025

|Sikelela Owen

|KNITTING

|Oil

|Gallery VIII

|

|

|}

Reception

The exhibition has received both admiration and criticism.

References

Further reading

  • (see index)
  • The Great Spectacle: 250 Years of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (2018), by Mark Hallett and Sarah Victoria Turner
  • Posters: A Century of Summer Exhibitions at the Royal Academy (2015), by Mark Pomeroy
  • Summer Exhibition website
  • The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition: A Chronicle, 1769–2018
  • About the Researching the Summer Exhibition project (Paul Mellon Centre)
  • RESEARCHING THE SUMMER EXHIBITION (The Royal Academy)
  • RA Summer Exhibition: The promotional power of the poster (BBC)
  • (Search facility by artist)