Summer Exhibition Stories
Free talk
Monday 27 June 2016 1 - 2pm
The Reynolds Room, Burlington House, Royal Academy of Arts
Free, booking required.
Summer Exhibition 2016
Discover the origins, characters, behind-the-scene stories as well as the experiences of visitors and artists in the history of the RA Summer Exhibition, the world’s largest open submission of contemporary arts, with the RA Senior Curator of Collections Helen Valentine.
The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition has been held every year since 1769. Tracing the growth of the exhibition from the first modest show of just 136 pictures through to the blockbusters of the Victorian period where nearly 400,000 visitors flocked to the show, this talk explores the tales and tensions in the history of the exhibition including why Gainsborough threatened to 'never send another picture to the Exhibition' and Stanley Spencer resigned over the rejection of his pictures.
Doors open at 12.30pm. Unclaimed seats will be released to those waiting for returns at 12.55pm. No admittance will be granted after 1pm.