The Great Spectacle Exhibition, The Royal Academy of Arts, London: 12 June - 19 August 2018

This is archived material. It is for reference purposes only.

The Great Spectacle illustrates the story of 250 years of the Summer exhibition held at the Royal Academy.

The Summer Exhibition is the world's longest-running contemporary art exhibition, having first opened in 1769. 250 years on, the Royal Academy of Arts is putting on The Great Spectacle alongside this year's exhibition to tell the story of their internationally renowned art show.

As the largest open submission art exhibition in the world, The Summer Exhibition has hundreds of thousands of visitors lining up to see the work of thousands of artists every year. The art is famously crowded together on the walls in a sort of collage; the work of great artists bunched up next to amateur paintings in a refreshingly democratic display. The Great Spectacle recreates some of the most memorable and important moments from the exhibition's history in a series of interlinked gallery displays.

The Great Spectacle doesn't shy away from the controversies and disputes caused by the exhibition, it embraces them instead. You'll see the likes of the Turner/Constable rivalry, which led to Turner adding a bright red blob to his painting of dutch boats so as not to be outdone by Constable’s work, and the speech of former RA president, Alfred Munning in which he slammed modern art for being ‘affected’.

The Summer Exhibition had a big impact on British and international art, and for a long time it was one of the only quality exhibitions where artists could shine and shock, so its history is rich and The Great Spectacle is a good way to dive in.

The Royal Academy

Burlington House, Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1J 0BD

Opening times

Monday – Sunday: 10:00 - 18:00

The Great Spectacle Exhibition: 250 years of the Summer Exhibition © The Royal Academy of Arts
The Great Spectacle Exhibition: 250 years of the Summer Exhibition © The Royal Academy of Arts

Opening Hours

Monday:
10:00 - 18:00
Tuesday:
10:00 - 18:00
Wednesday:
10:00 - 18:00
Thursday:
10:00 - 18:00
Friday:
10:00 - 22:00
Saturday:
10:00 - 18:00
Sunday:
10:00 - 18:00