99-09 The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (Part 1)

There have been over a quarter of a million paintings exhibited at the Royal Academy over 250 years. From these I have had to narrow it down to about 50 which I have divided into two talks. To do this is looked for the most controversial as controversy is often a precursor of change and change helps us define periods and movements in art.
Controversy arose from works depicting
Women shown in a non-conforming ways and works by women artists,
Social realism, poverty and the harsh realities of life,
History painting that criticised heroes or events seen as heroic,
Works that were seen as unfinished, such as Impressionistic works
And any work that broke the rigid conventions of society
I begin by explaining what the Royal Academy is, how it was formed and the role and format of the Summer Exhibition.