Royal Academy Exhibition of 1866

Volunteers at a Firing Point by Henry Tanworth Wells

The Royal Academy Exhibition of 1866 was the ninety eighth annual Summer Exhibition of the British Royal Academy of Arts. It was held at the National Gallery in London from 7 May to 28 July 1866. One of the most notable works on display was the Irish artist Daniel Maclise's The Death of Nelson, an oil painting based on the fresco he had produced for the Houses of Parliament.[1] It was the first exhibition during the Presidency of Francis Grant, in succession to Charles Lock Eastlake. The same year the Academy began its protracted move to a new permanent home at Burlington House in Piccadilly. [2]

Paintings on display included Uncle Toby and the Widow Wadman by William Powell Frith[3] and The Woodman's Dinner by Richard Redgrave. [4] Edwin Landseer displayed The Arab Tent and Lady Godiva's Prayer while Henry Tanworth Wells exhibited Volunteers at a Firing Point, his diploma work for membership of the Royal Academy.

The Scottish artist Peter Graham made his debut with the landscape painting A Spate in the Highlands which showed a flood in the Highlands and drew critical acclaim.[5]

References

Bibliography

  • Mingay, G.E. (ed)The Victorian Countryside: Volume 1. Routledge, 2000.
  • Murray, Peter. Daniel Maclise, 1806–1870: Romancing the Past. Crawford Art Gallery, 2009..