Royal Academy Exhibition of 1772

The Royal Academy Exhibition of 1772 was an art exhibition held in London from 24 April to 21 May 1772. It was the fourth annual Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts. ^[1]

The Academicians of the Royal Academy by Johann Zoffany

As with every Academy show before the 1780, when it moved to Somerset House, the exhibition was held at Christopher Cock's auction rooms in Pall Mall. A major attraction of the exhibition was Johann Zoffany's The Academicians of the Royal Academy depicting much of the membership of the Academy. It attracted crowds in a similar manner as The Death of General Wolfe had at the previous year's exhibition.^[2]

Amongst the several portraits displayed by the President of the Royal Academy Joshua Reynolds was the Scottish academic William Robertson. The Bath-based Thomas Gainsborough's submissions featured four portraits.^[3] Three included The Linley Sisters and Portrait of Sir William Pulteney, notable figures in the city's life.

In history painting Benjamin West displayed his Penn's Treaty with the Indians while the Irish artist James Barry exhibited three works including Venus Rising from the Sea and The Education of Achilles.

The Academy extended an invitation to leading French painters and sculptors to take part in the 1772 exhibition and a around a dozen featured work. Notably Philip James de Loutherbourg settled and London where he became known for his romantic landscapes.^[4]

The rival Society of Artists of Great Britain from which the Royal Academy has split in 1768, staged their own larger Exhibition between 13 May and 20 June 1772 at newly-built headquarters in the Strand.^[5]

Gallery

• 
  The Linley Sisters by Thomas Gainsborough
• 
  Portrait of Sir William Pulteney by Thomas Gainsborough
• 
  Portrait of William Robertson by Joshua Reynolds
• 
  The Education of Achilles by James Barry
• 
  Agrippina Landing at Brindisium with the Ashes of Germanicus by Gavin Hamilton
• 
  Penn's Treaty with the Indians by Benjamin West
• 
  Juno Borrowing the Girdle of Venus by Benjamin West
• 
  Rinaldo and Armida by Angelica Kauffman

See also

• Royal Academy Exhibition of 1771, the previous year's edition