Summer Exhibition Illustrated 2019

The Royal Academy's legendary Summer Exhibition has been an annual event since 1769, making it the longest-running art exhibition of its kind. The exhibition, which includes paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, architectural design, photography and models, is the largest open-submission show in the UK. First published in the 1870s, the Summer Exhibition Illustrated presents the highlights of each year's selection. The Royal Academicians on the Hanging Committee in 2019 include Stephen Chambers, Anne Desmet, Bob and Roberta Smith and Richard Wilson. Together they will decide which artists - professional and amateur alike - will have the chance to display and to sell their work in the galleries of Burlington House, to be seen by thousands of visitors. The painter Jock McFadyen RA will co-ordinate the Summer Exhibition this year. His essay explains his ideas for the show and provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into this idiosyncratic fixture of the London calendar. The Summer Exhibition will run from the 10 June to 13 August 2019.

Jock McFadyen RA is one of Britain's foremost figurative painters. In May 2019, a monograph of his work by the award-winning architecture critic Rowan Moore will be published by RA Publications.