Royal Academy Exhibition of 1863

The Royal Academy Exhibition of 1863 was the ninety fifth Summer Exhibition of the British Royal Academy of Arts. It was held at the National Gallery in London from 4 May to 25 July 1863. The former Pre-Raphaelite John Everett Millais exhibited The Eve of St Agnes.^[1]

David Roberts exhibited a number of works. These included views of the River Thames St Paul's Looking East and St Paul's Looking West.^[2] Other paintings on display included The Coronation of the King of Prussia by George Housman Thomas, commissioned by Queen Victoria. ^[3] Charles Lucy featured a depiction of the reconciliation between Gainsborough and Reynolds, founding members of the Academy and longer-term rivals. Several of the group who became known as the St John's Wood Clique displayed scenes from British history.^[4]

John Brett submitted his Pre-Raphaelite landscape painting Florence from Bellosguardo but this was rejected by the hanging committee.^[5] The Anglo-American artist James MacNeill Whistler displayed The Last of Old Westminster, showing the construction of the new Westminster Bridge on the River Thames. However Whistler's seascape The Blue Wave, Biarritz was rejected by the Hanging Committee. ^[6]