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.