The Royal Academy of Arts

Mrs Forbes-Whitehead - Head of Art, features her artwork at the Summer Exhibition

Daybreak Communion at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition

The Royal Academy (RA) Summer Exhibition is the world’s oldest open submission exhibition. Open to visitors from 13 June to 20 August, the annual celebration of art and artists explores the theme Only Connect this year.

Receiving roughly 15,000 entries yearly, the RA has selected 1,614 pieces in a variety of mediums for this year's exhibition. From prints, paintings, film and photography to sculpture, architectural works and more, leading artists, Royal Academicians and household names as well as new and emerging talent contributed to create this vast range of artworks. Most of the works are available to buy and sales from the Summer Exhibition support the exhibiting artists and the RA's charitable work, including training the next generation of artists in the Royal Academy Schools.

This year the exhibition features a piece of one of our own: Mrs Forbes-Whitehead, Head of Art, has been selected to display her artwork Daybreak Communion. As part this, she was invited for the Varnishing Day Reception on 2 June. During the weekend of 9 and 10 June, two special friends of RA preview days were organised providing early access to the exhibition. During the early access days she was pleased to learn that her painting was sold. The artworks will remain on display for visitors until 20 August.

DAYBREAK COMMUNION
Oil on board
Dimensions (H)43.8cm (W)43.8cm (D)5cm

This painting is part of a series of paintings depicting scenes either just before sunrise or sunset, populated by equivocal and potentially ominous characters. The ‘birdman’ populating the scene is deliberately nebulous, perhaps from a collective memory, a folktale or a ritualistic scene. The setting is inspired by an early morning winter dog walk on a suburban housing estate.

I received notification that my painting had been accepted for display in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition one Wednesday lunchbreak at School. I was absolutely thrilled, especially as I would be invited to the historical Varnishing Day. This day involved a parade along Piccadilly to the historical church of St James where a special service for the exhibiting artists took place and where Rebecca Salter PRA, the president of the Royal Academy, delivered a reading.

Afterwards, all the exhibiting artists were invited back to the gallery to celebrate and search for their work amongst over one-thousand pieces of art on display. This was a chance to rub shoulders with some amazing artists, consisting of Royal Academicians, professional artists, and amateurs; and to raise a glass of fizz and delight in a sense of achievement. It was an inspiring day to be in such a prestigious setting and be amongst so many talented and creative people. It is a memory I will treasure.

Mrs Forbes-Whitehead