The Royal Academy Exhibition of 1783 was the annual Summer Exhibition of the British Royal Academy of Arts. It was held at Somerset House in London from 28 April to 3 June 1783.
The President of the Royal Academy Sir Joshua Reynolds hosted the annual Academy dinner at the opening of the exhibition, which was attended by Samuel Johnson, James Boswell and Pasquale Paoli as well as "half the cabinet". Although the show drew in large audiences, Horace Walpole criticised it as "an indifferent exhibition" and felt that "Sir Joshua seems to decline since his illness".
His rival Thomas Gainsborough submitted one of the most acclaimed works of the exhibition Two Shepherd Boys with Dogs Fighting. His other works also received widespread attention. These included landscapes featuring mountainous scenes. He also displayed a series of portrait paintings featuring George III and the Royal Family.
The Swiss-born founding member of the Royal Academy Angelica Kauffman displayed several neoclassical history paintings. The American Benjamin West exhibited scenes from British history such as Oliver Cromwell Dissolving the Long Parliament as well as portrait of the king. Henry Fuseli's submissions included The Weird Sisters based on a scene from William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Maria Cosway who had enjoyed great success with her Duchess of Devonshire as Cynthia the year before, exhibited the now lost painting The Hours.
Several references to the recently ended American War of Independence featured in the submissions including Thomas Whitcombe's The Destruction of the Floating Batteries at the Great Siege of Gibraltar and The Close of the Battle of the Saintes by Nicholas Pocock depicted a decisive victory over the French navy in the Caribbean. Critics noted with disappointment the absence of George Romney and Joseph Wright of Derby who were in dispute with the Academy.
<Gallery Mode="packed" Heights="200"> File:Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88) - George IV (1762-1830) when Prince of Wales - RCIN 401009 - Royal Collection.jpg|Portrait of George, Prince of Wales by Thomas Gainsborough File:Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88) - Prince William, later Duke of Clarence (1765-1837) - RCIN 401010 - Royal Collection.jpg|Portrait of the Duke of Clarence by Thomas Gainsborough File:Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88) - Prince Ernest, later Duke of Cumberland (1771-1851) - RCIN 401016 - Royal Collection.jpg|Portrait of the Duke of Cumberland by Thomas Gainsborough File:Gainsborough - Prince Edward, 1782.jpg|Portrait of the Duke of Kent by Thomas Gainsborough File:Gainsborough - Prince Adolphus, 1782.jpg|Portrait of Prince Adolphus by Thomas Gainsborough File:Prince Alfred of Great Britain.jpg|Portrait of Prince Alfred by Thomas Gainsborough File:Octavius of Great Britain - Gainsborough 1782.jpg|Portrait of Prince Octavius by Thomas Gainsborough File:Thomas Gainsboroguh Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire 1783.jpg|Portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire by Thomas Gainsborough File:Henry Fuseli - Percival Delivering Belisane from the Enchantment of Urma - Google Art Project.jpg|Percival Delivering Belisane from the Enchantment of Urma by Henry Fuseli File:Three Weird Sisters (Fuseli).jpg|The Weird Sisters by Henry Fuseli File:Lady Constance, Arthur and Salisbury.jpg|Lady Constance, Arthur and Salisbury by Henry Fuseli File:General Monck Receiving Charles II on the Beaches of Dover (Benjamin West).png|General Monck Receiving Charles II on the Beaches of Dover by Benjamin West File:Oliver Cromwell Dissolving the Long Parliament.png|Oliver Cromwell Dissolving the Long Parliament by Benjamin West File:Portrait of George III by Benjamin West, 1783, Cleveland Museum of Art.JPG|Portrait of George III by Benjamin West File:The evening of the summer's day in the south of France.png|The Evening of a Summer's Day in the South of France by Philip James de Loutherbourg File:Thomas Whitcombe Batteries destruction1782c.jpg|The Destruction of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar by Thomas Whitcombe File:The Close of the Battle of the Saintes.png|The Close of the Battle of the Saintes by Nicholas Pocock </gallery>