The Royal Academy Exhibition of 1808 was the fortieth annual Summer Exhibition of the British Royal Academy of Arts. It was held at Somerset House in London between 2 May and 18 June 1808 during the early Regency era. It drew nearly sixty thousand visitors, but was "not particularly notable" according to one critic although other reviews were more positive.
One of the most popular works on display was the young Scottish artist David Wilkie's genre painting The Card Players. Wilkie had enjoyed success with his scenes of everyday life that drew inspiration from the Dutch Old Masters of the seventeenth century. J.M.W. Turner submitted his own genre work The Unpaid Bill, which was regarded as an attempt to match Wilkie. The Academy's hanging committee may have placed them close together to draw comparisons. However, critics were generally unimpressed that Turner had not focused on his atmospheric seascapes. This was the only work that Turner submitted to the Academy that year, instead displaying his paintings at his own studio gallery in Marylebone as well as the rival British Institution.
As often portraits featured heavily amongst the submitted works. Thomas Lawrence exhibited a clutch of fashionable works. Particular attention was drawn to his Portrait of William Pitt featuring the late Prime Minister. Lawrence's rival William Beechey presented a portrait of the Duke of Cambridge, a son of George III. Other prominent figures who submitted portraits included Martin Archer Shee, James Lonsdale and Samuel Lane.
The President of the Royal Academy displayed several history paintings including Thetis Bringing Armour to Achilles. His Death of Nelson in the Cockpit of the Victory was a follow-up to his 1806 painting The Death of Nelson. West had recently visited Bath in the West Country and he also exhibited four pictures of the county surrounding the city and nearby Bristol. West's fellow American John Singleton Copley displayed a Tudor era history painting The Offer of the Crown to Lady Jane Grey. Loutherbourg, close to the end of his lengthy career, sent in several landscapes reflecting the growing romantic style. John Constable, at this point a comparatively obscure young artist, sent in three pictures from his recent visit to the Lake District. These included views of Lake Windermere and Borrowdale in Cumberland.
<Gallery Mode="packed" Heights="200"> File:The Unpaid Bill.png|The Unpaid Bill by J.M.W. Turner File:The Card Players.png|The Card Players by David Wilkie File:Ramsay Richard Reinagle (1775-1862) - Landscape near Tivoli, with Part of the Claudian Aqueduct - 448 - Fitzwilliam Museum.jpg|Landscape near Tivoli, with Part of the Claudian Aqueduct by Ramsay Richard Reinagle File:Benjamin West - Thetis Bringing Armor to Achilles - 1942.1 - New Britain Museum of American Art.jpg|Thetis Bringing Armour to Achilles by Benjamin West File:The Death of Lord Nelson in the Cockpit of the Ship 'Victory' by Benjamin West 1808.jpg|Death of Nelson in the Cockpit of the Victory by Benjamin West File:Lord Aberdeen (Lawrence).png|Portrait of Lord Aberdeen by Thomas Lawrence File:Thomas Lawrence (13.4.1769 - 7.1.1830) - The Angerstein Children - 79.2 - Gemäldegalerie.jpg|The Angerstein Children by Thomas Lawrence File:Lady Hood (Lawrence).png|Portrait of Lady Hood by Thomas Lawrence File:Retrato de Joseph Farington R.A.jpg|Portrait of Joseph Farington by Thomas Lawrence File:William Beechey (1753-1839) - Prince Adolphus Frederick (1774âÂÂ1850), Duke of Cambridge, KG - 1548045 - National Trust.jpg|Portrait of the Duke of Cambridge by William Beechey File:Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave by Sir William Beechey.jpg|Portrait of the Earl of Mulgrave by William Beechey File:William Owen (1769-1825) - Georgiana Maria (1794âÂÂ1859), Lady Leicester - 223.1 - Tabley House.jpg|Portrait of Lady Leicester by William Owen File:Portrait of Louisa Hope.png|Portrait of Louisa Hope by Martin Archer Shee File:Lavinia (Archer Shee).png|Lavinia by Martin Archer Shee File:John Singleton Copley - John Codman (1782-1847) - H667 - Harvard Art Museums.jpg|Portrait of John Codman by John Singleton Copley File:William Congreve in 1807.png|Portrait of William Congreve by James Lonsdale File:Henry Howard (1769-1847) - Peasants of Subiaco Returning from the Vineyard on a Holiday - FA.242(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|Peasants of Subiaco Returning from the Vineyard on a Holiday by Henry Howard File:Thomas Phillips (1770-1845) - Venus and Adonis - 03-1363 - Royal Academy of Arts.jpg|Venus and Adonis by Thomas Phillips File:William Daniell - The European Factories, Canton - Google Art Project.jpg|The European Factories, Canton by William Daniell File:James Ward (1769-1859) - Harlech Castle - NG1158 - Tate.jpg|Harlech Castle by James Ward File:James Ward (1769-1859) - Fighting Horses - NMW A 468 - National Museum Cardiff.jpg|Fighting Horses by James Ward File:James Ward (1769-1859) - The Fall of Phaëton - 215.1 - Tabley House.jpg|The Fall of Phaeton by James Ward File:Füssli - Le Cardinal de Beaufort terrifié par l'apparition du Duc de Gloucester, 1808, 1981-0011.jpg|Cardinal Beaufort Terrified by the Supposed Apparition of Gloucester by Henry Fuseli File:Captain William Rogers capturing the 'Jeune Richard', 1 October 1807 RMG L8572.jpg|Captain William Rogers Capturing the Jeune Richard by Samuel Drummond </gallery>