The Royal Academy Exhibition of 1838 was the seventieth annual Summer Exhibition of the British Royal Academy of Arts. It was held between 7 May and 28 July 1838 at the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square in London, the second year of was staged there following the move from the Academy's traditional home at Somerset House. It featured submissions from leading painters, sculptors and architects of the early Victorian era.
Queen Victoria had come to the throne the previous year and her coronation took place in June 1838 while the Exhibition was taking place. It was the first Academy Exhibition that Victoria visited as queen. Major attention was drawn to David Wilkie's The First Council of Queen Victoria which depicted Victoria meeting with leading figures of the kingdom at the beginning of her reign. The work has been commissioned by the queen herself, but Wilkie struggled to secure sittings from those who appeared in the painting. Above it hung Queen Victoria Enthroned in the House of Lords a portrait by George Hayter produced for the Guildhall. Hayter would subsequently replace Wilkie in the queen's favour and she later commissioned him to produce paintings of major public events during he reign such as The Marriage of Queen Victoria.
J.M.W. Turner submitted three paintings including the contrasting Ancient Italy and Modern Italy. Amongst the works displayed by Edwin Landseer was A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society. The President of the Royal Academy Martin Archer Shee submitted several portrait paintings including one of the previous monarch William IV.
<Gallery Mode="packed" Heights="200"> Queen victoria throne hi.jpg|Queen Victoria Enthroned in the House of Lords by George Hayter Turner - Modern Italy The Pifferari, 1838, 733.jpg|Modern Italy: The Pifferari by J.M.W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner - Ancient Italy, or Ovid Banished From Rome, exhibited 1838. Oil on canvas, 94.6 x 125 cm.jpg|Ancient Italy â Ovid Banished from Rome by J.M.W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) - Phryne Going to the Public Baths as Venus, Demosthenes Taunted by Aeschines - N00522 - National Gallery.jpg|Phryne Going to the Public Baths as Venus by J.M.W. Turner A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society by Sir Edwin Landseer.jpg|A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society by Edwin Landseer Sir Edwin Landseer (1803-73) - Hector, Nero, and Dash with the parrot, Lory - RCIN 405969 - Royal Collection.jpg|Hector, Nero, and Dash with the parrot, Lory by Edwin Landseer David Wilkie (1785-1841) - The Bride at her Toilet on the Day of her Wedding - NG 1445 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg|The Bride at her Toilet on the Day of her Wedding by David Wilkie File:David Roberts (1796-1864) - Granada, the Chapel of Ferdinand and Isabella - P587 - The Wallace Collection.jpg|Chapel of Ferdinand and Isabella, Granada by David Roberts William Etty (1787-1849) - The Prodigal Son - 515513 - National Trust.jpg|The Progidal Son by William Etty William Etty (1787-1849) - Il Duetto ('The Duet') - N00363 - National Gallery.jpg|Il Duetto by William Etty Somnolency - William Etty - ABDAG003408.jpg|Somnolency by William Etty Early Reading of Shakespeare.jpg|An Early Reading of Shakespeare by Solomon Hart The Woodranger.png|The Woodranger by Daniel Maclise Merry Christmas in the Baron's Hall.PNG|Merry Christmas in the Baron's Hall by Daniel Maclise The Principle Characters of the Merry Wives of Windsor.jpg|The Principle Characters of the Merry Wives of Windsor by Charles Robert Leslie The Emigrant's Departure.jpg|The Emigrant's Departure by Paul Falconer Poole The Slave Market, Constantinople.jpg|The Slave Market, Constantinople by William Allan File:Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (1793-1867) - Sands near Boulogne - FA.190(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|Sands near Boulogne by Clarkson Stanfield The 'Chasse Mareé' off the Gull Stream Light, the Downs in the Distance.jpg|The 'Chasse Mareé' off the Gull Stream Light, the Downs in the Distance by Clarkson Stanfield Edward Copleston by MA Shee.jpg|Portrait of Edward Copleston, Bishop of Llandaff by Martin Archer Shee Edward Denison by HW Pickersgill.jpg|Portrait of Edward Denison, Bishop of Salisbury by Henry William Pickersgill Henry William Pickersgill (1782-1875) - Colonel James Clitherow (1766âÂÂ1841) - PCF9 - Boston Manor.jpg|Portrait of James Clitherow by Henry William Pickersgill Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Bt by John Linnell.jpg|Portrait of Sir Robert Peel by John Linnell 3rdEarlOfRoden.jpg|Portrait of the Earl of Roden by Frederick Richard Say David Wilkie (1785-1841) - Thomas Daniell, RA - N00231 - National Gallery.jpg|Portrait of Thomas Daniell by David Wilkie Portrait of Daniel O'Connell as Governor of the National Bank .PNG|Portrait of Daniel O'Connell by David Wilkie Andrew Geddes (1783-1844) - John Gibson (1790âÂÂ1866) - WAG 2944 - Walker Art Gallery.jpg|Portrait of John Gibson by Andrew Geddes Andrew Morton (1802-1845) - Samuel Cooper (1781âÂÂ1848) - RCSSC-P 57 - Hunterian Museum.jpg|Portrait of Samuel Cooper by Andrew Morton John Lucas (1807-74) - Prince George of Cambridge (1819-1904) - RCIN 403411 - Royal Collection.jpg|Portrait of Prince George of Cambridge by John Lucas Lord Melbourne (Hayter).jpeg|Portrait of Lord Melbourne by George Hayter </gallery>