The Royal Academy Exhibition of 1846 was the seventy eighth annual Summer Exhibition held by the British Royal Academy of Arts. It took place between 4 May and 25 July 1846 at the National Gallery in London. Including submissions by leading artists and architects, it featured both those who had made their name in the Regency era and younger figures of the Victorian era.
The veteran painter J.M.W. Turner submitted a number of works. Going to the Ball and Returning from the Ball were inspired by his repeated visits to Venice. Hurrah for the Whaler Erebus and Whalers Entangled in Flaw Ice were apparent attempts to court the interest of the art collector Elhanan Bicknell who had made his fortune through the whaling industry.
One of the most popular paintings on display was William Mulready's Choosing the Wedding Gown based on Oliver Goldsmith's novel The Vicar of Wakefield. A member of The Clique Edward Matthew Ward sent in the history painting The Disgrace of Lord Clarendon. The sixteen year old John Everett Millais made his exhibition debut with Pizarro Seizing the Inca of Peru. He later became a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Edwin Landseer displayed two companion paintings Time of Peace and Time of War. Widely praised at the time, both were subsequently destroyed during the Thames Flood of 1928.
In portraiture Francis Grant presented equestrian portraits of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. The French artist Alfred d'Orsay submitted a picture of the Duke of Wellington.
<Gallery Mode="packed" Heights="200"> File:William Turner, Going to the Ball (San Martino).jpg|Going to the Ball by J.M.W. Turner File:Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) - Returning from the Ball (St Martha) - N00543 - National Gallery.jpg|Returning from the Ball by J.M.W. Turner File:Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) - Whalers (Boiling Blubber) Entangled in Flaw Ice, Endeavouring to Extricate Themselves - N00547 - National Gallery.jpg|Whalers Entangled in Flaw Ice by J.M.W. Turner File:Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) - 'Hurrah^ for the Whaler Erebus^ Another Fish^' - N00546 - National Gallery.jpg|Hurrah for the Whaler Erebus by J.M.W. Turner File:William Turner- The Angel, Standing in the Sun.JPG|The Angel Standing in the Sun by J.M.W. Turner File:Joseph Mallord William Turner - Undine Giving the Ring to Massaniello, Fisherman of Naples - WGA23184.jpg|Undine Giving the Ring to Massaniello, Fisherman of Naples by J.M.W. Turner File:Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (1793-1867) - A Dutch Dogger Carrying away Her Sprit - 486-1882 - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|On the Dogger Bank by Clarkson Stanfield File:Edward Matthew Ward (1816-1879) - The Disgrace of Lord Clarendon, after his Last Interview with the King - Scene at Whitehall Palace, in 1667 (replica) - N00431 - National Gallery.jpg|The Disgrace of Lord Clarendon by Edward Matthew Ward File:William Mulready (1786-1863) - Choosing the Wedding Gown - FA.145(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|Choosing the Wedding Gown by William Mulready File:David Roberts (1796-1864) - A Street in Cairo, Egypt - THC0064 - Royal Holloway, University of London.jpg|A Street in Cairo by David Roberts File:David roberts ra procession before the tombs of the caliphs grand cair094545).jpg|Tomb of the Caliphs by David Roberts File:Early Morning, Cromer.png|Early Morning, Cromer by William Collins File:Shrimpers Hastening Home.png|Shrimpers Hastening Home by William Collins File:William Collins (1788-1847) - Hall Sands, Devonshire - FA.28(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|Hall Sands, Devonshire by William Collins File:Diana and Her Nymphs Surprised by Actaeon.jpeg|Diana and Her Nymphs Surprised by Actaeon by William Edward Frost File:William Etty (1787-1849) - The Choice of Paris - 246 - Scarborough Art Gallery.jpg|The Choice of Paris by William Etty File:Stag at Bay (Landseer).png|Stag at Bay by Edwin Landseer File:Refreshment (Landseer).jpg|Refreshment by Edwin Landseer File:... Landseer - a collection of fifteen pictures and a portrait of the painter (1901) (14579444070).jpg|Time of Peace by Edwin Landseer File:... Landseer - a collection of fifteen pictures and a portrait of the painter (1901) (14765825062).jpg|Time of War by Edwin Landseer File:William Dyce (1806-64) - The Madonna and Child - RCIN 403745 - Royal Collection.jpg|The Madonna and Child by William Dyce File:Charles West Cope (1811-1890) - The Young Mother - FA.53(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|The Young Mother by Charles West Cope File:Sir Charles Lock Eastlake (1793-1865) - Zia Theresa, The visit to the nun - RCIN 405854 - Royal Collection.jpg|Zia Theresa, The Visit to the Nun by Charles Lock Eastlake File:Thomas George Webster (1800-1886) - Good Night^ - K2676 - Bristol City Museum ^ Art Gallery.jpg|Good Night by Thomas Webster File:Paul Falconer Poole (1807-1879) - The Visitation and Surrender of Syon Nunnery, 1539 - K132 - Bristol City Museum ^ Art Gallery.jpg|The Visitation and Surrender of Syon Nunnery, 1539 by Paul Falconer Poole File:Alexander Johnston (1815-1891) - Flora MacDonald's Introduction to Bonnie Prince Charlie - VIS.1447 - Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust.jpg|Flora MacDonald's Introduction to Bonnie Prince Charlie by Alexander Johnston File:Richard Redgrave (1804-1888) - Throwing off Her Weeds - FA.170(O) - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|Throwing off Her Weeds by Richard Redgrave File:Sunday Morning, The Walk from Church.jpeg|Sunday Morning, The Walk from Church by Richard Redgrave File:William Powell Frith (1819-1909) - Madame Jourdain Finds Her Husband Entertaining Dorimène and Dorante (from Molière's 'Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme') - 538-1882 - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|Madame Jourdain Finds Her Husband Entertaining Dorimène and Dorante by William Powell Frith File:Henry William Pickersgill (1782-1875) - Ruth and Boaz - WAGMG , 1942.5 - Warrington Museum and Art Gallery.jpg|Ruth and Boaz by Henry William Pickersgill File:James Digman Wingfield - c1d4cc79c2.jpg|The Palace Garden by James Digman Wingfield File:William Linton (1791-1876) - The Lake of Orta - 1911-28 - Salford Museum and Art Gallery.jpg|The Lake of Orta by William Linton File:Solomon Alexander Hart (1806-1881) - Psalmody - WAGMG , 1885.63 - Warrington Museum and Art Gallery.jpg|Psalmody by Solomon Hart File:Henry James Townsend (1810-1890) - Leonardo and His Models - TWCMS , G3303 - Laing Art Gallery.jpg|Leonardo and His Models by Henry James Townsend File:Frederick Goodall (1822-1904) - Spanish Peasants Retreating from the French Army - 1162 - Glasgow Museums Resource Centre.jpg|Spanish Peasants Retreating from the French Army by Frederick Goodall File:Richard Ansdell (1815-1885) - Stag at Bay - WAG 111 - Walker Art Gallery.jpg|Stag at Bay by Richard Ansdell File:John Martin (1789-1854) - Solitude - TWCMS , C6980 - Laing Art Gallery.jpg|Solitude by John Martin File:John Lucas (1807-1874) - Robert Stephenson - NPG 5792 - National Portrait Gallery.jpg|Portrait of Robert Stephenson by John Lucas File:Print (BM 1878,0511.1098).jpg|Print based on the Portrait of Francis Grant by John Watson Gordon File:Francis Grant (1803âÂÂ1878) - HM Queen Victoria (1819âÂÂ1901) - 42 - Christ's Hospital.jpg|Portrait of Queen Victoria by Francis Grant File:Francis Grant (1803âÂÂ1878) - HRH Prince Albert (1819âÂÂ1861) - 44 - Christ's Hospital.jpg|Portrait of Prince Albert by Francis Grant File:Willes Maddox (1813-1853) - Susan Euphemia Beckford, Duchess of Hamilton, Wife of Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton - 58.5.1 - Brodick Castle.jpg|Portrait of the Duchess of Hamilton by Willes Maddox File:Admiral Sir Charles Napier (1786-1860) RMG BHC2875.tiff|Portrait of Charles Napier by Thomas Musgrave Joy File:Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington by Alfred, Count D'Orsay.jpg|Portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Alfred d'Orsay </gallery>