The Royal Academy Exhibition of 1854 was the eighty sixth annual Summer Exhibition of the British Royal Academy of Arts. It was held at the National Gallery in London from 1 May to 22 July 1854 during the Victorian era.
The works displayed by William Powell Frith and Daniel Maclise were amongst the most popular on display. Frith's Ramsgate Sands showed a scene of holidaymakers on the beach at Ramsgate in Kent and was so popular a guard rail had to be erected to protect it from damage. Queen Victoria was impressed by the painting when she visited the exhibition and subsequently purchased it. A number of other works on display depicted scenes of contemporary life including The Awakening Conscience by William Holman Hunt, The Governess by Rebecca Solomon and two scenes of railway travel First Class, The Meeting and Second Class, The Parting by her brother Abraham Solomon.
Elsewhere George Jones exhibited the large The Battle of Hyderabad. Clarkson Stanfield's The Last of the Crew portrayed the aftermatch of a shipwreck in a storm. Edwin Landseer displayed Royal Sports on Hill and Loch featuring a scene of Queen Victoria and her consort Prince Albert. Francis Grant submitted several portraits including one of the Irish general Hugh Gough. Of particular note was the artist's Portrait of Hope Grant, a depiction of his own brother Hope Grant.
<Gallery Mode="packed" Heights="200"> File:Hunt-AwakeningConscience1853.jpg|The Awakening Conscience by William Holman Hunt File:John Phillip (1817-67) - The Letter-Writer of Seville - RCIN 401188 - Royal Collection.jpg|The Letter Writer of Seville by John Phillip File:James Hope Grant, 1853.jpg|Portrait of Hope Grant by Francis Grant File:TheGovernessRebeccaSolomon.jpg|The Governess by Rebecca Solomon File:Abraham Solomon - First Class - The Meeting. "And at first meeting loved." - Google Art Project.jpg|First Class - The Meeting by Abraham Solomon File:Abraham Solomon First class, the Meeting Second class, the Parting 1854.jpg|Second Class - The Parting by Abraham Solomon File:William Powell Frith (1819-1909) - Anne Page - RCIN 404603 - Royal Collection.jpg|Anne Page by William Powell Frith File:William Powell Frith (1819-1909) - The Bride of Lammermoor (from the novel by Walker Scott) - VIS.2941 - Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust.jpg|The Bride of Lammermoor by William Powell Frith File:Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (1793-1867) - The Last of the Crew - 1920.532 - Manchester Art Gallery.jpg|The Last of the Crew by Clarkson Stanfield File:Clarkson Frederick Stanfield (1793-1867) - View of the Pic du Midi d'Ossau in the Pyrenees, with Brigands - THC0070 - Royal Holloway, University of London.jpg|View of the Pic du Midi d'Ossau in the Pyrenees by Clarkson Stanfield File:David Roberts - The Giudecca, Venice - Google Art Project.jpg|The Giudecca, Venice by David Roberts File:The Battle of Hyderabad, 24 March 1843.jpg|The Battle of Hyderabad by George Jones File:Marriage of strongbow and aoife.jpg|The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife by Daniel Maclise File:George Cruikshank (1792-1878) - Cinderella - 1405-1869 - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|Cinderella by George Cruikshank File:Frederick Richard Pickersgill (1820-1900) - The Death of Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice - RCIN 406235 - Royal Collection.jpg|The Death of Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice by Frederick Richard Pickersgill File:Sir Plume Demands Leslie.jpg|Sir Plume Demands the Restoration of the Lock by Charles Robert Leslie File:Henry Wallis (1830-1916) - The Room in Which Shakespeare Was Born - T00042 - Tate.jpg|The Room in Which Shakespeare Was Born by Henry Wallis File:Doctor Johnson at Cave's, the Publishers.png|Doctor Johnson at Cave's, the Publishers by Henry Wallis File:Pleasant Dreams.png|Pleasant Dreams by Henry Nelson O'Neil File:(Chastity) William Edward Frost.png|Chastity by William Edward Frost File:The Pet of the Common - John Callcott Horsley - ABDAG002778.jpg|The Pet of the Common by John Callcott Horsley File:Edward Matthew Ward (1816-1879) - The Last Sleep of Argyll before His Execution, 1685 - 1960P43 - Birmingham Museums Trust.jpg|The Last Sleep of Argyll before His Execution by Edward Matthew Ward File:Robert Hannah (1812-1909) - The Countess of Nithsdale Petitioning George I on Behalf of Her Husband - 1177 - Glasgow Museums Resource Centre.jpg|The Countess of Nithsdale Petitioning George I on Behalf of Her Husband by Robert Hannah File:Arrest of Louis XVI and his Family, Varennes, 1791.jpg|The Arrest of Louis XVI and His Family by Thomas Falcon Marshall File:William James Blacklock (1816-1858) - The Rookery - 1946.67.1 - The Tullie.jpg|The Rookery by William James Blacklock File:Richard Redgrave (1804-1888) - An Old English Homestead - 183-1889 - Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|An Old English Homestead by Richard Redgrave File:Edward William Cooke (1811-1880) - Canal Scene, Porto Del Lido, Venice - 0660-1954 - Bury Art Museum.jpg|Porto Del Lido, Venice by Edward William Cooke File:Zuyder Zee (Cooke).png|Zuyder Zee Botter, Returning to Port by Edward William Cooke File:Edward William Cooke Dutch pincks off hatwyk.jpg|Dutch Fishing Pincks by Edward William Cooke File:James Godsell Middleton (1805-1874) - Prince Charles-Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1808âÂÂ1873), Later Napoleon III, Emperor of France - 428980 - National Trust.jpg|Portrait of Napoleon III by James Godsell Middleton File:George Patten (1801-1865) - Thomas Berry Horsfall (1805âÂÂ1878), MP - WAG 2167 - Walker Art Gallery.jpg|Portrait of Thomas Berry Horsfall by George Patten File:Henry William Pickersgill (1782-1875) - Barnard Smith (1817âÂÂ1890), Fellow - 9 - Peterhouse.jpg|Portrait of Barnard Smith by Henry William Pickersgill File:Alexander Stewart by Stephen Pearce.jpg|Portrait of Alexander Stewart by Stephen Pearce File:Lewis Cubitt by Sir William Boxall.jpg|Portrait of Lewis Cubitt by William Boxall File:John Watson Gordon (1788-1864) - John Frederick Lewis (1805âÂÂ1876), HRSA, RA - 1993.062 - Royal Scottish Academy.jpg|Portrait of John Frederick Lewis by John Frederick Lewis File:John Watson Gordon (1788-1864) - John Inglis (1810âÂÂ1891) - EU0019 - University of Edinburgh Art Collection.jpg|Portrait of John Inglis by John Watson Gordon File:George Patten (1801-1865) - Samuel Holme (c.1800âÂÂ1872) - WAG 7025 - Walker Art Gallery.jpg|Portrait of Samuel Holme by George Patten File:Sir Daniel Macnee - Charles Mackay, 1787 - 1857. Actor - PG 582 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg|Portrait of Charles Mackay by Daniel Macnee File:Thomas Mogford (1800-1868) - Edward Hodges Baily (1788âÂÂ1867), RA - 06-4203 - Royal Academy of Arts.jpg|Portrait of Edward Hodges Baily by Thomas Mogford File:Francis Grant (1803-1878) - Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800âÂÂ1859), Baron Macaulay, Fellow, Historian, Essayist, Poet and MP - TC Oils P 108 - Trinity College.jpg|Portrait of Thomas Babington Macaulay by Francis Grant File:John Russell, 1st Earl Russell by Sir Francis Grant.jpg|Portrait of Lord John Russell by Francis Grant </gallery>