First impression favourites at the RA Summer Exhibition 2026

It’s impossible to take in all the work on show at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in one visit, but if someone gave me a budget, and just one hour to choose a piece to spend it on, these would have been the works I’d have chosen.


Budget £15,000
Tom Hammick – Parliament of Beings
Reduction woodcut with hand painting


Budget £5000
Katherine Jones – Water Meadow
Collagraph with hand colouring


Budget £3000
Danny Markey – Front Garden
Oil on board


Budget £2000
Seren Metcalfe – The Familiar Voice
Audio visual / Ipad, hammered glass, wood


Budget £1500
Sarah Maple and Meg Mosley – Breakfast Scene
Audio visual | Video


Under £200
James Carruthers – SOUND MIRROR 8
Sculpture | Concrete