So the summer party art race begins. The Royal Academy last night kicked off the now weekly conveyor of champagne-soaked bashes at London’s top, arty institutions. Kick off it did, with a heaving, glitzy do packed with stars and big spenders.
Unlike other summer parties, the RA Summer Exhibition is an opportunity to shop; running every year since 1769, this year’s iteration included over 1,700 works, most of which are for sale. Old hands queued along Piccadilly before the doors opened at 6:30pm, and made a beeline for the sales desk which sprung into action at 6:45pm.
