varnishing day

So remonstrance was impossible, and no steering could be done till the next varnishing day.

Turner spent many hours reworking both paintings on the varnishing day immediately before the exhibition opened to the public.

The first time I see the exhibition is on Varnishing Day, a week before the Private View.

The 1886 oil-on-canvas, Scandinavian Artists' Lunch at Cafe Ledoyen, Paris, on Varnishing Day by the Swedish painter Hugo Birger suggests something of the appearance of the restaurant in the late 19th century.

The custom of patrons and the élite of visiting the academies during the varnishing day prior to the formal opening of the exhibition gave rise to the tradition of celebrating the completion of an art work or a series of art works with friends and sponsors.

At official exhibitions, such as the Royal Academy summer exhibition, artists, in the past, would give a finishing touch to their works by varnishing them (J. M. W. Turner was known for making significant changes to works on varnishing day while his fellow academicians were simply varnishing).