University of Reading Art Collection

Right hand with fingers extended and finger tips placed on a surface, the little finger raised. The drawing finishes at the wrist.

Want to terrify an artist for Halloween?

Ask them to draw hands!

Thankfully Minnie Jane Hardman was up to the challenge. #happyhalloween🎃

[Close-up of 'Study of a hand' by Minnie Jane Hardman, 1883-1889. UAC/10593].

collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collecti...

[Allen W Seaby, Landscape View, oil on canvas, UAC/10510]

Those of you who visit Park House on our Whiteknights Campus🍻might be familiar with this evocative landscape painting by our alumni and former Professor, Allen W Seaby (1867-1953).

If you want to know more about Seaby and his links to Reading, join our free, online talk next Thurs 6 Nov at 7.30pm!

[Allen W Seaby, Magpie, woodcut on paper. University of Reading Art Collection, UAC/10860. © Estate of the Artist.]

Thanks to everyone who joined us last night as we kickstarted our third series of free, online art history talks! Next up is:

📅 Thurs 6 November
🕣 7.30pm
🐦‍⬛Martin Andrews, printing historian, on the work of painter and printmaker, Allen W. Seaby (1867-1963)

collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collecti...

[After Peter Scott, Frederick Spencer Chapman, lithograph on paper. University of Reading Art Collection, UAC/10057]

⚡We're back with 'Closer Look: Conversations with a Curator' — our free, online art history talks!⚡

📅 Thurs 2 October, 7.30pm - Dr Henrietta Hammant (museum anthropologist and curator) on the explorer and mountaineer, Frederick Spencer Chapman (1907-1971).

collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collecti...

🏛️ Are you interested in developing a career in museums and galleries? We are looking for a Curatorial Volunteer for 1 day per week.

🖼️ We will help you develop skills in research, collections care, and public engagement.

🔗 For more info, follow the link at: merl.reading.ac.uk/communities/...

⭐ Our Curator of Art Collections has contributed three new biographies on women artists for this month's #ODNB update.

Read her Introduction and new entries in the link below! 👇

#ODNB #WomenInArt

Listen to our amazing colleagues at The MERL @themerl.bsky.social on their latest #AbsoluteUnits podcast! 🎧

Blonde woman standing next to a display case which has the title "Ladybird in Focus: 100 Years On" above it.

If you've been following us for a while you may have spotted references to Abby, our Curatorial Volunteer.

Sadly it's her last day with us. We're so grateful for all her amazing work, which including the most recent Ladybird in Focus display.

Wishing her all the best!

[Allen W Seaby, Sketch of a figure with a spear, pencil and ink on paper, UAC/11465]

It's #InternationalDogDay 🐶

🔎 Can you spot the dog in this pencil and ink sketch by Allen W. Seaby?

✏️ Read more about Seaby's sketches in our new online exhibition, curated by University of Leicester MA placement student, Cristina Garcia ✨

👉 collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collecti...

@themerl.bsky.social thoughts?

🎨🖌️Do you want to create a mural on this wall that celebrates the University of Reading centenary?

⏰ Don't forget that our call for expressions of interest closes this Sunday 17 August, at midnight!

🔗 Follow the link in our bio for more info.

#PublicArt #ArtistsMural #UniversityOfReading

Two grey and white kittens sleeping on a blanket.

Happy International Cat Day to all who celebrate.

[Closeup of 'Tabby Kittens' by George Hooper, watercolour on paper, UAC/10991].

#internationalcatday

Today's @artukdotorg.bsky.social #OnlineArtExchange is abstract and non-figurative art 🎨

We've chosen Mary Hoad's (1908-68) 'Areas of Colour', whose abstract forms our Curator loves!

However, we know little about this artist. Can you shed any light on Mary Hoad and her practice? Let us know! 🔍✏️

Alfred Palmer, First President of the Council of the University of Reading, seated wearing red and white ceremonial graduation robes over a black suit. He gazes out directly engaging the viewer. He is depicted with grey hair and a grey beard against a dark, wood-panelled backdrop.

Happy Graduation to all of our fantastic University of Reading students!🎓

And so the next adventure begins... (but don't forget to keep in touch!) ✨

[Arthur Stockdale Pope, Alfred Palmer in graduation robes, 1927, oil on canvas, UAC/10056]

💥 We are seeking Expressions of Interest for the design and delivery of a large-scale mural on our Whiteknights Campus💥

🕛 Deadline is Sun 17 August (midnight).

👉🏻 For more info about the application process, follow the link in our bio!

#centenarycelebration #publicart #mural #callforartists2025

Logo of an arch with the words "Accredited Museum" underneath

There are over 1,700 accredited museums in the UK. And now we're officially one of them!

If you are looking for us today, we are celebrating. 🎉

For more info:
www.reading.ac.uk/news/2025/Un...

It's the final day of term! ☀️🎓

Congratulations to all brilliant students and staff. We hope you have a brilliant summer ahead and look forward to seeing you again in September!

Whiteknights Studio Trail at The MERL - The Museum of English Rural Life Visit the the museum as part of the Whiteknights Studio Trail. The MERL is hosting 2 artists this year: Mark Ripley and Ursula Waechter.

And don't forget to visit The Whiteknights Studio Trail at our friends @themerl.bsky.social

Enjoy the art, meet the makers, treat yourself to some tea and cake in the fabulous MERL cafe ... AND visit the museum.

A perfect day out! 🫖🍰

merl.reading.ac.uk/event/whitek...

Print of the heads of an adult and baby peewit facing right on a mustard yellow background. Signed at bottom right corner 'Robert Gillmor'

Tomorrow we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Whiteknights Studio Trail with a brand new exhibition:

⭐Paint, Pencil, Print: 10 Artworks for 10 Years⭐

Explore a selection of works that mark the growth of our art collection over the past decade.

🗓️Opens 10am, Sat 6 June - visit our website for info!

Art History in the Archive!🏛️

Today our 3rd year BA Archaeology and Museum Studies student, Zheng Tao Chong, began his volunteer placement with us.

We have been working through the University History resources in the Archive and have already found some historical gems!🎨

Drawing of the spire of a church and a small building with triangular shaped roof surrounded by trees. On the left are two arches which are part of a bridge.

A sneaky look at one of the artworks that's being using in teaching today.

We're talking about how and why we acquire artwork. This is one of our most recent acquisitions.

[Close up of 'Perth Bridge' by Sir David Young Cameron, 1889, etching on paper. UAC/11596].

Deanna Petherbridge was an artist, writer, curator & tutor, who worked as a Lecturer at the Reading School of Art in the 1980s.

🎨 More updates coming soon!

[Deanna Petherbridge, 'Utopia Contemporanea', 2019, diptych, ink on paper. © Trustees of the Estate of Deanna Petherbridge]

Utopia Contemporanea? is a monumental diptych made by Deanna Petherbridge in 2019. It is drawn in black pen and ink. Each panel is 750 × 1050 mm.

💥New acquisitions news!💥

We're so pleased to announce that we have acquired 10 drawings by the artist, Deanna Petherbridge, CBE (1939 – 2022). This gift was presented by the Trustees of the Estate of Deanna Petherbridge with @artfund.bsky.social support.

collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collecti...

Absolute Units, The MERL podcast. Three giant sheep float in the sky over rural England.

Episode #3 of our podcast is here!

We speak to documentary filmmaker Dr Shweta Ghosh (University of Reading) about storytelling, good cups of tea, and the links between rural history in England and India.

🔊 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts:

merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...

Art UK | Discover Artworks Discover artworks, explore venues and meet artists. Art UK is the online home for every public collection in the UK, featuring over 500,000 artworks by over 55,000 artists.

👉 And you can explore more of their art collection on @artukdotorg.bsky.social here:

artuk.org/discover/art...

Today's @artukdotorg.bsky.social #OnlineArtExchange is 'rural' to celebrate @tulliecarlisle.bsky.social show: 'Winifred Nicholson: Cumbrian Rag Rugs'

So we're going to point you to our sister collection @themerl.bsky.social who have *amazing* rural themed artworks, including some #absoluteunits 🐮