Our Art Collection Has Gone International

The University Art Collection contains over 1,500 artworks produced from the 16th century to the present day. It includes internationally renowned artists like Peter Paul Rubens, Minnie Jane Hardman, Gwen John, Walter Sickert, Max Weber, Leon Kossoff, and more.

Today, we’re thrilled to share many of these artworks online for the very first time, in a brand-new digital guide to the University Art Collection, available anywhere in the world.

Begin exploring the guide, or read on.

Peter Paul Rubens, Study for the Head of Marie de’ Medici, 1622, black chalk on paper. UAC/10539.

Digital guide highlights

Within the digital guide, you can enjoy:

• Key collection highlights exploring different artists and media
• Audio and video insights into the collection
• Past and current exhibitions from the collections
• A history and map of St Andrews Hall (home to the University Art Collection, Special Collections, and The Museum of English Rural Life), designed by pioneering Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse
• Our recently launched ‘Art on Campus’ map, enabling self-guided art tours across the University’s Whiteknights campus
• Translation to 30+ languages, with in-built support for Google Translate

Max Weber, Dancing Figures, 1912, pastel on paper. UAC/10418

A partnership of Bloomberg and the University of Reading

We’ve joined 450 cultural institutions from 24 different countries in making our digital guide with Bloomberg Connects. This app forms part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ longstanding commitment to digital innovation in the arts.

We’re hugely grateful to Bloomberg’s support for enabling better access to the University’s artworks both here in Reading and across the globe.

More ways to enjoy the art collection

If you’d like to join us live to learn more about the art collection, why not book onto our next curator Zoom call?

Join us on the evening of 7 November for a free talk by Dr Rebecca Birrell (Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at St Andrews University, and former Curator of Paintings at the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge). Rebecca will be talking about ‘Gwen John’s Nudes’, one of the highlights of our collection.

Gwen John, Standing female nude (Verso), graphite on paper. UAC/10567.

Grab a glass of wine or a cup of tea, and don’t miss this unique opportunity to get a closer look at the art world from the comfort of your own home. See you there!