The present building was built between 1841 and 1845. The museum reopened in 2009 after a major redevelopment, and in November 2011, new galleries focusing onEgypt andNubia were unveiled. In May 2016, the museum redisplayed galleries of 19th-century art.
The museum opened on 24 May 1683,[5] withnaturalistRobert Plot as the first keeper. The building onBroad Street (later known as theOld Ashmolean) is sometimes attributed toSir Christopher Wren or Thomas Wood.[6]Elias Ashmole had acquired the collection from the gardeners, travellers, and collectorsJohn Tradescant the Elder and his son,John Tradescant the Younger. It included antique coins, books, engravings, geological specimens, and zoological specimens—one of which was the stuffed body of the lastdodo ever seen in Europe; but by 1755 the stuffed dodo was so moth-eaten that it was destroyed, except for its head and one claw.[7]
The present building dates from 1841 to 1845. It was designed as the University Galleries byCharles Cockerell[8] in aclassical style and stands on Beaumont Street. One wing of the building is occupied by theTaylor Institution, the modern languages faculty of the university, standing on the corner of Beaumont Street and St Giles' Street. This wing of the building was also designed by Charles Cockerell, using theIonic order of Greek architecture.[9]
Sir Arthur Evans, who was appointed keeper in 1884 and retired in 1908, is largely responsible for the current museum.[10] Evans found that the keeper and the vice-chancellor (Benjamin Jowett) had managed to lose half of the Ashmole collection and had converted the original building into the Examination Rooms.Charles Drury Edward Fortnum had offered to donate his personal collection of antiques on condition that the museum was put on a sound footing.[11] A donation of £10,000 from Fortnum (£1.44 million as of 2023) enabled Evans to build an extension to the University Galleries and move the Ashmolean collection there in 1894. In 1908, the Ashmolean and the University Galleries were combined as the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology.[12] The museum became a depository for some of the important archaeological finds from Evans' excavations in Crete.[citation needed]
After the various specimens had been moved into new museums, the "Old Ashmolean" building was used as office space for theOxford English Dictionary. Since 1924, the building has been established as theMuseum of the History of Science, with exhibitions including the scientific instruments given to Oxford University byLewis Evans, amongst them the world's largest collection ofastrolabes.[13]
Charles Buller Heberden left £1,000 (£56,000 as of 2023) to the university in 1921, which was used for the Coin Room at the museum.[14]
In 2012, the Ashmolean was awarded a grant of $1.1m by theAndrew W. Mellon Foundation to establish theUniversity Engagement Programme or UEP. The programme employs three teaching curators and a programme director to develop the use of the museum's collections in the teaching and research of the university.[15]
The interior of the Ashmolean was extensively modernised during the early 21st century and now includes a restaurant and large gift shop.[16]
In 2000, the Chinese Picture Gallery, designed byvan Heyningen and Haward Architects, opened at the entrance of the Ashmolean and is partly integrated into the structure. It was inserted into a lightwell in the Grade I listed building and was designed to support future construction from its roof. Apart from the original Cockerell spaces, this gallery was the only part of the museum retained in the rebuilding. The gallery houses the Ashmolean's own collection and is also used from time to time for the display of loan exhibitions and works by contemporary Chinese artists. It is the only museum gallery in Britain devoted to Chinese paintings.[17]
TheBodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library (formerly theSackler Library), incorporating the older library collections of the Ashmolean, opened in 2001 and has allowed an expansion of the book collection, which concentrates on classical civilisation, archaeology, and art history.[18]
Between 2006 and 2009, the museum was expanded to the designs of architectRick Mather and the exhibition design companyMetaphor, supported by theHeritage Lottery Fund. The $98.2 million[19] rebuilding resulted in five floors instead of three, with a doubling of the display space, as well as new conservation studios and an education centre.[20] The renovated museum re-opened on 7 November 2009.[21][22]
On 26 November 2011, the Ashmolean opened to the public the new galleries ofAncient Egypt andNubia. This second phase of major redevelopment now allows the museum to exhibit objects that have been in storage for decades, more than doubling the number of coffins and mummies on display. The project received lead support fromLord Sainsbury's Linbury Trust, along with the Selz Foundation, Mr. Christian Levett, as well as other trusts, foundations, and individuals. Rick Mather Architects led the redesign and display of the four previous Egypt galleries and the extension to the restored Ruskin Gallery, previously occupied by the museum shop.[23]
In May 2016, the museum opened new galleries dedicated to the display of its collection ofVictorian art.[24] This development allowed for the return to the Ashmolean of theGreat Bookcase, designed byWilliam Burges, and described as "the most important example of Victorian painted furniture ever made."[24]
Rive des Esclavons, byJ. M. W. Turner,c. 1840Detail from a fragment of wall painting depictingAkhenaten andNefertiti with their daughtersTaichi Arch on the museum's forecourt, a sculpture by the artistJu Ming
The main museum contains huge collections ofarchaeological specimens and fine art. It has one of the best collections ofPre-Raphaelite paintings,majolica pottery, and English silver. The archaeology department includes the bequest ofArthur Evans and so has a collection ofGreek andMinoan pottery. The department also has an extensive collection of antiquities fromAncient Egypt and theSudan, and the museum hosts theGriffith Institute for the advancement ofEgyptology.
Near Eastern (mainlycunaiform) tablets collection, second largest in the UK;[29] mainly recovered by the Oxford-Field Museum Expedition toKish,Iraq (1923–1933)[30]
In 2017 the museum acquired aViking hoard that was discovered nearWatlington in SouthOxfordshire in 2015. It is the first large Viking hoard discovered in Oxfordshire, which once lay on the border ofWessex andMercia. The hoard contains over 200Anglo-Saxon coins, including many examples of previously rare coins ofAlfred the Great, King of Wessex (871–899) and his less well-known contemporary,King Ceolwulf II of Mercia (874–879).[34][35]
In 2015 the Ashmolean raised the money needed to acquire a major painting byJ. M. W. Turner. With lead support from theHeritage Lottery Fund, a grant from theArt Fund, and a public appeal, the fundraising target was met to secure Turner's only full-size townscape in oils:The High Street, Oxford (1810). The painting was accepted by the nation through theAcceptance in Lieu scheme.[36]
In October 2014 the Ashmolean acquired a collection of historicEnglish embroideries which was given to the museum by collectors Micheál and Elizabeth Feller. The gift comprises 61 pieces which span the whole of the seventeenth century.[40][41]
In late 2013, art historian and collectorMichael Sullivan bequeathed his collection of more than 400 works of art to the museum. The collection, which includes paintings by Chinese mastersQi Baishi,Zhang Daqian, andWu Guanzhong, was considered one of the world's most significant collections of modern Chinese art. The museum has a gallery dedicated to Sullivan and his wife Khoan.[42]
In 2013 the museum was given the sculptureTaichi Arch by Taiwanese artistJu Ming, which was installed on the museum's main forecourt. It was given to the museum by the Juming Culture and Education Foundation in memory of art historian and collectorMichael Sullivan.[43]
In 2012 the museum was left a 500-piece collection of gold and silverobjets d'art, including many pieces of Renaissance silverware, assembled by the antique dealer Michael Welby.[44][45]
In 2012 the museum acquiredÉdouard Manet'sPortrait of Mademoiselle Claus, painted in 1868, after a public campaign to raise £7.83 million while a temporary export bar was placed on it by theRCEWA The campaign received £5.9m from theHeritage Lottery Fund, and a grant of £850,000 fromThe Art Fund.[46]
In 2013 a museum was opened in the 17th-century "Tudor House" atBroadway, Worcestershire, in the Cotswolds, in partnership with the Ashmolean Museum. In 2017 the museum became known as the Broadway Museum and Art Gallery. The collection includes paintings and furniture from the founding collections of the Ashmolean Museum, given by Elias Ashmole to the University of Oxford in 1683, and local exhibits expand upon elements of the timeline of the village.[47]
Labyrinth: Knossos, Myth and Reality: This exhibition opened at the Ashmolean in February 2023 and will be open until late July 2023.[48]
Major exhibitions in recent years include:
Pre-Raphaelites: Drawings & Watercolours: This exhibition, initially shown for 5 weeks in 2021, was re-mounted in 2022 for a longer run, opening in July. It is drawn from the Ashmolean's own collection ofPre-Raphaelite drawings and watercolours.[49]
Pissarro: Father of Impressionism: Open from February until June 2022, this exhibition included artworks drawn from the Ashmolean's collections as well as international loans, spanningCamille Pissarro's entire career.[50]
Tokyo: Art and Photography: Open from July 2021 until January 2022, this exhibition included artworks from the Ashmolean's collection as well as loans from Japan and new commissions by contemporary artists. It included woodblock prints byHokusai andHiroshige, photography ofMoriyama Daido andNinagawa Mika.[51]
Pre-Raphaelites: Drawings & Watercolours: Open in May and June 2021, this exhibition was drawn from the Ashmolean's own collection ofPre-Raphaelite drawings and watercolours. The exhibition was curated by British art historianChristiana Payne.[52]
Last Supper in Pompeii: Open from July 2019 until January 2020, this exhibition explored what the people of the ancient Roman city ofPompeii loved to eat and drink. Many of the objects, on loan fromNaples Museum andPompeii, had never before left Italy.[55]
Jeff Koons at the Ashmolean: Open from February until June 2019, this exhibition featured 17 major works by the American artistJeff Koons, 14 of which had never been on display in the UK before. They included some of his most well-known series such as Equilibrium,Banality, Antiquity and his recent Gazing Ball paintings and sculptures. In the galleries of the museum, where the collections range from prehistory to the present, Jeff Koons's work was 'in conversation' with the history of art and ideas which has been his focus over the past four decades. The exhibition was curated by Koons andNorman Rosenthal.[56]
Spellbound: Magic, Ritual & Witchcraft: Open from August 2018 until January 2019, this exhibition explored the history of magic over eight centuries. On display were 180 objects from 12th-century Europe to newly commissioned contemporary artworks.[57]
America's Cool Modernism: O'Keeffe to Hopper: Open from March until July 2018 this major exhibition of works by American artists in the early 20th-century included over 80 paintings, photographs and prints, and the first American avant-garde film,Manhatta. Many of the paintings had never before travelled outside the US.[58]
Imagining the Divine: Art and the Rise of World Religions: Open from October 2017 until February 2018 this exhibition explored Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism, and was the first to look at the art of these five world religions as they spread across continents in the first millennium CE.[59]
Raphael: The Drawings: Open from June 2017 until September 2017 this exhibition brought together over a hundred works byRaphael from international collections and aimed to transform public understanding of Raphael through a focus on the immediacy and expressiveness of his drawing.[60]
Degas to Picasso: Creating Modernism in France: Open from February 2017 until May 2017, and featuring works byMatisse,Manet,Chagall,Braque,Delacroix,Renoir,Metzinger,Degas,Léger andPicasso, this exhibition told the story of the rise of Modernism through works from a private collection that had never been seen in Britain before.[61][62][63]
Power and Protection: Islamic Art and the Supernatural: Open from October 2016 until January 2017, this was the first major exhibition to explore the supernatural in the art of the Islamic world. The exhibition included objects and works of art from the 12th to the 20th century, from Morocco to China, which have been used as sources of guidance and protection in the dramatic events of human history. These include dream-books, talismanic charts and amulets.[64][65]
Storms, War and Shipwrecks: Treasures from the Sicilian Seas: Open from June until September 2016, this exhibition explored the roots ofSicily's multi-cultural heritage through the discoveries made by underwater archaeologists – from chance finds to excavated shipwrecks.[66] The exhibition also featured what has been described as a "flat pack"Byzantine church interior, intended for assembly at its destination, with marble items raised from a wreck off the southeast coast of Sicily in the 1960s by archaeologist Gerhard Kapitan.[67]
Andy Warhol: Works from the Hall Collection: Open from February until May 2016, this exhibition featured over a hundred works, byAndy Warhol, from the Hall Collection (US), plus loans of films fromThe Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Curated bySir Norman Rosenthal, the exhibition spanned Warhol's entire output, from iconic pieces of the 1960s Pop pioneer to the experimental works of his last decade.[68][69]
Elizabeth Price: A Restoration: Open from March until May 2016, this two-screen video installation by British artistElizabeth Price was a newly commissioned work in response to the collections and archives of the Ashmolean andPitt Rivers museums, in partnership with theRuskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, and funded by the 2013Contemporary Art Society Award. The main focus was the records ofArthur Evans's excavation of the Cretan city ofKnossos.[70][71]
Drawing in Venice: Titian to Canaletto: Open from October 2015 until January 2016, this exhibition featured a hundred drawings from TheUffizi Gallery in Florence, the Ashmolean, andChrist Church, Oxford. It was based on new research tracing continuities in Venetian drawing over three centuries, from around 1500 down to the foundation of the first academy of art in Venice in 1750.[72] The exhibition also featured 20 works on paper and canvas by contemporary artistJenny Saville, produced in response to the Venetian drawings in the exhibition.[73]
Great British Drawings: An exhibition open from March until August 2015 showing more than one hundred British drawings and watercolours from the Ashmolean's collection, spanning three hundred years.[74]
An Elegant Society: Adam Buck, artist in the age of Jane Austen: Open from July until October 2015 this exhibition explored the work ofAdam Buck, IrishRegency era portrait and miniature painter.[74]
Love Bites: Caricatures by James Gillray: An exhibition in 2015 to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of British caricaturistJames Gillray (1757–1815). Thecaricatures on display were from the collection ofNew College, Oxford.[74]
William Blake: Apprentice and Master: Open from December 2014 until March 2015, this exhibition celebrated the work ofWilliam Blake.[75]
Discovering Tutankhamun: a special exhibition, open from July until November 2014, exploredHoward Carter's excavation of the tomb ofTutankhamun in 1922. Original records, drawings and photographs from theGriffith Institute were on display.[76]
The Eye of the Needle: English Embroideries from the Feller Collection: a special exhibition, open from August until October 2014, of 17th-century embroideries from theFeller Collection, together with examples from the Ashmolean's own holdings.[77]
Francis Bacon / Henry Moore: Flesh and Bone: a special exhibition, open from September 2013 until July 2014, displaying paintings byFrancis Bacon and sculptures and drawings byHenry Moore.[79]
Stradivarius: a special exhibition, open from June until August 2013, exploring the life and work ofAntonio Stradivari. It was the first time twenty-one of his instruments, from guitar to cello to violin, were on display together in the UK.[80]
Master Drawings: a special exhibition, open from May until August 2013, displaying a selection of the Ashmolean's on western art collection. The exhibition surveyed drawings of all types by some of the biggest names in art history, including Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael, as well as Gwen John, David Hockney and Antony Gormley.[81]
Xu Bing: Landscape Landscript: a special exhibition of the work ofXu Bing, open from February until May 2013. It was the Ashmolean's first major exhibition of contemporary art.[82]
On 31 December 1999, during the fireworks that accompanied the celebration of themillennium, thieves used scaffolding on an adjoining building to climb onto the roof of the museum and stoleCézanne's landscape paintingView of Auvers-sur-Oise. Valued at £3 million, the painting has been described as an important work illustrating the transition from early to mature Cézanne painting.[91] As the thieves ignored other works in the same room, and the stolen Cézanne has not been offered for sale, it is speculated that this was a case of an artwork stolen to order.[92][93] The Cézanne has not been recovered and is one of the FBI's Top Ten Art Crimes.[94]
^Salter, H. E.; Lobel, Mary D., eds. (1954)."Victoria County History".A History of the County of Oxford.3:47–49.
^Bryson, Bill (2003).A Short History of Nearly Everything (1st ed.). New York: Broadway Books, Random House, Inc. p. 470.ISBN0-7679-0818-X.In 1755, some seventy years after the last dodo's death, the director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford decided that the institution's stuffed dodo was becoming unpleasantly musty and ordered it tossed on a bonfire. This was a surprising decision as it was by this time the only dodo in existence, stuffed or otherwise. A passing employee, aghast, tried to rescue the bird but could save only its head and part of one limb.
^Alden's Oxford Guide. Oxford: Alden & Company. 1946. p. 105.
^Alden's Oxford Guide. Oxford: Alden & Company. 1946. p. 103.
^Evans, Joan. Time and Chance: The story of Arthur Evans and his forebears. London, Longmans, 1943.
^MacGregor, Arthur (2001).The Ashmolean Museum: A Brief History of the Museum and Its Collections. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum Oxford. p. 56.
^Johnston, Stephen."Astrolabes in Medieval Jewish Society".The Warburg Institute. University of London, School of Advanced Study. Archived fromthe original on 28 November 2015. Retrieved5 November 2015.The Museum of the History of Science in Oxford has the world's largest collection of astrolabes.
^The galleries are quirky and unpredictable, full of nooks and crannies and yet completely navigable even to the dyspraxically challenged, like me. That's as much to do with the layout by the exhibition designers Metaphor as with the architecture.Dorment, Richard (2 November 2009)."The reopening of The Ashmolean, review".Telegraph. London.Archived from the original on 5 November 2009. Retrieved2 November 2009.
^Vickers, Michael, "The Wilshere Collection of Early Christian and Jewish Antiquities in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford,"Miscellanea a Emilio Marin Sexagenario Dicata, Kacic, 41–43 (2009–2011), pp. 605–614,PDFArchived 19 October 2017 at theWayback Machine. Vickers describes the whole collection, on loan to the museum fromPusey House until bought in 2007. The glass is described at 609–613
^"Itinerary for Inspector Morse Tour".Oxford, England. TourInADay. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved4 July 2008.The Ashmolean Museum is home to The Alfred Jewel that inspired the Inspector Morse episode, The Wolvercote Tongue. This episode ... used the inside of the Ashmolean as a set.
^"FBI – Cezanne". Fbi.gov. 31 December 1999. Retrieved17 November 2012.
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