Our friends at @unirdg-artcol.bsky.social return with another online fine art talk this Thursday!
Join Professor Conor Carville (University of Reading) for a deep-dive into the University's artworks of James Joyce.
Free to join. RSVP:
merl.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/con...
Augustus John (1878-1961), Portrait of James Joyce, 1930, red chalk on paper, UAC/11536. © Augustus John / Bridgeman Images.
📢 Our next series of free online art history talks kicks off again next Thursday 5 February!
🎨 Join Professor Conor Carville as he explores our collection of artwork depicting the Irish writer, James Joyce.
🔗 collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collecti...
🎨 It's the final weekend of our anniversary display: 'Paint, Pencil, Print: 10 Artworks for 10 Years'
⏰The display space will be open 10am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm). Entrance via @themerl.bsky.social
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© Saranjit Birdi, 'Self Portrait: Left-Foot', pencil on paper, 2021, UAC/11030.
Last year our History placement student, Kaiden Underwood, wrote a fantastic blog about our most recent acquisition—a woodcut by Agnes Miller Parker (UAC/11932).
Follow the link to read more: collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collecti...
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UAC/11932. © Estate of Agnes Miller Parker.
[Attributed to Flaminio or Francesco Allegrini, St Catherine and the Philosophers, UAC/10540]
Happy New Year! 💫
Today we have been researching this remarkable drawing of St Catherine, attributed to Flaminio (1624-84) or Francesco Allegrini (1587-1663).
Catherine is the patron saint of scholars. Artists typically depict her with a spiked wheel, but here she is debating 50 philosophers!
Wishing all of our staff, students and followers a restful and joyful Christmas and New Year!🎄
See you in 2026! 💫
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[Thomas Hofland, A View of Whiteknights from the Park with a Lady Sketching, c.1816, oil on canvas. UAC/10236]
Take a peek behind the scenes of our Paper Conservation studio with our wonderful colleagues in @uorspeccoll.bsky.social 👀🔍
conservation studio shot
measuring portraits shot
book cradle
book cradle construction
For @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social 's focus week, we're looking at #eyaconservation , with some behind the scenes conservation highlights of James Joyce exhibition prep!
[Closeup of 'The Little Bed' by Walter Sickert, UAC/10520]
🔍 This month, our former placement student, Caitlin Johnson (BA Museum Studies and Archaeology, 2021-2025), provides a closer look into Walter Sickert’s intriguing drawing — featured in our current exhibition ‘Paint, Pencil, Print: 10 Artworks for 10 Years’
collections.reading.ac.uk/art-collecti...
Woodcut of a black and white magpie perched on a branch
Missed our recent online talk on Allen Seaby by the fabulous Martin Andrews?
Don't worry ... you can catch up on YouTube.
Link: youtu.be/cYuBsmK2yP8
[Closeup of 'Magpie' by Allen Seaby. UAC/10860]
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! 🔍✏️
