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LAST CHANCE TO SEE

ANSELM KIEFER: EARLY WORKS

14 Feb – 15 Jun 2025
★ ★ ★ ★ – The Guardian
★ ★ ★ ★ – The Times

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Join today for priority booking, unlimited free exhibition entry, preview days & much more

Membership gives you unlimited free access to exhibitions, exclusive online events, members-only previews and curator-led events, a members’ magazine sent to your door, as well as discounts across our shop, restaurant and café. Join as a Member today and you will be supporting the Museum at a critical time.

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SHOP KIEFER

KIEFER EXHIBITION RANGE

From candles and notebooks to the catalogue, browse our colourful range of Anselm Kiefer products.

FORECOURT TREATS

FORECOURT COFFEE VAN

The coffee van is back on the Museum's forecourt for the summer. Serving drinks, snacks, cakes and ice cream 10am–5pm.

MAJOR EXHIBITION

THIS IS WHAT YOU GET

STANLEY DONWOOD | RADIOHEAD | THOM YORKE

Exploring the visual art of Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke and Radiohead's iconic images.

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MEMBERS ONLY

A SPOTLIGHT ON STANLEY SPENCER

David Boyd Haycock, lecturer, writer and curator, focuses on this leading 20th-century artist.

Wed 11 Jun, 3.30–4.30pm

At the Museum and Online

FULLY BOOKED

MIXED MEDIA OF ANSELM KIEFER WORKSHOP JUNE

In this one-day workshop with Kieran Stiles, explore how artist Anselm Kiefer uses found objects like burnt wood,...

In this one-day workshop with Kieran Stiles, explore how artist Anselm Kiefer uses found objects like burnt wood, acrylic, charcoal, emulsion, wax, sand and gold leaf to symbolise ideas...

In this one-day workshop with Kieran Stiles, explore how artist Anselm Kiefer uses found objects like burnt wood, acrylic, charcoal, emulsion, wax, sand and gold leaf to symbolise ideas about truth,

Thu 12 Jun 2025, 10.30am–4pm

At the Museum

TALK

FIGURATIVE TO ABSTRACT ART TALK 1

In the first of her series of three art history talks, Alice Foster looks at the great fresco cycles of the Medieval...

In the first of her series of three art history talks, Alice Foster looks at the great fresco cycles of the Medieval and Renaissance periods, including work by Giotto and Pinturicc...

In the first of her series of three art history talks, Alice Foster looks at the great fresco cycles of the Medieval and Renaissance periods, including work by Giotto and Pinturicchio.

Fri 13 Jun 2025, 11am–12pm

At the Museum and Online

CANCELLED

LOVE & POETRY AT THE ASHMOLEAN TALK 2

This event has been cancelled.

Fri 13 Jun 2025, 3.30–4.30pm

At the Museum and Online

CANCELLED

TEXTURAL LANDSCAPES WORKSHOP

Using a combination of wet and needle felting methods, learn how to interpret textures in your landscapes like...

Using a combination of wet and needle felting methods, learn how to interpret textures in your landscapes like artist Anselm Kiefer in this one-day workshop with Helen Edwards.

Sat 14 Jun 2025, 10.30am–4pm

At the Museum

TALK

FIGURATIVE TO ABSTRACT ART TALK 2

This second art history talk covers the late 19th and early 20th centuries, exploring 'psychological'...

This second art history talk covers the late 19th and early 20th centuries, exploring 'psychological' and expressive styles that Munch and Picasso started to experiment with,...

This second art history talk covers the late 19th and early 20th centuries, exploring 'psychological' and expressive styles that Munch and Picasso started to experiment with, moving away from religious...

This second art history talk covers the late 19th and early 20th centuries, exploring 'psychological' and expressive styles that Munch and Picasso started to experiment with, moving away from religious contemplation in art.

Fri 20 Jun 2025, 11am–12pm

Online and at the Museum

GALLERY ACTIVITY

POETRY IN GALLERIES TOUR JUN 2025

Poets from Oxford and surrounding areas will explore the Pre-Raphaelites Gallery 66 on this tour in the Museum....

Poets from Oxford and surrounding areas will explore the Pre-Raphaelites Gallery 66 on this tour in the Museum. Free

Sat 21 Jun 2025, 2–3pm

At the Museum

TOUR

CHANGE MAKERS TOURS: 22 JUN 2025

Explore political, social and religious change across time and cultures on this Museum tour of key objects in the...

Explore political, social and religious change across time and cultures on this Museum tour of key objects in the collection, available on various dates.

Sun 22 Jun 2025, 3–4pm

At the Museum

MEMBERS ONLY

LOVE & POETRY AT THE ASHMOLEAN TALK 3

In the third talk in our series of love and poetry talks for members, Dr Steve Kershaw delves into the Museum's...

In the third talk in our series of love and poetry talks for members, Dr Steve Kershaw delves into the Museum's ancient Greek collection, exploring poets like Homer and Ovid alongside...

In the third talk in our series of love and poetry talks for members, Dr Steve Kershaw delves into the Museum's ancient Greek collection, exploring poets like Homer and Ovid alongside the great symbols of love...

In the third talk in our series of love and poetry talks for members, Dr Steve Kershaw delves into the Museum's ancient Greek collection, exploring poets like Homer and Ovid alongside the great symbols of love in Eros and Aphrodite.

Wed 25 Jun 2025, 3.30–4.30pm

At the Museum and Online

TALK

FIGURATIVE TO ABSTRACT ART TALK 3

In her final talk on figurative to abstract art, Alice reviews the turn of the 20th century, where fearless artists...

In her final talk on figurative to abstract art, Alice reviews the turn of the 20th century, where fearless artists like Kandinsky and Mondrian believed that the purest art was that...

In her final talk on figurative to abstract art, Alice reviews the turn of the 20th century, where fearless artists like Kandinsky and Mondrian believed that the purest art was that not dependent on a narrative...

In her final talk on figurative to abstract art, Alice reviews the turn of the 20th century, where fearless artists like Kandinsky and Mondrian believed that the purest art was that not dependent on a narrative.

Fri 27 Jun 2025, 11am–12pm

Online and at the Museum

TALK

CREATION TO TRANSFORMATION TALK 1

Juliet Heslewood explores the Biblical story of The Creation and its inspiration on the imaginations of countless...

Juliet Heslewood explores the Biblical story of The Creation and its inspiration on the imaginations of countless artists through the ages. This is the first of a 2-talk series.

Sat 5 Jul 2025, 11am–12pm

At the Museum and Online

MEMBERS ONLY

MEMBERS TOUR OF THE NEW ROME GALLERIES

A tour of the newly-refurbished Rome and Etruscan galleries with Dr Paul Roberts will give members a close up view...

A tour of the newly-refurbished Rome and Etruscan galleries with Dr Paul Roberts will give members a close up view of the new displays and new insights into the Roman world.

Tue 8 Jul 2025, 5-6pm

At the Museum

CREATE & TRANSFORM SEASON

A special season of events, exhibitions and more during spring and summer 2025

CHECK WHAT'S ON

BOOK

ASHMOLEAN ADVENTURE

A fun interactive family experience through the galleries. Book ahead for your half term visit, it's available every day in the school holidays.

Child uses a magnifying glass to look closer at coins in the museum

COIN SESSIONS

COIN HANDLING SESSIONS

Drop in to a coin handling session in the Money Gallery, every Saturday. Free. Check times

DO THE TRAIL

TOP 10 TREASURES TRAIL

Pick up a Top 10 Treasure Trail on your visit or download now to discover amazing objects in the Museum.

IMAGES OF AUTHORITY

Discover portraits from across Iran, Britain and France which show personal and political aspirations of ambitious leaders. Gallery 29, first floor. Open now

KABUKI KIMONO: Costumes of Bandō Tamasaburō V

Discover the new set of sensational kimonos worn by the famous kabuki actor Bandō Tamasaburō V. Textiles Gallery 5, lower ground floor. Open now

CHEUNG YEE & HIS 1960s HONG KONG CONTEMPORARIES

The first substantial public exhibition of Hong Kong artist Cheung Yee outside of Hong Kong shows his sculptures and works on paper. Chinese Paintings Gallery 11, ground floor. Open now

DAPHNE WRIGHT: DEEP-ROOTED THINGS

The fourth exhibition in our Ashmolean NOW series presents sculptures by contemporary Irish artist Daphne Wright. Gallery 8, lower ground floor. Opens 13 Jun

SPRING TIME

Join us in sharing the joys of spring in the collections and our May parade.

PRE-RAPHAELITE 'STUNNERS'

A recently-acquired portrait by J.J. Shannon of the Pre-Raphaelite 'stunner' Violet Manners is on show in the Pre-Raphaelites gallery. Read about her and other Pre-Raphaelite muses.

ANSELM KIEFER & THE ARTIST'S ROLE

Ashmolean director Xa Sturgis goes behind the scenes of the Anselm Kiefer exhibition to explore the artist's role in confronting the past.

A pair of hands hold an ancient stone Sumerian statue

6 EPISODES

FINGERPRINTS

Uncover the invisible fingerprints left behind by makers, looters, archaeologists, soldiers, rulers, curators, and more. These stories of touch also reveal how forces of conflict and colonialism have shaped the Museum.

25 BITE-SIZED TALES

MUSEUM SECRETS

Our curators have been recording bite-sized tales of the wonderful, and sometimes unexpected, life of a museum. Explore time & asparagus, symbols of hope in challenging times, Ancient Greek manscaping, and more!

6 AUDIO ADVENTURES

OBJECTS OUT LOUD

From Uccello’s spine-tingling painting The Hunt in the Forest to poems woven into Japanese prints, this short series delves into the poetry and literature hidden in the collections.

Browse the floors of the Museum

Use our interactive floor guide to browse the galleries of the Ashmolean floor by floor and images of the objects they contain

BROWSE

ONLINE COLLECTIONS

Discover thousands of objects and artworks Take a journey through thousands of years of art and history with our online collection. There are currently more than 200,000 objects available to search and browse online.