Welcome

The front of the Museum against a blue and cloudy sky

PLAN YOUR VISIT

WELCOME

Open every day, 10am–5pm

Plan your visit, become a Member, donate, or visit our Online Shop

The Ashmolean is the University of Oxford’s museum of art and archaeology, founded in 1683. Our world famous collections range from Egyptian mummies to contemporary art, telling human stories across cultures and across time.

Open every day. Admission is free.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Detail from a painting by Rossetti of a woman holding a branch

PRE-RAPHAELITES

DRAWINGS & WATERCOLOURS
EXHIBITION OPEN TO 27 NOV 2022

★ ★ ★ ★ "Stunning" – The Observer

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JOIN US AS A MEMBER

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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MANISHA GERA BASWANI

POSTCARDS FROM HOME

1947 and the partition of India

This free exhibition marks the 75th anniversary of India’s partition. It features postcards of 47 artists from India and Pakistan, all with a shared history of the partition of India in 1947.

FREE Admission
Gallery 29
Open now until 23 March 2023

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ASHMOLEAN ADVENTURE

A fun interactive family experience. Book your digital guide before you visit over the summer school holidays.

BOOK NOW

VISIT

NEW AFTERNOON TEA

Treat yourself to our new summer Afternoon Tea in the beautiful Rooftop Restaurant.

Summer gifts for the kids in the Ashmolean Shop

SHOP THE RANGE

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

Find the perfect gift for entertaining and educating children during the holidays.
Every purchase supports the Museum.

Gustave Courbet 'Le bord de mer a Palavas', By The Seaside, 1853

TALK

31 Aug

THE SEA, THE SEASIDE!

Join art historian Juliet Heslewood to explore the different way artists have interpreted the sea and seaside through...

Join art historian Juliet Heslewood to explore the different way artists have interpreted the sea and seaside through the ages.

Online and at the Museum

MEMBERS ONLY TALK

15 Sep

THE ART OF MUMMIFICATION

This event, will take place both on Zoom and in the Headley Lecture Theatre at the Ashmolean Museum. Dr Bob Loynes...

This event, will take place both on Zoom and in the Headley Lecture Theatre at the Ashmolean Museum. Dr Bob Loynes describes the motivation for and the methods used for mummification,...

This event, will take place both on Zoom and in the Headley Lecture Theatre at the Ashmolean Museum. Dr Bob Loynes describes the motivation for and the methods used for mummification, throughout the long history...

This event, will take place both on Zoom and in the Headley Lecture Theatre at the Ashmolean Museum. Dr Bob Loynes describes the motivation for and the methods used for mummification, throughout the long history of ancient Egypt.

Online and at the Museum

TALK

16 Sep

THE PRE-RAPHAELITES

Delve deeper into the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood with art historian, Alice Foster, and uncover how they were pioneers...

Delve deeper into the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood with art historian, Alice Foster, and uncover how they were pioneers of new painting techniques.

Online and at the Museum

Friendship picture of the Romantic era by Phillipp Otto Runge, We Three, 1804-5, depicting the artist, his wife and brother

TALK

21 Sep

THE ART OF FRIENDSHIP

In this talk, author and art historian Juliet Heslewood discusses portraits by artists of their close friends and...

In this talk, author and art historian Juliet Heslewood discusses portraits by artists of their close friends and includes anecdotes about their friendships.

Online and at the Museum

Christopher Nevinson's atmospheric painting of The Towpath, 1912, showing Camden's Regent Canal - painted with broken brushwork in a fluent, Impressionist style.

MEMBERS ONLY TALK

4 Oct

WAR IN ART AND LITERATURE

Alice Foster discusses a selection of major First World War artists and their work, including the brothers Paul...

Alice Foster discusses a selection of major First World War artists and their work, including the brothers Paul and John Nash and Sir Stanley Spencer, with readings.

Online & at the Museum

Three different pastel cloud artworks - blue skies, golden skies, dusky skies

WORKSHOP

7 Oct

JOHN RUSKIN'S SKIES WORKSHOP

Join Sandra Orme, award-winning pastel artist, in this workshop and explore using pastels to create evocative paintings...

Join Sandra Orme, award-winning pastel artist, in this workshop and explore using pastels to create evocative paintings of skies, inspired by the techniques of John Ruskin and othe...

Join Sandra Orme, award-winning pastel artist, in this workshop and explore using pastels to create evocative paintings of skies, inspired by the techniques of John Ruskin and others.

At the Museum

A square stone plaque with an Indus Valley inscription and an engraving of a figure of a horse beneath

TALK

7 Oct

CRACKING ANCIENT CODES

An in-person and online talk with Andrew Robinson, exploring how scholars have tackled deciphering ancient scripts...

An in-person and online talk with Andrew Robinson, exploring how scholars have tackled deciphering ancient scripts like the Etruscan alphabet and early writing systems. Third in our...

An in-person and online talk with Andrew Robinson, exploring how scholars have tackled deciphering ancient scripts like the Etruscan alphabet and early writing systems. Third in our series on decipherment.

Ashmolean Museum and Online

Renaissance drawing of an apprentice at work

WORKSHOP

9 Oct

THE RENAISSANCE APPRENTICE WORKSHOP

Explore Renaissance Art Training with artist and art historian Alan Pascuzzi in this practical workshop and use...

Explore Renaissance Art Training with artist and art historian Alan Pascuzzi in this practical workshop and use the same drawing materials and make your own studies like ‘novice’...

Explore Renaissance Art Training with artist and art historian Alan Pascuzzi in this practical workshop and use the same drawing materials and make your own studies like ‘novice’ apprentices in the 1400s.

At the Museum

Henry Stacy Marks's colourful 'Studies of a white-crested laughing thrush, a cock of the rock and a yellow macaw' watercolour over graphite on paper

TALK

19 Oct

BIRDS AND THE BEES: COLOUR IN VICTORIAN NATURE

Join us in the Print Room for this online talk with Madeline Hewitson to explore the use of colour in the Victorian...

Join us in the Print Room for this online talk with Madeline Hewitson to explore the use of colour in the Victorian natural world.

Online

MEMBERS ONLY CONCERT

20 Oct

RODE 300 BIRTHDAY CONCERT

Celebrate the 300th birthday of the Rode Stradivarius violin with us, in this special Members-only concert, featuring...

Celebrate the 300th birthday of the Rode Stradivarius violin with us, in this special Members-only concert, featuring violinist Michael Foyle and pianist Martin Cousin.

At the Museum

SHOW

28 Oct

'TUTANKHAMUN'S SHOES' OPERA FOR FAMILIES

Join us for a unique evening of interactive opera and Ancient Egypt inspired activities for families marking the...

Join us for a unique evening of interactive opera and Ancient Egypt inspired activities for families marking the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 19...

Join us for a unique evening of interactive opera and Ancient Egypt inspired activities for families marking the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.

At the Museum

British painter Laura Knight at work, in a black & white newspaper clipping

COURSE

31 Oct

LAURA KNIGHT: WOMAN AND ARTIST

Join art historian Tim Wilcox in three talks uncovering the struggles and achievements of the successful British...

Join art historian Tim Wilcox in three talks uncovering the struggles and achievements of the successful British artist, Dame Laura Knight.

Online and at the Museum

Rote Punkte (or Red Dots) print by Salome, 1995 - shows an almost naked with sunglasses and red lipstick against a green wash. Salome was a 90s German punk printer. Young & Wild? exhibition poster image

YOUNG & WILD? ART IN 1980s GERMANY

The 1980s saw the rise of the 'Neo-Expressionism' movement in Germany and ''Junge Wilde' artists like A.R. Penck, Georg Baselitz, Salomé and Ina Barfuss, inspired by sub-cultures and the Punk and gay scenes. This vibrant exhibition brings together a selection of their work.

Gallery 8
FREE

MANISHA GERA BASWANI: POSTCARDS FROM HOME

New Delhi-based artist Manisha Gera Baswani presents postcards of 47 artists from India and Pakistan, all with a shared history of the partition of India in 1947. Each postcard in her exhibition carries an image of the contemporary artists photographed by Baswani, accompanied by their reminiscences.

Gallery 29
FREE

A black and white etching of various wandering 3D shapes drifting in space

VISION OF A MOMENT: JAPANESE PRINTS 1950–1960

Commemorating the founding of the Eastern Art Department, this exhibition includes a range of abstract and figurative works, including woodblock prints, mezzotints and lithographs.

Gallery 11
FREE

Visitor on a gallery tour looking at paintings in the Sickert Gallery

ALL AGES & INTERESTS

SUMMER GALLERY TOURS

Join one of our short gallery tours led by volunteers. Explore different parts of the Museum and uncover amazing stories. FREE

GALLERY TOUR DETAILS

WIN AN OXFORD CITY BREAK

To celebrate our summer exhibition Pre-Raphaelites: Drawings & Watercolours, we’re giving you the chance to win a luxurious 5-star city break in Oxford.

ENTER NOW

A Beach Scene at Trouville by Eugene Louis Boudin (1824-1898). Oil on card laid on panel

DISCOVER SUMMER STORIES

SUMMER SENSATIONS

Enjoy this sun-streaked selection of summer artworks and scenes from our collections as we enjoy the longer, lighter days.

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.

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.

Netsuke in the form of a rat, Kano Tomokazu, 1800-40

TREASURES

Take a look at a selection of the Ashmolean's most treasured objects, chosen by our curators.

landscape detail st jerome reading in a landscape by giovanni bellini with a tablet ashmolean museum wa1899 cdef p1

YOUR SUPPORT

A donation of any amount will help ensure that we remain open to the public, free of charge, and that we are able to continue to care for and showcase the collections share our knowledge.

MAKE A DONATION

Membership Card with logos and depictions of birds

JOIN ONLINE

GIFT MEMBERSHIP

Support the Museum and treat someone to free, unlimited access to a year of exhibitions, including Pissarro: Father of Impressionism, plus exclusive events and discounts.