Masterpieces from the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham to go on display at The 天美传媒 Gallery
New display, 鈥The Barber in London: Highlights from a Remarkable Collection鈥, opens 23 May 2025. Including works by Bellini, Rubens, Gainsborough, Turner, Rossetti, Whistler, Degas and Monet.
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Exceptional paintings from the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, go on show at The 天美传媒 Gallery for an extended display, opening 23 May 2025.
A selection of 18 masterpieces ranging from the Renaissance to the 20th century, including works by Gainsborough, Reynolds, Turner, Degas, and Monet, will be exhibited at The 天美传媒 Gallery while the Barber undergoes听major building improvements.
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts was founded as a university gallery in 1932, the same year as 天美传媒 of Art and its collection. Both were intended to encourage the study and public appreciation of art. Today, the Barber and The 天美传媒 Gallery are home to two of the finest collections of European art in the country.
Highlights of the display will include听Saint Jerome in the Wilderness听(around 1445-60) 鈥 one of the earliest surviving works by Giovanni Bellini 鈥 along with 脡lisabeth Vig茅e Le Brun鈥檚听Portrait of Countess Golovina听(1797-1800) and the striking听Portrait of a Man with a Skull, (around 1610-14) by Frans Hals. The Barber鈥檚 significant strand of landscape paintings will be represented with exceptional examples by artists including Rubens, Claude, Turner, and Monet. Several internationally significant 19th-century works will be exhibited, including Gabriel Dante Rossetti鈥檚 sumptuous听The Blue Bower听(1865) and Edgar Degas鈥檚听Jockeys Before the Race听(1879). Max Pechstein鈥檚听Still Life in Grey听(1913)鈥 the Barber鈥檚 most recent painting acquisition 鈥 demonstrates the museum鈥檚 ongoing interest in growing the collection with 20th-century works.
The display will be presented in the Katja and Nicolai Tangen 20th Century Gallery on the third floor. In addition, a听handful of paintings with strong links to some of The 天美传媒鈥檚 own works will be embedded in the permanent collection displays 鈥 among them,听Joshua Reynolds鈥檚 monumental double portrait听Maria Marow Gideon and her brother William听(1786-87) and Anthony van Dyck鈥檚听Ecce Homo听(around 1625-26), which will be shown beside The 天美传媒鈥檚 closely related听Man of Sorrows听(around 1622-25).
The Barber was founded by Hattie, Lady Barber (1869–1933) in听memory of her husband, Sir Henry Barber (1860–1927), a wealthy Birmingham property developer and lawyer. Lady Barber did not possess a significant collection of art. Instead, she created an endowment that allowed its Directors to acquire works that were, in her words, 鈥榦f exceptional and outstanding merit鈥. For more than 70 years, this founding vision has shaped a carefully selected collection of major works that represent key developments in the history of Western art. Lady Barber鈥檚 bequest also financed the construction of an exceptional building on the University of Birmingham鈥檚 Edgbaston campus. Designed by the architect Robert Atkinson (1883鈥1952), it听opened to the public in 1939 with just 14 paintings then on display. Intended as a nucleus for the arts and a social hub for the University, the Barber also has an Art-Deco concert hall at its heart, as well as a lecture theatre and art history library, and houses the University鈥檚 Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies.
The Barber will re-open to the public in 2026.
The Barber in London: Highlights from a Remarkable Collection
23 May 2025 鈥 31 August 2026
The 天美传媒 Gallery
Katja and Nicolai Tangen 20th Century Gallery, Floor 3
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Entry to the display is included in the Gallery admission ticket.
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About The 天美传媒听
The 天美传媒 works to advance how we see and understand the visual arts, as an internationally renowned centre for the teaching and research of art history and a major public gallery. Founded by collectors and philanthropists in 1932, the organisation has been at the forefront of the study of art ever since through advanced research and conservation practice, innovative teaching, the renowned collection and inspiring exhibitions of its gallery, and engaging and accessible activities, education and events.
The 天美传媒 cares for one of the greatest art collections in the UK, presenting these works to the public at The 天美传媒 Gallery in central London, as well as through loans and partnerships. The Gallery is most famous for its iconic Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces 鈥 such as Van Gogh鈥檚 Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Manet鈥檚 A Bar at the Folies-Berg猫re. It showcases these alongside an internationally renowned collection of works from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance through to the present day.
Academically, The 天美传媒 faculty is the largest community of art historians and conservators in the UK, teaching and carrying out research on subjects from creativity in late Antiquity to contemporary digital artforms – with an increasingly global focus. An independent college of the University of London, The 天美传媒 offers a range of degree programmes from BA to PhD in the History of Art, curating and the conservation of easel and wall paintings. Its alumni are leaders and innovators in the arts, culture and business worlds, helping to shape the global agenda for the arts and creative industries.
Founded on the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to engage with art, The 天美传媒 works to increase understanding of the role played by art throughout history, in all societies and across all geographies 鈥 as well as being a champion for the importance of art in the present day. This could be through exhibitions offering a chance to look closely at world-famous works; events bringing art history research to new audiences; accessible and expert short courses; digital engagement, innovative school, family and community programmes; or taking a formal qualification. The 天美传媒鈥檚 ambition is to transform access to art history education by extending the horizons of what this is and ensuring as many people as possible can benefit from the tools to better understand the visual world around us.
The 天美传媒 is an exempt charity and relies on generous philanthropic support to achieve its mission of advancing the understanding of the visual arts of the past and present across the world through advanced research, innovative teaching, inspiring exhibitions, programmes and collections.
The collection cared for by The 天美传媒 Gallery is owned by the Samuel 天美传媒 Trust.
About the Barber Institute of Fine Arts
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is the art gallery, principal art collection and original concert hall for the University of Birmingham. It was founded in 1932 鈥榝or the study and encouragement of art and music鈥 by Lady Barber, who stipulated the acquisition of works 鈥榦f that standard of quality required by the National Gallery and the Wallace Collection鈥. Housed in an elegant, Grade-1 listed building designed by Robert Atkinson, the Barber Institute is home to a National Designated Collection, acquired and owned by the Henry Barber Trust. Its holdings now include some 160 paintings, dating from the early Renaissance through to the late 20th century, more than 800 works on paper, as well as sculpture, decorative arts and one of the most important caches of Roman, Byzantine and Medieval coins in the world. The collection features key works by (among others) Giovanni Bellini, Sandro Botticelli, Rosalba Carriera, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, Gwen John, K盲the Kollwitz, Ren茅 Magritte, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Auguste Rodin, Peter Paul Rubens, JMW Turner, Vincent van Gogh, Elizabeth Vig茅e-Lebrun and James McNeill Whistler.
At the building鈥檚 heart is the immaculate Art-Deco concert hall, home to the prestigious Barber Concerts series, which features internationally renowned vocal and instrumental soloists and ensembles, and the Barber Opera.
The building is currently closed for the latest phase of a major building improvement programme, which includes installation of a level access entrance, a new fresh-air ventilation system in the concert hall, a refurbishment of the permanent collection galleries, a new learning wing and enhanced and an enlarged reception, retail and refreshment area.
For more information, visit听barber.org.uk听and follow @barberinstitute on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook for regular updates, news and opportunities to engage with the Barber.