News
Philip Pullman and the Oxford Bus Company celebrate the installation of new portraits from My Ashmolean My Museum on two London Espress coach backs.
In collaboration with high-profile individuals and members of the local community, the fine-art photographer, Theo Chalmers, has developed a powerful set of images to capture the public’s attention. By connecting contemporary faces to the Museum’s collections of art and archaeology, My Ashmolean, My Museum juxtaposes modern and classical culture, presenting viewers with inspiring new ways of seeing the collections.
With their generous support, the portraits of Philip Pullman, author, and Bettany Hughes, historian and television presenter, are depicted on the coach backs alongside an oil painting and an ancient Greek vase from the Ashmolean’s collections.
Mr Pullman’s portrait features View of Dolo on the Brenta Canal by Canaletto. “In the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford there is a painting by Canaletto showing one of his incomparable depictions of everyday life,” he wrote in the opening paragraph of his article for the Guardian Dark Deeds along the Tow Path. His reference to the painting relates directly to Oxford’s Castle Mill Boatyard, an inspiration for his trilogy His Dark Materials, and the focus of a campaign to save the boatyard from development. Six freshwater pike were used in the photograph to emphasise the everyday life of the river. Mr Pullman described his portrait as “Sinister and surprising at the same time. Very fishy”.
A historian of ancient Greece and Rome, Bettany Hughes is pictured holding a lekythos (oil or silver container) dating back to the 5th century BC. It is decorated with a winged Nike (Goddess of Victory). As a scholarship student at Oxford – inspired by the Ashmolean to spend her life transmitting the pertinence, power and beauty of the ancient world - Bettany remembers passing the vase and sending up a prayer to the goddess of victory. Bettany’s book on Helen of Troy has now been translated in to ten languages and it is estimated that her films on ancient Greece have been watched by over 100 million worldwide. W.B. Yeats enthused about the Nike vase, “I recall a Nike at the Ashmolean Museum with a natural unsystematic beauty”.
An online exhibition of the photographs will be developed alongside an interactive area for the public to upload their favourite stories from the Ashmolean collections or to share experiences which they have enjoyed at the Museum. To find out more visit http://www.ashmolean.org/MyAshmolean
“The Oxford Bus Company may not have been around for quite as long as the Ashmolean but we’ve been at the heart of our community for 127 years now. Our coaches travel thousands of miles every week and are seen by thousands of people, so we can play our part in spreading the news about the Ashmolean throughout the region.” Philip Kirk, Managing Director Oxford Bus Company.
“We are delighted to continue our partnership with the Oxford Bus Company in reaching out to the local and wider community during the final phase of the Museum’s exciting development. The Ashmolean is extremely grateful to Philip Pullman, Bettany Hughes and the individuals who have generously given their time and support to this campaign.” Dr Christopher Brown, Director of the Ashmolean.
With their generous support, the portraits of Philip Pullman, author, and Bettany Hughes, historian and television presenter, are depicted on the coach backs alongside an oil painting and an ancient Greek vase from the Ashmolean’s collections.
Mr Pullman’s portrait features View of Dolo on the Brenta Canal by Canaletto. “In the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford there is a painting by Canaletto showing one of his incomparable depictions of everyday life,” he wrote in the opening paragraph of his article for the Guardian Dark Deeds along the Tow Path. His reference to the painting relates directly to Oxford’s Castle Mill Boatyard, an inspiration for his trilogy His Dark Materials, and the focus of a campaign to save the boatyard from development. Six freshwater pike were used in the photograph to emphasise the everyday life of the river. Mr Pullman described his portrait as “Sinister and surprising at the same time. Very fishy”.
A historian of ancient Greece and Rome, Bettany Hughes is pictured holding a lekythos (oil or silver container) dating back to the 5th century BC. It is decorated with a winged Nike (Goddess of Victory). As a scholarship student at Oxford – inspired by the Ashmolean to spend her life transmitting the pertinence, power and beauty of the ancient world - Bettany remembers passing the vase and sending up a prayer to the goddess of victory. Bettany’s book on Helen of Troy has now been translated in to ten languages and it is estimated that her films on ancient Greece have been watched by over 100 million worldwide. W.B. Yeats enthused about the Nike vase, “I recall a Nike at the Ashmolean Museum with a natural unsystematic beauty”.
An online exhibition of the photographs will be developed alongside an interactive area for the public to upload their favourite stories from the Ashmolean collections or to share experiences which they have enjoyed at the Museum. To find out more visit http://www.ashmolean.org/MyAshmolean
“The Oxford Bus Company may not have been around for quite as long as the Ashmolean but we’ve been at the heart of our community for 127 years now. Our coaches travel thousands of miles every week and are seen by thousands of people, so we can play our part in spreading the news about the Ashmolean throughout the region.” Philip Kirk, Managing Director Oxford Bus Company.
“We are delighted to continue our partnership with the Oxford Bus Company in reaching out to the local and wider community during the final phase of the Museum’s exciting development. The Ashmolean is extremely grateful to Philip Pullman, Bettany Hughes and the individuals who have generously given their time and support to this campaign.” Dr Christopher Brown, Director of the Ashmolean.