Welcome

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

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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ASHMOLEAN ADVENTURE

A fun interactive family experience. Book your digital guide before you visit and plan ahead for October half term.

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BOOK

NEW AUTUMN MENU

A new season brings a new, delicious lunch menu in the Rooftop Restaurant.

SHOP THE RANGE

IT'S BOOKSHOP DAY ON 8 OCT

Pick a book from our online shop and celebrate the joy of reading.
Every purchase supports the Museum.

FULLY BOOKED

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

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

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

FULLY BOOKED

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

FULLY BOOKED

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

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

MEMBERS ONLY TALK

1 Nov

THE PRE-RAPHAELITE 'BROTHERHOOD' REVISED

Exhibition curator Christiana Payne discusses the work of Pre-Raphaelite artists and models, Elizabeth Siddal and...

Exhibition curator Christiana Payne discusses the work of Pre-Raphaelite artists and models, Elizabeth Siddal and Marie Spartalli Stillman in this special talk.

At the Museum and Online

TALK

2 Nov

THE PRE-RAPHAELITES IN OXFORD

Discover the lives and works of Pre-Raphaelite artists whilst they were in Oxford, and the many other Pre-Raphaelite...

Discover the lives and works of Pre-Raphaelite artists whilst they were in Oxford, and the many other Pre-Raphaelite connections with the city.

Online and at the Museum

WORKSHOP

3 Nov

RUSKIN'S PERSPECTIVES ACROSS THE SKIES WORKSHOP

With artist Kieran Stiles, explore how Ruskin arranged his compositions and used different measuring techniques...

With artist Kieran Stiles, explore how Ruskin arranged his compositions and used different measuring techniques in this watercolour workshop.

At the Museum

COURSE

3 Nov

THE EAST IN THE WEST

With art historian Peter Vass, explore the impact of Eastern European artists on British art in this three-week...

With art historian Peter Vass, explore the impact of Eastern European artists on British art in this three-week short course of talks.

Online and at the Museum

TALK

3 Nov

CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF WILLIAM DE MORGAN

Join us for a special talk by Sarah Hardy, director of the De Morgan Collection, to celebrate 150 years of the...

Join us for a special talk by Sarah Hardy, director of the De Morgan Collection, to celebrate 150 years of the remarkable ceramicist William de Morgan

Online and at the Museum

MEMBERS ONLY TALK

7 Nov

AT HOME IN ANTIQUITY

In this special talk for Members, Matthew Winterbottom, Curator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts explores furniture...

In this special talk for Members, Matthew Winterbottom, Curator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts explores furniture and interiors designed by artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema.

Online and at the Museum

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

ART IN CHINA: 1949–1999

Uncover our collection of Chinese works of art in the changing period after the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949. From Mao and the Cultural Revolution to the Reform Era and the modern world, some of China's most distinguished ink painters and print designers are included.

Gallery 11
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

FRIGHTFUL STORIES

Explore ghostly tales and creepy objects in our collections as we head into Halloween season.

IT'S FRIGHT TIME

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.

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

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.

TREASURES

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

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