A University Art Collection in the Making

‘As you know, the University is hoping that it can do something about the visual perception of all students…therefore, we should like to build up a collection of pictures.’ Quote from University of Essex founding Vice Chancellor, Albert Sloman in a letter to Jim Ede, 26 July 1965.

Art arrived at the University of Essex even before we opened our doors to students in 1964. Founding Vice-Chancellor Albert Sloman, firmly believed the creative arts played an essential role in the formative liberal education of students and it should be as accessible as possible for everyone here at Essex. For Sloman, the accessibility of arts at university was part of the life-long journey of education which, as he says in his 1963 Reith Lectures, was “not just with the pursuit of learning but with the fulfilment of lives”.

This exhibition brings together artworks and archival material to trace the transformational role our art collections play in teaching, research, and the fulfilment of lives based on Sloman’s founding vision. It was Essex’s staff and students that took this vision and made it their own helping to shape almost 60 years of collecting, from the beginnings of the University Art Collection and its British modernist works to our internationally recognised Essex Collection of Art from Latin America.

The exhibition includes works by Alfred Wallis, Christopher Wood, Ben Nicholson, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Francisco de Goya and Taller de Gráfica Popular.

Curated by Dr Sarah Demelo and Gisselle Giron, the exhibition opens on Friday 24 February and runs until Friday 24 March 2023.