‘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.’ Albert Sloman 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
A downloadable Gallery Guide is available here: A University Art Collection in the Making Gallery Guide
View our 360 tour of the exhibition here: 360 degree tour of A University Art Collection in the Making
Image: Christopher Wood, Mlle Bourgoint (detail), 1929. Oil on canvas. Donated by Jim Ede. University of Essex Art Collection.
