Early in his career, James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) often made studies in pastel in preparation for oil paintings. But from the late 1870s, he started to use pastel to produce stand-alone works.
The drawings on display in our new focus exhibition 'Whistler Pastels', have all been studied and examined as part of the Whistler Pastels Project (September 2022–June 2024). The works are all examples of figure drawing, a subject he worked on throughout his career.
The Project revealed much about the materials and methods used by Whistler in his drawings. However, many questions remain.
Explore more in 'Whistler Pastels' at the Hunterian Art Gallery until 2 March 2025. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am until 5pm. Free entry.
#OnThisDay in 1718, Dr William Hunter was born.
The #Hunterian is founded on his 18th-century collection which was bequeathed to the University of Glasgow on his death in 1783.
This clip comes from a short film about The Hunterian art collections and how they have developed since we opened our doors in 1807.
📽️ Vincent Deighan. 🎼 Gavin Lamont.
“This is really a transformational moment.”
On #InternationalMuseumDay we hear from Dr Shani Roper, Curator of the University of the West Indies Museum, who talks about the first natural history specimen to be repatriated to the Caribbean, and the impact this will have on future research.
The 170-year-old Jamaican Giant Galliwasp specimen was repatriated last month from our #Hunterian collection at the University of Glasgow to its new home in the Natural History Museum of Jamaica, a division of the Institute of Jamaica.
UWI Global Campus
The University of the West Indies, Mona
Institute of Jamaica
‘The Trembling Museum’ forms one of a number of initiatives in which The Hunterian is reconsidering how it represents its collections and contributes meaningfully to contemporary questions around ownership and representation.
'The Trembling Museum'
2 December 2023–19 May 2024
Hunterian Art Gallery
Admission free
The carving of miniature sculptures in dense thornwood for Nigeria's tourist art market was devised by Yoruba artist and museum conservator Justus Akeredolu during the 1930s. Rapidly gaining popularity, by the 1960s they were being produced by artists throughout southern Nigeria. The carvings depict Nigerians going about the everyday activities of both village and urban life.
🐇 It wouldn't be #Easter without a visit from our favourite #Hunterian bunny.
This antique musical box or automaton is in the shape of a cabbage with a furry rabbit inside.
When the key is wound, music plays, and the rabbit emerges from the cabbage. Its ears go up and down and it appears to chew on a piece of cabbage before going back inside.
Built to impress and entertain, automata such as this are designed to give the illusion that they are operating under their own power.
🤔Are you aged 12–16 and fancy writing fantasy? Join us for our free 'Curious Creatures' Creative Writing Workshop in the #Hunterian Zoology Museum.
From unicorns and basilisks to mockingjays and nifflers, the authors who invent these animals are often inspired by nature.
Come along and discover some of the curious creatures in our collections and create your own. Experts will be on hand and you'll be given everything you need to invent a brand new species!
Curious Creatures Creative Writing Workshop
Friday 5 April 2024, 2.00pm–4.00pm
Hunterian Zoology Museum, University of Glasgow
Free, book now via Eventbrite! 👇
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/curious-creatures-creative-writing-workshop-tickets-862970988457?aff=oddtdtcreator
Minsereh sculptures are used by the leaders of the Yassi society, female-led initiation organisations that promote marital fidelity, sexual morality, and social responsibility In Mende society. The minsereh figures contain spiritual power and represent ancestral leaders of the society, who can be consulted when a Yassi law has been broken.
Visitors to the Hunterian Art Gallery can see this incredible minsereh sculpture on display in 'The Trembling Museum'.
Ghanaian documentary and feature film-maker Nii Kate Owoo filmed 'You Hide Me' (1970) over the course of just one day, having managed to gain access to the British Museum storerooms.
Owoo uncovered the extent of the thefts by the British in their 19th century invasions of Africa. Revealing thousands of rare and precious African artefacts and artworks, 'You Hide Me' makes a case for their restitution and addresses the colonisation of African art in Western museums.
Visitors to the Hunterian Art Gallery can watch the groundbreaking film in our exhibition 'The Trembling Museum'.
'The Trembling Museum' shows African artworks from The Hunterian collection in a new context, taking them out of the 'ethnography' section of our store. The exhibition looks at how African art has been classified in Western institutions and how it can be understood differently.
Hear from our Curator of World Cultures Dr. Andy Mills about why we need to look at the included artworks on their own terms and not from a eurocentric perspective.
BSL users are invited to join us for the extended run of this popular BSL tour of the Hunterian Art Gallery #Reframed.
In this brief clip, Trudi expresses her uplifting response to JD Fergusson's "Spring in Glasgow" - just what we need in January!
Written and delivered in British Sign Language by #Deaf art fan and guide Trudi Collier, the tour presents the main gallery displays.
BSL Art Gallery Tour
2.00pm–3.30pm
Sunday 28 January
https://tinyurl.com/hsbvrm4h
