Being “famous” is not a fixed thing. If you grew up in Britain, you may have heard of European artists like Dali and Monet. If you grew up in Indonesia, you would have learnt about different famous artists at school.


Fame also changes as time moves on. When we are talking about “famous” artists it doesn’t mean they are better than other artists, simply they have been given more attention.


A lot of artists who have been called “famous” are men. For much of history, men have labelled other men as important or famous. Over the last 50 years, people have challenged this by giving more attention to other artists like women, BAME and people with disabilities.

17 artworks
  • Allow Your Friends to Meet Your Enemies

    Allow Your Friends to Meet Your Enemies 2011
    Lubaina Himid (b.1954)
    Acrylic, pencil & magazine clipping on paper
    H 74.5 x W 95 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    Allow Your Friends to Meet Your Enemies
    © the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • E. O. W. on Her Blue Eiderdown

    E. O. W. on Her Blue Eiderdown 1963
    Frank Helmuth Auerbach (b.1931)
    Oil on canvas
    H 47 x W 54 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    E. O. W. on Her Blue Eiderdown
    © the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • Circe

    Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses 1891
    John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)
    Oil on canvas
    H 148 x W 92 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses
    Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • Barnet Fair, Hertfordshire

    Barnet Fair, Hertfordshire 1930
    Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942)
    Oil on canvas
    H 73.5 x W 61 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    Barnet Fair, Hertfordshire
    Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • Husband and Wife

    Husband and Wife 1963
    Howard Hodgkin (1932–2017)
    Oil on panel
    H 46 x W 64 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    Husband and Wife
    © Howard Hodgkin. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • Thomas Oldham Barlow

    Thomas Oldham Barlow (1824–1889)
    John Everett Millais (1829–1896)
    Oil on canvas
    H 100.5 x W 117 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    Thomas Oldham Barlow (1824–1889)
    Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • The First Madness of Ophelia

    The First Madness of Ophelia 1864
    Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882)
    Watercolour & gum arabic on paper
    H 39.4 x W 29.2 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    The First Madness of Ophelia
    Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • Bellinzona – The Bridge over Ticino

    Bellinzona – The Bridge over Ticino c.1842
    Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851)
    Watercolour over graphite on paper
    H 23 x W 33 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    Bellinzona – The Bridge over Ticino
    Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • Birdman

    Birdman early 1960s
    Elisabeth Frink (1930–1993)
    Bronze
    H 82 x W 21 x D 21 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    Birdman
    © The Executors of the Frink Estate and Archive. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • Scarlet and Green in Brown, November, 1961

    Scarlet and Green in Brown, November, 1961 1961
    Patrick Heron (1920–1999)
    Oil on canvas
    H 74 x W 100 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    Scarlet and Green in Brown, November, 1961
    © the estate of Patrick Heron. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • Dame Sarah Lees (1842–1935)

    Dame Sarah Lees (1842–1935) before 1912
    Hugh Goldwin Riviere (1869–1956)
    Oil on canvas
    H 350 x W 145 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    Dame Sarah Lees (1842–1935)
    © the artist's estate. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • A Lover of Dickens

    A Lover of Dickens 1947
    Charles Spencelayh (1865–1958)
    Oil on canvas
    H 59 x W 49.5 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    A Lover of Dickens
    © the artist's estate / Bridgeman Images. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • A White Slave

    A White Slave 1904
    Alfred James Munnings (1878–1959)
    Oil on canvas
    H 99 x W 150 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    A White Slave
    © the estate of Sir Alfred Munnings, Dedham, Essex. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • Two Great Temples at Paestum

    Two Great Temples at Paestum 1782
    John Robert Cozens (1752–1799)
    Watercolour, pencil & ink on paper
    H 25 x W 37 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    Two Great Temples at Paestum
    Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • This Leprous Brightness

    This Leprous Brightness 2011
    Imran Qureshi (b.1972)
    Opaque watercolour on wasli paper
    H 26 x W 34 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    This Leprous Brightness
    © courtesy Corvi-Mora, London. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • Small Mollington Knot Cushion

    Small Mollington Knot Cushion 1973
    Ann Sutton (b.1935)
    Wool & polyester
    H 35 x W 49 x D 17 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    Small Mollington Knot Cushion
    © the artist. Image credit: Gallery Oldham

  • Along the Shore

    Along the Shore 1914
    Joseph Edward Southall (1861–1944)
    Tempera on silk
    H 53.3 x W 36.8 cm
    Gallery Oldham
    Along the Shore
    Image credit: Gallery Oldham