The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford was established in 1683 and is the oldest museum in the United Kingdom. It houses the University of Oxford’s collections of art and antiquities. The Museum was enhanced by a 2009 redevelopment project, which saw the collections expand into 39 new galleries. The holdings have the character of a ‘collection of collections’, an accumulation of sometimes highly specialised private collections.

The Ashmolean’s collections, which continue to grow by gift, bequest, and purchase, feature over 1,500 oil paintings. Among the most celebrated treasures of paintings are those from the Italian Renaissance, works by members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and by the Impressionist Camille Pissarro. Notable works spanning 600 years of fine art include, ‘The Hunt in the Forest’, by Paolo Uccello, ‘Landscape with Ascanius shooting the Stag of Sylvia’ by Claude Lorrain, ‘A young Woman with a Macaw’ by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, and ‘Cows at Cookham’ by Stanley Spencer.