Magdalen College was founded in 1458 by William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, and Lord Chancellor. Its collection of oil portraits on this website include portraits of the founder, a number of early Presidents of the College, Cardinal Wolsey (who started his career as the Bursar of the College), and members of the royal family including Elizabeth I, James I’s eldest son Henry Prince of Wales, and Charles I’s civil war commander Prince Rupert. Later portraits include those of Magdalen Fellows such as the essayist Joseph Addison, the historian Edward Gibbon, and more recent Fellows such as Charles Sherrington, A. J. P. Taylor, and Seamus Heaney. In addition to the portraits, there are a number of oil paintings of the College, including an early view of c.1650. The College welcomes this project to make the pictures more accessible to scholars and the general public both for purposes of scholarly study and for general appreciation of the breadth and depth of oil paintings held by institutions in the UK. However it is stressed that the paintings at Magdalen College, Oxford are not in public ownership. Magdalen College is a registered charity and, in accordance with its charitable objects, its collections of oil portraits and oil paintings of the College are included on this website to further study and research and to advance appreciation of the arts for the benefit of the public.
The paintings are hung throughout the College, mainly in private areas, with only those in the Hall and the Chapel being on public view. Access to paintings, other than those in the Hall and Chapel, is normally reserved to those involved in academic research, who should apply to the Chattels Fellow, Magdalen College, Oxford OX1 4AU. For access to the Hall and Chapel please see the college website for the visitor opening hours and charges.
The paintings are hung throughout the College, mainly in private areas, with only those in the Hall and the Chapel being on public view. Access to paintings, other than those in the Hall and Chapel, is normally reserved to those involved in academic research, who should apply to the Chattels Fellow, Magdalen College, Oxford OX1 4AU. For access to the Hall and Chapel please see the college website for the visitor opening hours and charges.