Great British Drawings at the Ashmolean Museum

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 'Proserpine (detail)', 1871 - Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

This is the last weekend to see the Great British Drawings exhibition at the historic Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

The show features over 100 of the best original drawings and watercolours from the museums collection, looking at the artists who worked in Britain over three centuries; from serene, classic landscapes by Turner to the dynamic, modern day work of Tom Phillips.

Image: Joseph Mallord William Turner, 'Venice; The Riva degli Schiavoni', 1840 - Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

A journey through time, we begin in the 17th century, drawing from real life with street scenes and landscapes from the 'Golden Age', to more imagined visions in the 18th and 19th centuries, with humorous caricatures, satire, and of course our favourite, the Pre-Raphaelites.

We gaze in awe at the velvety drapery and romantic medieval details created by the original brotherhood, such as Rossetti, Millais and Hunt, as well as work from their patron John Ruskin and later artists like Edward Burne-Jones and Ford Maddox Brown.

Inspiration builds with every opportunity to get up close and personal, eyeing the intricate pencil marks by the master's hand and imagining the artist in their studio grappling with the composition.  

Image: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 'Louisa Ruth Herbert', 1858 - Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

But you better be quick! The exhibition closes on Monday and is well worth a Bank holiday day out, taking in the gorgeous neoclassical architecture of Oxford while you're there.

In case you can't make it this weekend, you can still view a wide selection of pencil drawings and sketchbook works on our very own Drawing Gallery instead, and learn where our designs begin. 

Great British Drawings is on until 31st August 2015 at:

The Ashmolean Museum

Beaumont Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 2PH

Open: 10am - 5pm Tues - Sunday and Bank holiday Monday

Late night til 8pm, Friday 28th August and Saturday 29th August 2015 

£9 - Standard ticket price and combined with 'An Elegant Society' exhibition