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The Prints and Drawings Study Room

The Prints and Drawings Study Room houses our fine collection of prints, drawings and watercolours, comprising more than 1,000 works and six centuries of the draughtsman’s and printmaker’s arts.

The study room is open to researchers and the general public by appointment only.

Due to essential building improvement works, the Prints and Drawings Study Room is currently closed to the public until summer 2024.

For research enquires please email: collections@barber.org.uk

Images inside the coin and print study room at The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham.

We have outstanding drawings in our collection by varied artists such as Tess Jaray, Fra Bartolommeo, Rembrandt van Rijn, JMW Turner, Edgar Degas and Gwen John.

Prints include exceptional works by Albrecht Dürer, Francisco Goya, Italian and Flemish Renaissance masters and 19th-century and 20th-century artists from Pablo Picasso and Elizabeth Frink to Käthe Kollwitz.

Many of our prints and drawings can be viewed on our website, or on the University's Online Collections. We are still in the process of digitising our full collection of works on paper, so please bear with us.

A rotating selection of works on paper are displayed in our dedicated Print Bays (located in the Green and Beige galleries) – typically there are six print displays a year.

Explore our prints and drawings online:

William Pether (1738-about 1821), after Joseph Wright (1734-1797)

Three Persons Viewing The Gladiator by Candlelight London, 1769 Mezzotint This print reproduces Wright’s first exhibited painting, shown in 1765. The Gladiator was a famous antique statue, admired for its truthful rendering of anatomy, and it was well known in Britain from numerous copies and casts. The three men study the statue, lit dramatically by … Read more

John Leech (1817-1864)

Hunting Incidents of ‘The Noble Science’: A Frolic Home, Plate 6 1865 Lithograph 445 x 595 mm Purchased 1944 (No.44.6/5) ShareTweetSharePin

Crispin de Passe the Younger (c.1597 – c.1670)

L’instruction du roy en l’exercice de monter à cheval – The King is mounted but stationary in the riding school Paris, 1629 Engraving Plate 336 x 427 mm; mount 515 x 629 mm Purchased 1956 (No.56.17/5) ShareTweetSharePin

Francisco de Goya (1746-1828)

Loyalty, Plate 17 from ‘The Proverbs’ Spain, about 1816 Etching with aquatint and drypoint 244 X 357 MM Goya’s final series of etchings, The Proverbs (Los Proverbios), also known as Disparetes or Absurdities, remain his most mysterious and enigmatic. Featuring a group of monks and friars, Loyalty appears to be concerned with the licentious behaviour … Read more

Giorgio Ghisi (1520/4-1582)

An allegory of life (‘The dream of Raphael’) Paris, 1561 Engraving 380 x 540 mm Believed to have been inspired by Virgil’s Aeneid (19 B.C.), this work remains elusive in meaning. Ghisi’s frenetic attention to detail creates an intense, dream-like atmosphere of confusion. The splintered boat stranded amid the swirling water, jagged rocks and snarling … Read more

Jan van de Velde (c.1593-1641)

The Seasons: Winter Enkhuizen, 1617 Etching Paper 265 x 350 mm; mount 405 x 557 mm This etching of a landscape during winter in Holland is part of a series of the seasons made by Jan van de Velde in 1617. Van de Velde’s simple composition and fluent hatching captures the bleakness of a winter landscape. However, the … Read more

William Hogarth (1697-1764)

Night (from the sequence ‘The Four Times of the Day’) London, 1738 Etching and graving, black ink on paper Paper: 48.6 x 40.2 cm; mount: 80.8 x 40.2 cm Disorder and chaos rule in this side-street of taverns and brothels near Charing Cross. Children sleep under a table while a drunken Freemason is escorted home … Read more

Jacob van Ruisdael (1628/9-1682)

The cottage on the hill Amsterdam, about 1660 Etching Plate: 195 x 281 mm Frame: 584 x 737 mm A small wooden house perches atop a steep hill, engulfed by the dense surrounding forest. The limbs of the trees twist and reach into the distance, entwined together to create a sense of movement and life. … Read more

Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945)

Self-Portrait in Profile Berlin, 1927 Lithograph on Japanese paper 59 x 45 cm Kollwitz portrays herself with signs of aging and a careworn expression, working against the traditional portrait of the woman as timeless youth. The head, as the most vital part of the body, symbolizes the artist’s wisdom and her sympathetic mentality to society. … Read more

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (around 1610-1664)

The Discovery of the Bodies of Saint Peter and Saint Paul Genoa, around 1645-1651 Etching Plate: 300 x 206 mm Mount: 557 x 404 mm Castiglione’s depictions of Biblical scenes are often engulfed by darkness; he was known to seek out religious subjects that required such tenebrism. His primary influence is often listed as Rembrant, … Read more

Schelte Adamsz Bolswert (c. 1586-1659)

Stormy Landscape with Philemon and Baucis Antwerp, after 1630 Engraving Paper: 502 x 665 mm; mount: 620 x 805 mm Mythological Gods are notorious for their vengeful behaviour. When a disguised Jupiter and Mercury visited Heart, only Philemon and Baucis welcomed them. Shocked by the hostility of other inhabitants, the gods flooded the landscape. Here … Read more

Stefano della Bella (1610-1664)

Les cinqs morts – Death carrying a child on his back Italy, 1648 Etching with engraving 191 x 151 mm Purchased 1954 (No.55.5/3) ShareTweetSharePin

David Cox (1783-1859)

Goodrich Castle, Herefordshire Mid 1820s Watercolour 197 x 270 mm; paper support: 245 x 330 mm Gifted 2015 (No. 2015.5) ShareTweetSharePin

Owen McSwiny (1684-1754)

Tombeaux des princes, grands capitaines et autre hommes illustres qui ont fleuri dans la Grande Bretagne 1741 Engraving  Paper: 651 x 423 mm; mount: 812 x 608 mm Eight engravings from the series publishes by McSwiny in 1741. Engraved by N. Dorigny, I. Cars, L. Desplaces, N.D. de Beauvais, B. Lepicie and J.P. Le Bas. … Read more

Stefano della Bella (1610-1664)

Les cinqs morts – Death holding a child Italy, 1648 Etching with engraving 191 x 153 mm Purchased 1954 (No.55.5/2)   ShareTweetSharePin

José de Ribera (1591-1652)

Head of a Man with a Goitre Italy, 1622 Etching 145 x 110mm Purchased from P. & D. Colnaghi, November 1958, for £4 (No. 58.9) ShareTweetSharePin

Pietro Monaco (1707-1772) after Bernardo Strozzi (c.1581-1644)

Raccolta di opere scelte: St Peter released from prison by the angel Venice, published 1786 Engraving Title page and 59 engravings after mainly Venetian paintings published by Teodoro Viero, Venice, 1786. The majority of the plates are by Le Febvre, S. Maniago, A. Zucchi, and P. Monaco. Purchased in London, March 1956 for £7 (No. … Read more

Théophile Chauvel (1831-1909)

Before the Storm near Moret (Avant L’Orage environs de Moret) Published in Paris, 1877 Etching 36.2 x 51.8 cm Purchased in 2004 (No. 2004.1) ShareTweetSharePin

Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693)

Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath Dutch, about 1670-80 Pen and brown wash 20.5 x 32.5 cm The subject is from the ‘Kings’, XVII: 10. This drawing shows the biblical story from Kings during which the Lord directs Elijah to the town gates of Zarephath where a widow has been directed to provide him with … Read more

Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault (1791-1824)

The Flemish Farrier France, 1821 Lithograph 290 x 390 mm A rural working horse dominates this cramped and hot interior. A farrier with rolled-up sleeves and disheveled clothing works on the horse’s hoof, highlighted by bright white steam. This print formed part of Géricault’s publication The English Series – Various Subjects Drawn From Life. By … Read more

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)

The Vision of the Seven Candlesticks  Nuremberg, 1511 Woodcut Paper: 392 x 282 mm; mount 556 x 405 mm After the death of Christ, his discipline John journeyed to Patmos to escape persecution. In the dark recesses of a cave, John witnessed a series of miraculous visions of the Apocalyptic Christ. Crucified for claiming to … Read more

John Leech (1817-1864)

Hunting Incidents of ‘The Noble Science’: The Noble Science, Plate 5 1865 Lithograph 445 x 595 mm Purchased 1944 (No.44.6/4) ShareTweetSharePin

George Grosz (1893-1959)

Querschnitt – Platin & Co. Germany, 1920 Lithograph 675 x 535 mm Overlapping scenes of wounded soldiers, prostitutes and bourgeois businessmen in a crowded and war torn metropolis were typical of Grosz’s work following the end of World War I. In 1914 and 1917 he was called up for service but was discharged within months … Read more

Walter Sickert (1860-1942)

Dieppe, Quai Henri IV Dieppe, 1915 Etching Plate: 19.5 x 13 cm; mount 21.4 x 14.7 cm Female singer at Café Vernet, Dieppe. Published by Carfax & Co. Purchased 2016 (No. 2016.5)  Bequeathed by Charles Branchini through the Art Fund ShareTweetSharePin

Jean Morin (1590-1650)

Jacques-Auguste de Thou (1553 – 1617) France, 1611 Engraving Paper: 328 x 261mm; mount: 558 x 405mm Morin was a French engraver best known for his portraits of royalty and politicians. This print was created after a painting by Ferdinand Elle (1570-1637), court artist to Louis XIII. De Thou was a French statesman who drafted … Read more

Claude Mellan (1598-1688)

Biblia sacra – Frontpiece 1642 Engraving 280 x 230 mm After Nicolas Poussin. Inscribed verso lower right: V. Poliakoff 1920 701, and lower left: 306. Purchased 2005 (No.2005.1) ShareTweetSharePin

Ercole Bazicaluva (about 1600 – after 1641)

View of the ancient Piazza di San Nicola, Pisa, with Alfea showing reverence to Vittoria della Rovere Pisa, about 1639 Etching  Paper: 285 x 435mm; mount: 516 x 629mm  Purchased 1955 (no. 55.15)  ShareTweetSharePin

Schelte Adamsz Bolswert (1586-1659)

A Flat Flemish Landscape with Clouds The Netherlands Engraving Plate: 330 x 405 mm, mount: 515 x 625 mm One of two engravings after Rubens bought by the Barber Institute. This one distinguishable as without figures. Purchased (No. 99.2a) ShareTweetSharePin

Ennemond-Alexandre Petitot (1727-1801)

Suite de Vases: Page Four Parma, Italy 1764 Etching on laid paper Plate: 220 x 165 mm; paper: 420 x 280 mm; mount: 630 x 520 mm A set of 32 engravings, with 3 printed folios. Series purchased in 1961 for £25 (No.61.4/4) ShareTweetSharePin

Adrian Ludwig Richter (1803-1884)

Genoveva Dresden, 1848 Etching 420 X 250 MM This tender portrayal of a mother and child is based on an 8th-century folk tale that was popularised during the 19th century. Condemned and abandoned by her husband, Genoveva and her child found sanctuary in the forest, where they are tended to by a doe. Richter endows … Read more

Explore the collection

The Prints and Drawing Study Room was created with the financial support of the DCMS/Wolfson Museums Improvement Fund.

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