Sampled Lives: samplers from the Fitzwilliam Museum

Showcasing over 100 samplers from the Museum’s excellent but often unseen collection, this display highlights the importance of samplers as documentary evidence of past lives.

06/05/2017 to 07/10/2018

The Object of My Affection: stories of love from the Fitzwilliam collection

Love is very much in the air in this exhibition, which contains objects alive with the range of emotions that it commands; from admiration and affection, joy and passion, longing and despair, to insults, indifference, grief and remembrance.

30/01/2018 to 28/05/2018

Flux: Parian unpacked

Who writes history? Whose histories define Britishness, and how does this change over time? Why do museums celebrate the lives of some people and ignore others?

Exploring themes of mass production, celebrity, colonialism and our notion of history, this impressive installation by ceramic artist and curator, Matt Smith, features over 100 sculptural Parian busts from the Glynn collection. Highlighting previously widely-celebrated 19th century figures, Matt challenges the traditional reading of these figures and their achievements.

06/03/2018 to 01/07/2018

Designed to Impress

Focussing on key objects from the 15th to the 21st centuries, this exhibition will feature a selection of some of the Fitzwilliam’s most spectacular prints, and gives visitors an insight into the extraordinary breadth of the collection.

13/03/2018 to 02/09/2018

Things of Beauty Growing: British studio pottery

For almost one hundred years, British potters have led the way in re-inventing traditional ceramic forms. Things of Beauty Growing showcases the history and ongoing practice of one of the most dynamic art forms in the UK today, by tracing the changing nature of British studio pottery through the evolution of specific types of vessel: the moon jar, vase, bowl, charger, set, vessel, pot and monument. Featuring works from museums and private collections across the UK and America, the exhibition shows that studio pottery is a global story, with pots and potters travelling between Britain, continental Europe, Asia, Africa, and beyond.

20/03/2018 to 17/06/2018

Henry Moore’s Hill Arches (1973)

See a monumental bronze sculpture by Henry Moore, titled Hill Arches, on loan to the Fitzwilliam Museum from the Henry Moore Foundation in Hertfordshire.

04/05/2016 to 31/12/2018

The Frua-Valsecchi collection

Over the past fifty years, Francesca and Massimo Valsecchi have built up a remarkable collection of paintings, furniture, sculpture, glass and ceramics. This includes the renowned nude portrait of Patricia Preece by Stanley Spencer (Gallery 1), William Burges’s painted ‘Flax and Wool’ cabinet (Gallery 2), a Spanish 17th century polychrome wood sculpture of the Christ Child (Gallery 6), Art Nouveau Tiffany glass (Gallery 1), metalwork designed by Christopher Dresser (Gallery 2) and an extremely rare Meissen porcelain vulture (Gallery 27)...

01/08/2016 to 30/12/2018

Writing in Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean

Discover a variety of ancient writing systems used in the eastern Mediterranean, including a famous bilingual inscription from Idalion, Cyprus.

16/01/2018 to 10/06/2018

Love-themed ceramics from the J.W.L. Glaisher collection

A small group of love-themed objects from Glaisher's ceramic collection - selected to complement the display of a number of his valentines on show in Gallery 14.

30/01/2018 to 28/05/2018

RA250 at the Fitz

The pick of our collection by seven Royal Academicians who have connections with Cambridge and the Fitz: Eileen Cooper RA, Stephen Chambers RA, Anne Desmet RA, Antony Gormley RA, Nigel Hall RA, Mali Morris RA and Eric Parry RA.

13/02/2018 to 31/12/2018

Inspired by Civilisations

This display shows how two Greek vases and encaustic portraits, taken from their original context in ancient Egyptian coffins, relate to the BBC series Civilisations theme, and suggests ways in which the theme can be explored throughout the galleries of Antiquity in the Museum.

27/02/2018 to 06/05/2018

Inflation, Identity and Nationalism: German emergency money between the wars

Notgeld or ‘necessity money’ first appeared in Germany and Austria during the First World War as a consequence of the inflation caused by the war and a shortage of metal for coins.

27/02/2018 to 03/06/2018

Edward Lear

A specially curated display on Edward Lear from the Museum’s collection, including autograph letters, watercolours and drawings (many from his travels).

10/04/2018 to 22/04/2018