'Grace before Meat', by David Wilkie
Oil painting by David Wilkie (1785-1841).
‘Grace before Meat‘ shows three generations of a family saying a prayer before sharing a meal together. In paintings like this, Wilkie presented an intimate ...
'Gypsies near Bromford Forge', by Joseph Barber
There have been Romany travellers or ‘gypsies’ in Britain since the 1500s, and from the beginning they were suspected and persecuted. The first evidence we have of a travelling family in Birmingham comes ...
Handmade admission ticket to ‘The Consul’s Will’
Arthur Wallis (1874-1933), wrote under the pseudonym P. Bentley and produced scripts, advertising posters, admission tickets and ‘quotes from the critics’.
Harborne Tenants Ltd. House type 4L
Section from page 48 from a prospectus published by Harborne Tenants Limited showing one of a variety of housing designs used during the construction of the estate.
Illuminated Address presented to Samuel Walliker
The people shown enjoying the fresh air in this painting are benefiting from the philanthropy of a man who made his home in Birmingham only in the latter part of his life. After a career in London and ...
Illuminated Address presented to Samuel Walliker
This elaborate illuminated address was presented to Samuel Walliker, Postmaster of Birmingham, in 1891. It congratulates him on his good works on behalf of the poor.
Landscape, by Roger Fry
This is one of six paintings by Roger Fry housed in University House, Edgbaston, where his sister Margery Fry was warden until 1914. Fry was an artist, critic and founder of the Omega Workshops, whose ...
Lifford Lane Railway Bridge
Stirchley’s Railway Infrastructure
Frank Lockwood depicted a scene that had been familiar for over a hundred years but which would disappear within ten years of this watercolour's production. Steam ...
Mr Everitt, Tram Conductor
This etching captures the quiet authority popularly expected of conductors (see 'Transport Workers in South West Birmingham'). Responsible for fare collection, passenger safety and the smooth running ...
Mr Wheeley's, Edgbaston, by Charles Barber
Many of Charles Barber’s drawings are simply labelled with their district rather than a specific location, but this farmhouse is helpfully titled Mr Wheeley’s, Edgbaston. The Wheeley family had been in ...
'My Second Sermon', by Millais
'My Second Sermon', by John Everett Millais (1829-1896), shows a girl asleep in a church with her legs dangling uncrossed. No Bible can be seen. It is one of a pair of paintings, the other being 'My First ...
'Obviously', by D. Binns
This is one of several caricatures published by wounded soldiers in the Edgbaston WW1 military hospital magazine that express deeply conflicted feelings towards their visitors.
Illustration from The ...
'Peace?', by W.L. Sherwood
This dramatic frontispiece to an issue of 'The Southern Cross' (the Edgbaston military hospital magazine) is entitled simply ‘Peace?’. It is one of a series of visionary works by Staff Sergeant W.L. Sherwood, ...
'People Who Ought To Be "Strafed"', by B. Howells
This is one of several caricatures published by wounded soldiers in the Edgbaston WW1 military hospital magazine that express deeply conflicted feelings towards their visitors.
Illustration from The ...
Postcard of Calthorpe Park
This birthday greetings postcard of Calthorpe Park was sent from D.S. to L. Payne of Solihull. Calthorpe Park was one of Birmingham’s first public parks, laid out in 1856.
Poster encouraging parents to become ARP wardens
During World War 2 images of children were often used in propaganda and government publicity. They were used to remind parents and others of why the nation was at war and to encourage adults to ‘do their ...
Rednal and the Lickey Hills
The watercolour Fair at the Lickey Hills was produced by Frank Lockwood in 1949. It featured Rednal Pleasure Fair and illustrated recreational options at the city's edge. The brashness of the fairground ...
Selly Manor
Henry Baker’s painting shows Selly Manor in a ruinous condition. By the early 1900s it was threatened by demolition. George Cadbury arranged for its re-location from Selly Oak to Bournville, where the ...