IN BLOOM EXHIBITION The stories behind some of Britain’s most beloved blooms – from roses and tulips to camellias and peonies.

More about the exhibition here: www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/i...

Art & object highlights from the 'In Bloom' #exhibition @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social: 'Orchids' by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema, 1879; 19th-century teaching models of plants; an 18th-century pharmacy jar and a 17th-century floral still life by Rachel Ruysch; a recent tapestry by Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg

Recently opened at the Drents Museum in the Netherlands: an exhibition of the work of the Hungarian-Indian modernist artist Amrita Sher-Gil (1913–1941). 'Europe Belongs to Picasso, India belongs to me' runs until 20th September 2026. drentsmuseum.nl/en/news/dren...

It was beautifully sunny (if a bit windy!) in Alfriston today

Witt Library homepage for the Witt Library

The enormous collection of photographs and prints of paintings that Robert and his wife, Mary, amassed, was donated to the Courtauld Institute . The collection, known as the Witt Library, has recently been digitised: photocollections.courtauld.ac.uk/menu-item1/w...

Alfriston Clergy House, the first historic property to be acquired by @nationaltrust.org.uk for £10 in 1896. This Sussex hall-house is also home to the first item of furniture acquired by the Trust: a bench. The house was once lived in by Robert Witt, a co-founder of @courtauld.bsky.social

An illustration from a 13th-century bestiary, showing a phoenix rising from the flames.

Hello, have you missed us? We’d love to hear from you.
 
Tell us your favourite British Library manuscript and we’ll post an image for you.

'Michaelina Wautier' #exhibition opens 27th March @royalacademy.bsky.social, showcasing the wide-ranging work of this 17th-century artist, including flower paintings, portraits and history paintings. Wautier's self-portrait can be seen in The Triumph of Bacchus (on the front cover of the catalogue)

Just opened at the Pomeranian Dukes' Castle in Szczecin, Poland, an #exhibition of Baroque religious artworks with fabulous polychromy and gilding. On until 16th August. Thanks to my aunt Kasia for the photos!

www.pace.cam.ac.uk/courses/comp...
The painting above is a self-portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola, c. 1556–1557, on display at Łańcut Castle Museum, Poland.

Just announced: I will be teaching a new International Summer Programme course at @cam.ac.uk this summer: 'Women artists in Europe c. 1400-1800'. #womenartists More details here:

Home Explore Vanbrugh 300: a celebration of Sir John Vanbrugh’s architectural and theatrical legacy, with events, history and community projects.

The exhibition at Blenheim is part of www.vanbrugh300.co.uk

This new #exhibition @blenheimpalace.bsky.social celebrates John Vanbrugh, the Baroque architect and dramatist who died 300 years ago. Exhibits throughout the palace explore Vanbrugh's work there and how this ambitious building project took shape.

Writing Early Modern Loneliness This collection is the first to redefine conceptions of ‘loneliness’ in the Western world by exploring its manifestation in early modern texts.

Excited that my work has been cited in this recent book about conceptions of 'loneliness' in the Western world link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

An excellent online resource: Cambridge Digital Library brings together many of the University's collections @theul.bsky.social
: cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk

Dancing with Jane Austen Marking the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, this display shows the importance of dance to Austen’s gentry society and its crucial role for her creativity.

More about the display here: visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/displa...

Highlights from the Jane Austen display currently @bodleianlibrary.bsky.social Marking the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, Dancing with Austen explores how important dance was to Austen’s society and its crucial role in her creativity. #exhibition

Portraits of a Vanished Europe: Olga Boznańska and the Culture of Memory | ENRS

Just found this interesting English-language article about why 2025 was the Year of Olga Boznańska (it also features a wonderful archival photo of the artist): enrs.eu/article/port...

A telegram to James Joyce in Paris on his 49th birthday, sent from Dublin by Samuel Beckett. Beckett wishes James Joyce a happy birthday using a quote from ‘Work in Progress’  (later known as Finnegans Wake). [SSJ A/1/2/1]

A fountain pen with a gold charm given to Joyce on his 57th birthday in 1939 by his family to celebrate the forthcoming publication of his book ‘Finnegans Wake’. [SSJ-OBJ/002]

A fountain pen with a gold charm given to Joyce on his 57th birthday in 1939 by his family to celebrate the forthcoming publication of his book ‘Finnegans Wake’. [SSJ-OBJ/002]

The first edition of the groundbreaking novel ‘Ulysses’ was published on Joyce’s 40th birthday, in France in 1922.

Happy Birthday to James Joyce!🎉 🎂

Joyce was born on 2nd February 1882 in Rathgar, Dublin. Joyce loved having a big celebration for his birthday.

Come and catch the exhibition of James Joyce’s personal archive at University of Reading Special Collections @themerl.bsky.social !

Starts tomorrow at The Wallace Collection, London: a new, free trail 'Marie-Antoinette: An Eye for Beauty' - www.wallacecollection.org/whats-on/exh...

Lady Chatterley's Lover display, currently at #Oxford Brookes University library. Various editions, all published by @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social

Expecting: Birth, Belief and Protection This display features a rare medieval birth scroll and explores protective practices and beliefs around pregnancy, childbirth and infertility past and present.

Another #exhibition on my must-see-soon list: 'Expecting: Birth, Belief and Protection' @wellcomecollection.bsky.social features a birthing scroll from 1500 CE: wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/...

Production Archive - National Youth Theatre Find out about the 100s of productions we've commissioned, staged and toured at some of the world's leading venues since we were formed in 1956.

Scanning the NYT archive, I found the 1996 London shows I built sets for, age 15: A Plague on Both Your Houses@Bloomsbury Theatre and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?@The Place - both directed by the late Ed Wilson, who I've just realised was also from the North East. www.nyt.org.uk/get-tickets/...

Grants Previous grant recipients If you would like to help us support early career scholars in bibliography, please email our Treasurer (treasurer@oxbibsoc.org.uk) to discuss how you can help. Any donatio…

Grants!

We are offering small grants (maximum £500 each) to support projects in book history & bibliography. We particularly encourage early-career applicants and projects that use Oxford collections.

Application is brief; deadline is 27th February 2026.

Details at oxbibsoc.org.uk/grants/

Hawaiʻi: a kingdom crossing oceans Be swept away by the extraordinary history and dazzling artistry of this Pacific Island nation.

Can't wait to see this: 'Hawaiʻi: a kingdom crossing oceans', #exhibition, now on @britishmuseum.bsky.social : www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/...

Keelmen’s Hospital. eighteenth century almshouse Buildings Keelmen’s Hospital was built in 1701, not as a hospital in the modern sense but as an almshouse. Almshouses provided food and shelter for the town’s poor. Keelmen’s Hospital was set up…

Excited that this iconic listed building in the centre of Newcastle will be renovated to create affordable housing after standing derelict for twenty years: www.twbpt.org.uk/building/kee...

My review of this fascinating book about Lady Charlotte Schreiber (1812-1895), much of whose important collection is now in the British Museum and V&A, will be published later this year. I will post a link to the open-access review here once it is available.

Aleksandra Koutny - The Society of Authors Art historian and writer

It's been a busy start to the year on this site! Welcome to all my new followers and here's some more info about my writing and teaching (I work on topics relating to histories of art and display): societyofauthors.org/soa-member/a...

A square grid of 9 details of artworks, presented in 3 rows of 3. Details are from paintings mostly - including portraits, religious works, still lifes, among other types - and also one engraving and one sculpture.

Art Herstory has begun the 2026 edition of our annual post about exhibitions of art by women of the 16th to c. mid-20th centuries!

Museum Exhibitions about Historic Women Artists: 2026
artherstory.net/museum-exhib...

We'll continue to add entries to this list as art museums announce new shows.

Shahzia Sikander’s video artwork The Last Post (2010). Through precisely inked and animated scenes, it critically considers the legacy of British colonialism in Asia, using her signature approach of infusing Indo-Persian miniature paintings with a contemporary perspective.

Coming up Jan 22 -

Virtual Conversation with Artist Shahzia Sikander
americanart.si.edu/events/virtu...

Sikander & curator Saisha Grayson will conduct a virtual conversation about the artist’s multimedia practice, including the video The Last Post, recently acquired by SAAM and now on view.