European Prints

The European Print Collection was established in 1966 by Robert Smith, then senior Lecturer in Fine Arts, initially as Study Collection to complement the courses in Fine Arts offered at the University.

European prints between the 15th and 20th centuries were collected, with the earliest work being a page from the Nuremberg Chronicle from 1493. The prints were acquired to represent artists of contrasting periods, stylistic developments and modes of production as well as providing a historical context of printmaking.

The collection illustrates a continuous history of European art that covers periods from the Renaissance through to Modernism, with artists including Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt van Rijn, William Hogarth, Francisco de Goya, Honoré Daumier, Käthe Kollwitz, John Constable, JMW Turner, Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso.