Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion & Design
From:
21 September 2023
To:
18 February 2024
Ashmolean Museum
35 Beaumont Street
Oxford
OX1 2PH
21 September 2023 to 18 February 2024
About Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion & Design
Dispelling our monochrome idea of Victorian Britain. Discover a revolution of colour.
Rediscover Victorian society as a vibrant colour-filled era – from dazzling dyes used in chic corsets, bold experiments by avant-garde painters, and the flamboyant use of nature’s beauty in jewellery.
As Britain’s industrial revolution gained pace, new scientific breakthroughs allowed the Victorians to become increasingly revolutionary in their use of colour, with new hues greeted with both excitement and suspicion.
The exhibition will include fashion pieces – from Queen Victoria’s monotone mourning dress to the most daringly vivid clothing and accessories – and works by artists including Ruskin, Rossetti and Whistler, as well as objects from around the world. Our next major exhibition explores the vital role that colour has played in shaping our art and culture.
Tickets
£15.30
Ticketing information
Timed tickets are in operation. Visitors and members are strongly recommended to book tickets in advance to guarantee entry.
Prices:
Full price ticket – £15.30
Concession ticket – £14.30
Senior citizens (65s and over), University of Oxford Employees & Alumni (Please bring your staff / Alumni card as proof of eligibility on your visit)
Child ticket (12 to 17 years) – £7.65
Discount ticket – £7.65
Blue Light Card Holder (Please bring your Blue Light Card as proof of eligibility on your visit), Jobseekers (Please bring evidence of jobseeker’s allowance as proof of eligibility on your visit.)
Under 25s / Student ticket – £7.65
Please bring student ID / ID card as proof of eligibility on your visit.
Art Fund Ticket – £7.65
Please bring your Art Fund card as proof of eligibility on your visit.
Children under 12 ticket – Free
University of Oxford Student ticket – Free
Please bring your student ID or Bodleian Card as proof of eligibility on your visit.
AshPass or Oxford Pass ticket – Free
Please bring your Young Persons ASH Pass card as proof of eligibility on your visit.
Carer Ticket – Free
Accompanying a paying disabled person.
Ashmolean Staff and Reciprocal Entry ticket – Free
For Ashmolean staff and volunteers, paid Oxford University GLAM staff (Gardens, Libraries and Museums), ICOM, Museums Association and NMDC reciprocal entry etc. Please bring a staff or membership card with you as proof of eligibility with you on the day of your visit. If possible, please book during the late afternoon.
Members ticket – Free
Entry to the exhibition is free for members, but it is advised that you pre-booking a timed slot, especially at busier periods, to guarantee entry. You will need your 13- or 14- digit membership number to book.
Please note a booking fee of £1 is added to help support the museum and cover the costs of staffing the box office.
Exhibition shop
The Colour Revolution exhibition shop will be open every day from 10.00am to 5.00pm until 18 February 2024, when the exhibition closes.
If you have a late afternoon ticket and wish to stay in the exhibition until 5.00pm, kindly visit the shop before you enter the exhibition. The museum, including the shop, and will close at 5.00pm.
Accessibility
Access to the exhibition is via lift, and the entire exhibition is wheelchair accessible. Handheld labels are available.
There is also a level access route from the pavement outside the museum to the front door. You can read more about the museum’s access at Ashmolean Access Guide
Disabled visitors should book a regular exhibition ticket at full or concession price, depending on eligibility. Accompanying carers can access the exhibition for free with a ticket-holding disabled visitor, but they will need to book a free, timed Carer ticket.
Group bookings
The museum is happy facilitate group visits (including schools) to the exhibition. Kindly contact the box office on onlinetickets@ashmus.ox.ac.uk at least 3 weeks before your preferred visit date to check availability and make the arrangements.
Selected artworks in the exhibition
Left to right (top to bottom) Day dress, English, late-1860s, aniline dyed silk and glass beads, Manchest Art Gallery. Minton vase with beetle design, England, 1870-90, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. Lady Granville’s beetle parure and case, 1884–5, British Museum, London. John Ruskin (1819–1900), Study of a Kingfisher, with dominant Reference to Colour, 1871, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. Colour Revolution Gallery 05 – Frederick Sandys (1829–1904), Vivien, 1863, Manchester Art Gallery. The Great Bookcase, 1859-62, designed by William Burges (1827-81), Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.
