Artist and Empire

About

This exhibition will be the first major presentation of the art associated with the British Empire from the sixteenth century to the present day.

Bringing together extraordinary and unexpected artworks from UK collections, both public and private, it will explore how diverse artists around the world responded to the experience of empire.

Comprising sculpture, painting and works on paper, the exhibition will examine the role of art in communicating power relations and cross-cultural translation at different periods of British history. It will consider how the empire shaped some of the themes, ways of making and patterns of collecting which defined British art in the past and which continue to have resonance today.