Stories that inspire: history category

Read the fascinating stories of how and why artworks have been selected for show around the world.

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‘The unseen worlds around us’: the legacy of Ada Lovelace

To mark the anniversary of Ada Lovelace’s birth on 10 December 1815, learn about her legacy and explore how she continues to inspire contemporary artists today.

Windrush Day: art, archives and emotional legacy

Windrush Day 2023 marks 75 years since the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks, Essex on 22 June 1948. On board was one of the first large groups of post-war Caribbean immigrants to the United Kingdom. This pivotal moment in history has undeniably influenced knowledge, culture and industry across all levels of British society.

Identities, disguises and hidden love stories

To mark February's LGBTQ+ History Month, let's take a look at a few historical examples in the Collection which illustrate attitudes and perceptions of queer relationships and gender in early modern England.

The coronation works in the Collection

As part of the celebrations surrounding the coronation, over a hundred works of art were commissioned or purchased by the Ministry of Works from early 1953 to 1954. Explore these works in the Government Art Collection, from artists like L.S. Lowry, Laura Knight and Barbara Horridge.

A closer look: Lowry’s coronation view

In 1953, L.S. Lowry was appointed an official artist at the coronation of Elizabeth II. He could not imagine why he was chosen to capture such a grand occasion.

A closer look: a masters’ secret for 10 guineas

In 1796, leading artists from the Royal Academy fell victim to an incredible hoax about an art masters' secret, masterminded by Ann Jemima Provis.

A closer look: George Vertue’s Charity Children

Curator Laura Popoviciu takes a closer look at George Vertue's 18th-century print that celebrates the Peace of Utrecht.

Body, mind and soul: the making of Lord Byron

On the bicentennial of Greece’s 1821 Revolution and War of Independence, discover Lord Byron through works of art and letters from the Government Art Collection and Newstead Abbey.

A meeting of cultures

A new installation of art at the British Embassy in Tehran evokes the early days of the Embassy, and is a reminder of the longstanding relationship between Britain and Iran.

Coming home

The British Ambassador's Residence in Budapest, built in 1925, was originally home to Hanna Hódosi and her husband Tibor Scitovszky. Find out why this became significant for the Collection.

From Bonn to Berlin: the travels of an embassy

The British Embassy in Germany moved three times in the last century, before returning to the site of the first British Embassy established in 1876. This is the story of those moves and a peek at the art in those embassies.

The art of diplomacy

An old map of Romania and a fire-damaged print of London: Britain's Head of Soft Power, who also served as Ambassador to Romania, speaks with our historical curator about the links between art and diplomacy.