Birmingham Art Gallery: Re Opening of the Pre Ralphalite Collection

Pre-Raphaelites 

A few months ago I went to the opening of Birmingham’s Pre-Raphaelite exhibition, but this week I have gone back to have another look around at the amazing exhibition. After years of being closed for refurb, the gallery reopened in Late 2025, revealing one of Birmingham’s real treasures within the world of art. These refurbished spaces house the collection perfectly, and it was very much worth the wait I have to say! So this exhibition contains over 60 works and, the exhibition brings together so many iconic paintings that define mid 19th century British art. A fact I thought was interesting that the gallery mentioned is that it been collecting Pre-Raphaelite art for 150 years and is the largest collection of this movement in the world.(“Birmingham Museums”)

Picture of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (January 2026)

"Birmingham is proud to have the largest collection of art and design by the Pre-Raphaelites and their followers in the world... sculpture and stained glass panels by artists including Ford Madox Brown, Edward Burne-Jones, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Simeon Solomon" (“Birmingham Museums”)

Their mission is to highlight overlooked stories which is why I enjoyed this exhibition so much.

Lately, I have been trying to learn more about fine art movements I am less familiar with, so this exhibition felt perfect. I had been looking forward to its reopening for a while, I wasn't prepared of the size of the collection and I really loved how present female artists are within it and it was pretty exciting that there are new additions by female artists. So by me revisiting this exhibition allowed notice just notice more, but have a little opportunity to talk more about it! 

Here are some photos I took of the way it's displayed! 

Photos taken inside the exhibition, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

Beautiful right?

For me ive always loved the Birmingham museum and art gallery as it's somewhere ive always visited as it's close to home. Little fact Birmingham city has strong links to the Arts and Crafts movement, which started around the 1860s which was directly inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites. (Bentonfineart) I think what I love most about this exhibition is how many works by women are included. Women appear so often in Pre-Raphaelite paintings as symbolic figures but here they are also shown as artists which is so important to showcase. It’s really inspiring to see woman Pre-Raphaelite creators, bringing their own personalities to the collection. It is so important to showcase the women were shaping the art world, especially when they didn’t always get that credit that they deserved at the time. (Daher)

As mentioned at the gallery, the term “Pre-Raphaelite” refers to the artists that believed that art after Raphael had become formulaic, and wanted to move away from the rigid rules of academic art and grand manner and create work that was honest, showing real emotions. (National Trust) They wanted authenticity and featured ordinary life, literature, poems, myths, religion, and history. An example is a wide range of paintings directly within nature to get genuine environments and for themselves and friends as models. Their work is often recognised by its vivid colours, intense attention to detail, and themes drawn from poetry and literature. It was never just about painting either. The movement included poets and designers, which perhaps explains why it still feels so influential today.

Here below are two pictures of Grand Manner and Academic Art style:

John Singer Sargent: Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) 1884

Sir Joshua Reynolds: Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle 1769

This what Pre-Raphaelites were reacting against: that polished finish and controlled compositions.

John Batten: Beauty and the Beast 1904

What makes Pre-Raphaelite art so powerful is how openly it pushes back against that traditional idea as shown above of what art should be. Art students were trained to copy these idealised styles rather than observe the world around them and this is why Pre-Raphaelites painted directly from nature and embraced emotion. (Scheer) They wasn't afraid of stillness or being controlled within their work. Alot of the artists were young and questioning an entire system of art, a sort of rebellious energy that you can feel is present.

At the moment from this exhibition, I’m drawn to Pre-Raphaelite art because of that dramatic and romantic feeling. I love the theatrical poses and the way the backgrounds never feel like background at all. It's deliberate and full of meaning. I like the movements feeling like a moment being paused and held in place.

There were a few paintings in particular that I returned to that caught my eye! 

The first being Florence Camm, "Dante and Beatrice: The Wedding Feast" as like I've mentioned before I am loving stained glass at the moment!

The second as shown above is William Holman Hunt "Two Gentlemen of Verona"

And the third Joseph Southall "Beauty receiving the White Rose from her Farther" 

In conclusion anyways symbolism plays such a strong role in these paintings. The paintings look soft and romantic, but there's a presence of darker themes like loss, death and emotional intensity. The flowers, and everything around quietly tell their own stories within the backgrounds. The gallery space itself really supports this way to the viewer. The rooms feel calm and spacious encouraging you to slow down and take in all the beautiful detailing. I’m always drawn to detailed, visual artwork amd exhibition does exactly that. Id definitely recommend a look around if you haven't yet!

Ft this lil guy I saw there too :P

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As usual! Here is my favourite sketch from this week 

im working on outside observation drawings at the moment, so I'm travelling around drawing buildings and bits around ect! So here's a quick one I did with a ink and brush.

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References

“Birmingham Artists in the 19th Century from Www.bentonfineart.com.” Bentonfineart.com, 2026, www.bentonfineart.com/blog/birmingham-artists-in-the-19th-century~1749. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.

“Birmingham Museums.” Birmingham Museums, 2024, www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/birmingham-museum-and-art-gallery/highlights/the-pre-raphaelites. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.

Daher, Lily Katzman,Nadine. “The Women behind the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.” Smithsonian Magazine, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/revisiting-women-behind-pre-raphaelite-band-brothers-180974035/. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.

Scheer, Nathan. “The Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Counterculture.” Rehs Galleries, 18 June 2024, rehs.com/eng/2024/06/the-pre-raphaelites-victorian-counterculture/. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.

“Who Were the Pre-Raphaelites?” National Trust, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/people/who-were-the-pre-raphaelites. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.