The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is a renowned art gallery and concert hall located on the campus of the University of Birmingham. It opened in 1939 and is one of only five galleries outside London to have been awarded five stars for its nationally significant collection.
The Institute was established by Dame Martha Constance Barber in memory of her husband, William Henry Barber, an influential property developer and solicitor.
The Barber Institute is particularly noted for the quality of its acquisitions. Its founding trust deed requires that all purchases meet the same standards as those accepted by the National Gallery and the Wallace Collection.
Often described as one of the finest small art galleries in Europe, the collection includes works by Monet, Manet and Magritte; Renoir, Rubens, Rossetti and Rodin; Degas, Delacroix and van Dyck; Turner, Gainsborough, Gauguin, van Gogh, Picasso and Kokoschka.
Housed in an elegant Art Deco building, the purpose-built gallery was designed by Robert Atkinson, one of Britain’s leading architects of the period. In 1981 the building was granted Grade II listed status. The statue of George I at the entrance is the oldest public statue in Birmingham.
In addition to its art collection, the Institute holds one of the world’s largest coin collections and serves as a venue for concerts and an annual music festival.
Further details can be found on the website at www.barber.org.uk.
University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TS. Tel: 0121 472 0962
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