Fitzwilliam Museum
The University of Cambridge's art and antiquities museum, in a Grade I listed neoclassical building with free entry.
The Fitzwilliam is the University of Cambridge's museum of art and antiquities, set on Trumpington Street next door to Peterhouse. It began in 1816, when Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam, left the university his library and art collection together with £100,000 for a building to house them. Its collection now runs to more than half a million objects.
The building
The Founder's Building was designed by George Basevi, with C. R. Cockerell completing it. Its foundation stone was laid in 1837 and the museum opened in 1848. Edward Middleton Barry added the entrance hall in 1875. Further gifts brought extra rooms: the 1912 bequest of Charles Brinsley Marlay, who left £80,000 and 84 paintings, and a south-east extension of 1931 that was partly paid for by the Courtauld family. The museum buildings and the street frontage are both Grade I listed.
What to look for
The collections are divided between five curatorial departments, spanning antiquities, applied arts, numismatics, rare books and manuscripts, and works on paper and canvas. Highlights include:
- Paintings by Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, Canaletto, Monet, Renoir, Cezanne and Picasso.
- A large group of Turner watercolours, which grew from 25 drawings given by John Ruskin in 1861.
- The Egyptian Galleries, reopened in 2006 after a two-year refurbishment.
- A group of Impressionist works on loan from King's College.
Practical notes
Entry is free, and the museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00 and on Sundays and bank holidays from 12:00 to 17:00. Temporary exhibitions can be ticketed; the museum runs a pay-what-you-can day on the first Sunday of each month and a free "Fitz List" membership for 18-25s and students. There is no visitor parking, and the museum recommends not driving into the centre.
Nearby
Within a few minutes' walk
