University of Leeds

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The University of Leeds has a long association with pioneering figures who helped to mobilise the advance of fine art in the university curriculum, from Sir Michael Sadler and his exhibitions of outstanding examples of English modernism in the early part of the last century, to Peter Gregory and Herbert Read's institution in 1949 of the Gregory Fellowships in Painting and Sculpture. Leeds was one of the first universities to employ working artists in its Fine Art department, integrating studio practice with the study of art history. This development was led by Maurice de Sausmarez, Quentin Bell and Laurence Gowing, successively Heads of Department in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The Gregory Fellows and the Fine Art Department as a whole had strong working links with the Leeds College of Art which, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, under the leadership of figures such as Harry Thubron, Eric Taylor and Ricky Atkinson, was transforming itself along Bauhaus lines. This history is extensively reflected in the holdings of the University Art Collection, which are available for study.

Works from University of Leeds

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