Barber Institute of Fine Arts
Title: Barber Institute of Fine Arts
Built in: 1939
Location: University of Birmingham East Gate, B15 2TT
Short intro: A fine art gallery and concert hall, housing an internationally significant collection of art
Description: On 13 December 1932, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts was founded. It was set up by Martha Constance Hattie Barber in memory of her husband Henry Barber, a wealthy property developer who made his fortune expanding Birmingham's sprawling suburbs. Lady Barber was a descendant of the old Worcestershire Onions family of bellows-makers and was an heiress in her own right. The first building to be purpose-built for the study of art history in the United Kingdom, it was described by architectural historian Sir John Summerson as being one of the best representations of the spirit of English architecture in the 1930s. The layout of the grade II listed Art Deco building is built around a central concert hall which is surrounded by lecture halls, offices and libraries on the ground floor and art gallery and museum on the first floor.
In the 2005 Penguin Books publication Britain's Best Museums and Galleries, the Barber Institute was one of only five galleries outside London to receive five stars for having "Outstanding collections of international significance."
The institute houses a collection of art from artists as famous as Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet and J. M. W Turner. The art presented is in a variety of mediums: from master prints and drawings, miniatures and sculptures. The barber institute houses one of the worlds largest coin collections, presenting a curated display of Roman and Byzantine coins.
