Historic Oxford college courtyard with medieval architecture and fountain in foreground, sunny day, iconic UK landmark

Christ Church Picture Gallery

Witness the Wonders of Culture

Christ Church Cathedral is home to a community whose worship is enhanced by a world-famous choral tradition. Alongside our daily offering of worship, the Cathedral hosts a wide range of concerts, exhibitions and diocesan events. Everyone is welcome to join us.

The collections

The gallery holds an important collection of nearly 300 Old Master paintings and 2,000 drawings.

The collection is particularly strong in Italian art from the 14th to 18th centuries, with works by artists including Annibale Carracci, Fra Angelico, Salvator Rosa and Paolo Veronese. The gallery has a range of works by other notable European painters, drawings by Raphael, Albrecht Dürer, and Michelangelo along with a collection of Russian icons and English glass from bequests in the 20th century.

In 2017, the Picture Gallery lent three drawings by Michelangelo to the Metropolitan Museum in New York for the exhibition Michelangelo – Divine Draftsman and Designer.

One of the drawings – a design for an altar on one side (recto) and several black chalk studies for elevations on the other (verso) – was in need of substantial conservation work. Centuries ago it had been stuck down on different matts and papers. These different materials, with their distinct movement properties, were creating opposing forces on the sheet, which had led to deep folds and creases. But the matts and surrounds contained important information about the drawing’s history and also needed to be preserved.