New Hall Art Collection, Cambridge

The Women's Art Collection, formerly known as the New Hall Art Collection until 2022, is a distinguished permanent exhibit housed at Murray Edwards College in Cambridge. This collection proudly stands as one of the largest and most significant assemblages of modern and contemporary art by women globally, boasting over 600 works. The art, featuring an array of paintings, prints, and sculptures, is distributed throughout the college’s campus, integrating into the modernist architecture of the buildings and the surrounding grounds, which were designed by Chamberlain, Powell, and Bon and completed in 1965. These buildings are recognized as Grade II* listed structures, adding a historic and cultural layer to the viewing experience.

The collection began in 1986 following the residency of Mary Kelly, whose work 'Extase' was acquired with the support of the Eastern Arts Association. This initial acquisition inspired the college’s aspiration to develop a repository of 20th-century art by women to inspire and influence its female students. This vision was significantly advanced in 1992 when Valerie Pearl, then President of New Hall, appealed to leading women artists in Britain, resulting in about 75 donations.

The Women's Art Collection has continued to grow through gifts and loans from artists and alumnae, making it the largest collection of its kind in Europe with approximately 95 percent of the artworks on display. It received formal accreditation from the Arts Council England on March 7, 2018, acknowledging both the collection's quality and the professional manner in which it is managed. This recognition marked a significant milestone in the collection's history, reaffirming its importance and impact within the art and academic communities.