Fine Art Category

A black man in eighteenth century clothing and wig faces us, head and shoulders showing. His body is at an angle. The image is an oval shape, and the man is wearing a red jacket and white stock. Current tite: Portrait of an African

Black History Month: ‘Portrait of an African’.

Portrait of an African: a well loved painting This portrait (currently titled Portrait of an African), from RAMM’s Fine Art collection, has a high profile. You can see it on book covers, posters and websites, and it is reproduced regularly in Black History Month. You may see it even more often in the coming year […]

Partly complete watercolour painting of plants by William Keble Martin

Research from home: the wild flowers of William Keble Martin

The ‘The Concise British Flora in Colour’ was an instant best seller when it hit the shelves in May 1965. Opening the covers reveals illustrations of 1486 species in meticulous detail. They are the result of 60 years of botanical study and painting by its 88 year old author Reverend William Keble Martin (1877-1969). He […]

Image of a colour photograph 'A Domestic Affair' of colourful vegetables and kitchen utensil showing the artist's signature on the print

Frederick Gordon Tutton – A pioneer of early colour photography

Frederick Gordon Tutton's 'A Domestic Affair' made in the mid-1920s is an example of early colour photography in RAMM's Fine Art collection.

Image of three grey boxes, the top one inscribed with 'Photographs' in RAMM's storage space for museum objects

Photographs in RAMM’s collections

In April 2019 I joined RAMM as Assistant Curator of Photographs. I will be at RAMM for six months as part of the V&A Photography Curators’ Training programme, which is funded by the Art Fund. The past few weeks I have spent reviewing the photographs and photographs related material in RAMM’s collections. I started with […]

The Hilliard Family in Exeter

Discover how the craftsmanship of a prominent Tudor family from Exeter illuminates this fascinating period.

Exploring the Martin Brothers Collection at RAMM

Discover the work of these Victorian pioneers in craftsmanship.

Colour woodblock engraving of a Redbreast by Benjamin Fawcett (1808-1893),

Benjamin Fawcett woodblock colour printer (1808-1893)

Whilst researching a ‘Red Breast’ for the current seasons exhibition an exciting discovery has been made. This work and another 5 works were attributed to B. Fawcett. The database held little further information. However, online article published by Archives and Special Collections department, part of Hull University’s library showed a black and white image of […]

An example of the wax portraits looked at in the research

New research on wax portraits

Restoration brings new life to wax portraits and shed light on their sculptor

Indian botanical drawings

Researchers in Exeter and India have revealed that 17 Indian botanical drawings in RAMM’s collection are by three of the most renowned late 18th-century Indian painters. They are Sheikh Zain al-Din, Bhawani Das and Ram Das. East India Company’s interest in plants In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the East India Company controlled […]