Royal Holloway Art Collections and Picture Gallery
About
Royal Holloway's Picture Gallery occupies part of the extraordinary Founder's Building, commissioned by the Victorian entrepreneur Thomas Holloway and opened by Queen Victoria in 1886, a building modelled on the Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley and among the most architecturally ambitious university buildings anywhere in Britain. Holloway, who made his fortune from patent medicines, intended the college he founded for the higher education of women to include a substantial art collection accessible to students as part of their education — an unusually enlightened Victorian vision that established one of the earliest examples of a British university actively building an art collection specifically for pedagogical purposes.
The collection Holloway assembled, and which the university has continued to develop since, spans 19th and 20th-century British and European art, displayed within the Picture Gallery's grand Victorian exhibition space. Sometimes described by visitors as one of London's more secretive picture galleries given its location outside the capital's main museum districts despite Royal Holloway's status as part of the University of London, the gallery rewards visitors willing to make the trip to Egham with a genuinely impressive collection in an equally impressive architectural setting rarely matched by comparably sized university galleries.
The gallery is free to visit and fully wheelchair accessible, open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm with reduced Wednesday hours (10am-3pm) during autumn and spring terms, and appointments can be arranged with the curatorial team to view collections outside standard opening hours. Guided tours are available on request, and visitors travelling by car should contact the art collections team in advance to register their vehicle and avoid parking difficulties on the university's working campus. The gallery periodically participates in wider heritage and open-day events, giving visitors additional opportunities to explore both the collection and the Founder's Building's remarkable architecture beyond the standard weekly opening schedule.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- Note the Wednesday hours reduce to 10am-3pm during autumn and spring terms — check before planning a midweek visit.
- If travelling by car, contact the art collections team in advance to register your vehicle and avoid a parking fine on the working university campus.
- The Founder's Building itself is worth appreciating architecturally, quite apart from the art collection — allow time to take in its scale and detail.
- Free entry and full wheelchair accessibility make this an easy stop for a wide range of visitors.
- Guided tours are available on request and worth arranging in advance for a deeper understanding of both the collection and the remarkable building.
- Combine your visit with wider exploration of the Egham and Windsor Great Park area, both within easy reach of the campus.
Highlights
The Founder's Building
The Picture Gallery occupies part of the Founder's Building, commissioned by Thomas Holloway and opened by Queen Victoria in 1886, modelled architecturally on the Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley. The building's scale and ambition make it one of the most architecturally distinctive university buildings in Britain, and the gallery's setting within it is as much a part of the visitor experience as the art collection itself.
Thomas Holloway's Founding Collection
Thomas Holloway, who made his fortune from patent medicines, assembled the founding art collection specifically to be accessible to students at the college he established for the higher education of women — an unusually enlightened Victorian vision that positioned art collecting as an integral part of the educational mission rather than an incidental adornment.
19th and 20th-Century British and European Art
The collection spans 19th and 20th-century British and European art, developed by the university since Holloway's original founding gift, giving visitors a substantial body of work to explore within the grand Victorian exhibition space of the Picture Gallery.
"London's Most Secret Picture Gallery"
Despite Royal Holloway's status as part of the University of London, the gallery's location in Egham, Surrey, outside the capital's main museum districts, has led some visitors to describe it as one of London's most secretive picture galleries — a genuine hidden gem status that rewards visitors willing to make the journey out of central London.
Collections
Royal Holloway's Art Collections centre on the Picture Gallery within the Founder's Building, holding 19th and 20th-century British and European art assembled from Thomas Holloway's founding gift and developed by the university since the college's 1886 opening. The collection reflects Holloway's original vision of art as an integral part of the education offered to the college's students, and the Picture Gallery's grand Victorian exhibition space, modelled architecturally on the Château de Chambord, provides an exceptional setting for the collection.
Wider archives and art store material are accessible to researchers by arrangement beyond the core public display.
The Holloway Collection
The founding art collection assembled by Thomas Holloway, spanning 19th and 20th-century British and European painting.
The Founder's Building
The architectural centrepiece housing the Picture Gallery, modelled on the Château de Chambord and opened by Queen Victoria in 1886.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.