About
The Peter Scott Gallery is Lancaster University's public art gallery, founded in 1972 and named in honour of Sir Peter Scott (1909–1989), the naturalist, painter, broadcaster, and conservationist who was the son of the Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Situated on Alexandra Square at the heart of the Bailrigg campus, the gallery serves both the university community and the wider public, presenting a programme of temporary exhibitions that range across modern and contemporary art.
Sir Peter Scott was one of the most influential figures in British natural history and environmental conservation in the twentieth century. A founding member of the World Wildlife Fund, the creator of the panda logo, and the founder of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge, he was also a distinguished watercolour painter whose depictions of wildfowl and wetland landscapes were widely exhibited and reproduced. The gallery bears his name as a tribute to his connection with Lancaster and to his twin commitment to art and nature.
The gallery's programme of temporary exhibitions is the primary visitor offer, with shows typically changing every six to eight weeks. Subjects have included solo presentations of established and emerging contemporary artists, thematic group exhibitions drawn from Lancaster's own collections, and exhibitions exploring the intersections between art, science, and the natural environment — appropriate for a gallery named after Scott. The gallery works closely with Lancaster's Department of Philosophy and the humanities more broadly.
The permanent collection, drawn on for gallery exhibitions and loans, includes works by significant British and international artists of the twentieth century. Prints, drawings, and paintings are distributed across campus buildings, though the gallery on Alexandra Square is the primary public exhibition space.
Admission is free and the gallery is accessible to all. The Alexandra Square setting, at the core of the campus, makes it easy to combine a gallery visit with a walk through the university's award-winning Brutalist architecture and its extensive grounds. The campus is well served by public transport from Lancaster city centre.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
Quietest: Monday, Friday
Busiest: Wednesday, Thursday
💡 Weekday lunchtimes during term time
💡 Visitor Tips
- Check the gallery website before travelling — the programme is driven by temporary exhibitions, and there may be a brief closure between shows during installation.
- The gallery is a 10-minute bus ride from Lancaster city centre on bus routes 1 and 2 — parking on campus requires a visitor permit so public transport is often easier.
- Combine a visit to the Peter Scott Gallery with the Ruskin Library, which is only 5 minutes' walk across campus and houses the world's largest Ruskin collection.
- The campus café and restaurant facilities are open to visitors; they offer a good lunch stop before or after the gallery.
- The campus grounds make for a pleasant walk in good weather — the architecture of the Bailrigg campus is worth exploring in its own right.
- If you have a particular interest in the work of Sir Peter Scott, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Martin Mere, about 45 minutes south, is a fitting complement to a gallery visit.
- Lancaster University hosts a busy events calendar — talks, performances, and openings are often tied to gallery exhibitions and are usually free to the public.
- Families with children will find the campus grounds and lake area a good space for a walk after the gallery — it is a relaxed and accessible environment.
Highlights
Temporary Exhibition Programme
The gallery's rolling programme of temporary exhibitions is its primary offer, presenting shows by contemporary artists, thematic group displays drawn from the university collection, and collaborative projects with regional and national art organisations.
Shows typically run for six to eight weeks and span painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and new media. The programme has a strong commitment to work that engages with the environment and natural world — themes appropriate to a gallery named after one of Britain's greatest naturalists.
Lancaster University Art Collection
The gallery draws on Lancaster University's permanent collection, which includes modern and contemporary works by British and international artists.
The collection is particularly strong in prints and works on paper, including examples by major figures of twentieth-century British printmaking. Selected works from the collection are regularly shown in gallery exhibitions and are also displayed across campus buildings, giving the art an integrated presence in academic life.
Nature and Environment-Themed Shows
In keeping with the legacy of Sir Peter Scott, the gallery has developed a particular strand of programming that explores connections between art and the natural world — ecology, conservation, landscape, and environmental change. These exhibitions often draw on collaborators from across the university's science and humanities faculties, creating interdisciplinary encounters between artistic and scientific responses to the natural world.
This thread of the programme has grown in prominence as environmental themes have become central to contemporary art practice.
Alexandra Square Campus Setting
The gallery is located on Alexandra Square, the architectural heart of Lancaster University's Bailrigg campus.
Designed in the 1960s by Bridgwater, Shepheard and Epstein in a robust Brutalist style, the campus is an interesting example of mid-century British university planning. The square itself is a formal piazza surrounded by the key academic buildings, lecture theatres, and the library — visiting the gallery also means experiencing one of the more complete examples of 1960s campus architecture in England.
Collections
The Lancaster University art collection numbers several hundred works with particular strengths in prints and works on paper by British artists of the twentieth century. The collection includes paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculpture drawn from acquisition, gift, and bequest over the university's history since 1964.
Works are displayed throughout campus buildings as well as in the Peter Scott Gallery exhibitions.
The collection reflects Lancaster's engagement with British and international contemporary art from the post-war period to the present, with a growing strand of work addressing environmental themes. Selected works are available for study by researchers and students of art history and related disciplines.
Collection Displays
Works from the Lancaster University permanent collection are displayed throughout campus buildings and periodically presented in focused exhibitions at the Peter Scott Gallery.
📍 Peter Scott Gallery and campus-wide, Lancaster University
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.