Imagining Wolsey: The Invention of an English Cardinal

Last edited by hannahcuratoria... on 13 June 2025

Venue, Timing and Cost

Venue: 
Christ Church Picture Gallery
Date(s): 
Wednesday, 18 June 2025 to Monday, 22 December 2025
Timing: 
Mon,Wed,Thu,Fri,Sat: 11am-5pm Sun:2pm-5pm Closed Tuesdays
Cost: 
£6/3/Free

Marking the 500th anniversary of the initial founding of Christ Church by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in 1525, this exhibition will present a range of images of the Cardinal from an anonymous Tudor oil portrait to Jonathan Pryce’s representation of him in Wolf Hall.

Without a firmly-secured contemporary portrait of Wolsey, posterity was given a free hand to imagine a Cardinal whose humble beginnings led to a stellar ascent and ended in a dramatic fall from grace and lonely death. It might have been these dramatic biographical contrasts that fuelled Britain’s enduring fascination with him – a fascination that found expression on stage and in film and in a variety of collectables from cigarette cards to serving plates.

Further Information

Contact Details: 

Christ Church Picture Gallery
Gallery entrance via Canterbury Gate at Oriel Square
Oxford OX1 4EP

Website: https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/visit/picture-...
Tel: 01865 276172
Email: picturegallery@chch.ox.ac.uk

Exhibition
Visual Arts

Adults