This exhibition, on display on levels 2-5 of the atrium, shows some of the portraits in the university’s art collection.
Universities (like other large institutions) have a tradition of commissioning portraits, often of senior leaders, usually displayed prominently to emphasise the history and importance of the institution. This exhibition is a nod to this and presents some of our own portraits in this vein – William Owen (who the Owen building is named after) as well as Herbert Wing and Reverend Valentine Ward Pearson, principals of City of Sheffield Teacher Training College, one of the institutions that eventually became the University.

However, the portraits in our collection are much more varied than this. As with the collection as a whole, they are diverse, usually made by students, or others connected to the university in some way. Neha Gill on level 4 turns the camera on herself using photographic self-portraiture as a way of exploring her own identity. Val Robinson’s joyous portraits of her family and friends on level 3 also speak of her return to education and second career as an artist. Linda Bussey’s Faces of Sheffield on level 5 invite us to read the city’s own story in these unnamed faces.
Not immediately obvious as portraits, the set of paintings by beloved Sheffield artist Joe Scarborough on level 2 do something similar, his playful characters, often recurring throughout his work are based on real people (not least the cast of music hall characters in the Theatres series) but most of all it is Sheffield itself he presents as a person.

Sheffield Hallam University’s Art Collection
The artworks on display here represent a selection of the artworks in our collection, which has grown organically over may years. When the Sheffield School of Art was founded in 1843, a small collection of artworks and objects was provided for students to study. (The surviving parts of this are now available in the Library Special Collection and can be visited by appointment.) Later on, artworks were purchased or donated by students and staff, or commissioned or re-homed by the university. In recent years we have been working to make the collection more accessible and some of the artworks can now be viewed online. You can also follow our campus Art Trail.