News
Dr. Ingrid Pollard – Residency and Research Partner 2021-22
Display 6th August 2022 - 29th October 2022
Hidden Nature Library Lecture – February 2021
The theme of our series this year is Hidden Nature. We will explore some of the hidden aspects of Devon, our heritage building, library and Enlightenment collections in general, through the eyes of a diverse group of speakers.
German Dreams and Dreamers – Exhibition showing 19 May -31 July 2021.
This exhibition was inspired by a conference on the theme of Dreams, Visions, and Somnambulism in German Literature, Art, Medicine and Philosophy 1750-1835.
The frontispiece as a ‘threshold of interpretation’: Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan (1651)
In the 17th century, books began to acquire frontispieces – an illustration, usually a full-page engraved plate, facing the title page. The frontispiece was often an exquisite work of art in its own right - but what was its purpose in the narrative?
Press Release, Feb 2021: New Trade & Exchange project set to bring Exeter city centre alive
Trade & Exchange was launched in November 2020 and was commissioned as part of Exeter’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan Building Exeter Back Better.
A ‘Cornish boy, in tin-mines bred’: the legend of John Opie (1761-1807)
Born in Mithian, St Agnes, Cornwall, John Opie (1761-1807) overcame his humble birth to become a Royal Academician and one of the foremost portraitists and landscape artists of his day. He was introduced to the London art world as a self-taught Rousseauian 'noble savage', raised in a ‘remote and secluded part of the island’, who rose to fame ‘unassisted by partial patronage’. However, little of this was true.
Samuel Parkes’s Chemical Catechism (1806)
While working as a soap manufacturer in Stoke-on-Trent, Samuel Parkes (1761-1825) became fascinated in chemistry. A Chemical Catechism (1806), originally written for his young daughter, became a best-seller across Europe. His method of teaching stressed the importance of observation – but we don't recommend trying his 'amusing experiments' at home!
Richard A. Proctor’s study of the moon
Beth Howell, our Saturday Events Coordinator, has been exploring the Institution's science collection for inspiration for astronomical making activities for our youngest members. Richard A. Proctor (1837-1888) was a lawyer turned astronomer who wrote a series of works on the planets. His investigation of the moon is illustrated with incredible photographs by Lewis Morris Rutherfurd (1816-1892) who also ditched law to study the heavens.
December Programme 2020
Join us for Christmas events, tours and workshops at the Institution. We are a covid-secure venue.
