Art That Made Us

Contemporary artists and thinkers encounter works from the turbulent era after the Roman occupation of Britain - mysterious fragments of art that haunt our imaginations.

A century of creative renewal emerged from the chaos of the Black Death. Survivors found their voice, questioning authority and challenging status and class.

During the reign of Elizabeth I, Protestants and Catholics used art, language and new technology to wage a battle for power, creating surprising and often radical works.

Under the Stuart kings, political, religious and cultural divisions fuelled war across three kingdoms, bringing bloodshed and the rise of a more questioning culture.

Britain in the 18th century saw an explosion of creativity, and enough money from trade and conquest to pay for it. But that money had a dark side.

With the Industrial Revolution transforming the British Isles, a divide opened up between city and country, forcing artists to reflect on the upheaval to lives and the landscape.

During the first half of the 20th century, artists grappled with the destruction of war. Trying to make sense of the horrors, they transformed the culture of the British Isles.

The 1950s and 1960s saw an explosion of new voices from across the British Isles as young artists rebelled against the old establishment, kicking against the confines of class, sex, nation and race.