Wellcome Collection

Infobox Museum
name = Wellcome Collection


imagesize = 200
map_type = Greater London
map_caption =
latitude = 51.52582
longitude = -0.13385
established = 2007
dissolved =
location = Euston Road, London NW1
type = Museum and exhibitions
visitors = 300,000 per annum
director = Dr Ken Arnold, Head of Public Programmes
curator = James Peto, Head Curator, Temporary Exhibitions
publictransit = Euston rail and London Underground stations
website = http://www.wellcomecollection.org

Wellcome Collection is a museum at 183 Euston Road, London, England, displaying an unusual mixture of medical artefacts and original artworks exploring 'ideas about the connections between medicine, life and art' [ [http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/News-archive/Browse-by-date/2008/News/WTD039957.htm Wellcome Collection short-listed for The Art Fund Prize 2008] ] . The Collection comprises three public exhibition spaces, an auditorium, events space, cafe and bookshop. The building is also the home of the Wellcome Library and The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL [ [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/histmed/ The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine] ]

History

The Wellcome Trust was founded by Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome (1853–1936). An extensive and enthusiastic traveller, he amassed a huge collection of books, paintings and objects, on the theme of historical development of medicine worldwide. There was an earlier Wellcome Historical Medical Museum at 54a Wigmore Street, housing artefacts from around the world . [ [http://archives.wellcome.ac.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?&dsqIni=wf.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=show1.tcl&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqPos=2&dsqSearch=(Hazard='museum') 54a Wigmore Street] ]

The Wellcome Trust moved its administrative offices into their new Gibbs Building (designed for the Trust by Michael Hopkins and Partners) on the adjoining site in Euston Road, completed 2004: thereby creating an opportunity for a new public venue in the old Wellcome Building. The Collection opened to the public in June 2007. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/gallery/2007/jun/20/museums?picture=330056551 Guardian report on the opening] ]

The collections

Medicine ManA permanent display of a small part of Henry Wellcome's collection.

Medicine NowA permanent exhibition using art, mixed media displays and objects to present some aspects of modern medicine and of the work of the Wellcome Trust.This area features a postcard wall where visitors are encouraged to contribute drawings.

Exhibition spaceA changing programme of events and exhibitions.

The building foyer includes works by Pablo Picasso [ [http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART53172.html Picasso mural] ] and Anthony Gormley [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Slideshow/slideshowContentFrameFragXL.jhtml?xml=/arts/slideshows/feel/pixfeel.xml&site= Installation of a cast iron figure by Anthony Gormley, suspended upside-down from the ceiling] ] . A figure by Mark Quinn is displayed next to the entrance [ [http://www.whitecube.com/exhibitions/chemicallifesupport/ White Cube: the Chemical Life Support figures, one of which is shown in the foyer] ] , originally lying unprotected on the stone floor, but now inside a glass case.

Wellcome Library

The Wellcome Library provides access to collections of books, manuscripts, archives, films and pictures on the history of medicine from the earliest times to the present day [ [http://library.wellcome.ac.uk/ Wellcome Library] ]

ee also

* Wellcome Library
* Wellcome Trust
* Museum Mile

External links

* [http://www.wellcomecollection.org/aboutus/index.htm Wellcome Collection website]
* [http://images.wellcome.ac.uk/ Wellcome Images]

References