The art collections at Tullie span human creativity from as early as 1564, with one of the earliest violins ever made, right up to the present day. Most of the collection dates from the 19th century onwards comprising paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, textiles, sculpture to ceramics, furniture, metalwork and musical instruments. Cumbrian artists and makers, British artists including the Pre-Raphaelites, Arts and Crafts Movement pieces, Japanese prints and Chinese ceramics all come together in Tullie. We are passionate about collecting art by contemporary artists, ensuring the collection stays relevant and represents Carlisle in the 21st century.
If you’re hoping to see a particular artwork from the collection, please contact curatorialenquiries@tulliehouse.org first to check if it’s on display. We’d love to be able to have everything on display all the time, but with a collection of this size we would need a much bigger space. It’s also important to take artwork off display every so often to help protect them for future.
You can browse a good deal of our Fine Art collection via Art UK. You can also shop prints and other collection-inspired items with Art UK.
